Obamanos

I know that if I were to experience the election in South Florida, I would feel disconnected, being absent from my heart in West Philly. That being said, I prefer to be here in Kenya than to be “home” in South Florida when the elections unfold. Just being here for a week has made me realize how important this election is to Africa and it reflects the pride and ownership that exists in Haddington and Cobbs Creek in West Philly. I realized early in October that I would be in Kenya for November 4th but I had no way of knowing just what an experience that would be.

I certainly don’t advocate voting for Barack Obama because of the historical gravity of a black president. I truly believe despite his abortion policy, he is the better choice for our economy, foreign affairs, tax structures and the most diplomatic and unifying. Bush accomplished nothing in terms of

I was startled to find out that Obama headed the news on all the channels here in English and Swahili, his picture is on the front page of all the papers daily and he is the buzz of many conversations I hear in passing. People brim with pride at the mention of his name. The ma-ta-toos that shuttle people around the city have a bizarre smattering of U.S. and English cultural icons painted on the outsides such as Lil’ Wayne, Manchester United, Nike, Tupac, Dr. King, and many more, but many of them portray Obama’s likeness with messages of change and general pride. There are songs on the radio about Obama and even a musical based on his autobiography, “Dreams of My Father.” A surprising number of people have Obama bumper stickers on their cars. I even saw an “Obamanos” sticker garnishing a passing car today. I laughed at the combination of Obama’s name and the Spanish “vamanos” (let’s go). I wondered how that sticker ended up in Nairobi. People have t-shirts, I saw stickers on a motorbike weaving in and out of traffic. The university students in our focus group training wear eager to talk about Obama and McCain, beyond the normal surface rhetoric that most people employ.

For the most part, while I’m here, I’m supposed to dress professionally, shirt and tie. My boss had to fly up to Cairo for the day on Thursday which afforded me the opportunity to wander the streets of Nairobi. I was quite excited to explore the city, pick up some souvenirs and to flash my Obama ’08 shirt.

I went to the Uchimi Matt where I had seen supporters selling Obama buttons to raise money for Kenyan children. As I was entering the shopping plaza, a taxi driver honked at me, pointing to the Obama button he was sporting. The Obama supporters were quite excited to see me at the table and asked me all sorts of questions. I was looking for some Obama swag that was particular to Kenya, but everything I saw was imported from the U.S. I really was hoping to buy an African Obama item for some of the older women who were my partners and heroes in community work in West Philly. They are my role models and inspire me. Many of my friends and family in Philly have been waiting and hoping to visit Africa, homeland to their ancestors, for 60 or 70 years, and I feel extremely privileged to be here as a young white person.

I have experienced incredible pain and mourning at seeing hopelessness and extreme obstacles to African American youths in Philly. I have seen the concurrent hope and pain that exists in strong African American men and women from older generations who immerse themselves in the realities of black youth in America today. Visiting Kenya has given me such a perspective on my personal ethnic journey. It has taken me many years to truly embrace and love being a white male. That being said, my heart and much of my life has been shaped by African American culture and I feel that I have turned my back on black culture. Being here has made me realize so much, how much I miss West Philly and almost upset and mad that I left. My heart killed to be here and not in Philly to celebrate the Phillies World Championship, but even more than that, I long to be in West Philly to celebrate the pride and joy that will accompany an Obama victory. Today in church as we were singing Swahili hymns in the English service, I saw friends faces in the smiling faces of children running past, singers joyfully offering their worship to God, the style of preaching at the church. I’m still not very sure what to make of that and what that means for me working research and living in comfortable South Florida.

I walked towards the main stadium on my way to the city center and a guy rode by on his bike, turning around to read my shirt and smiling, he turned around several more times as he faded from my path, grinning and giving me the thumbs up. I walked several kilometers to the city center of Nairobi. I was headed to buy some souvenirs, with my main target being the Nairobi Java House which serves amazing coffee. I wanted to pick up some coffee and t-shirts to take home. I was right outside the coffeehouse when a man came up to me and asked me if he could speak with me about education in the U.S. I started talking to him and he said we should grab some tea or coffee. We tried several places, all of which were brimming to overflowing at the 5:30 rush hour. We found a nice little teahouse and sat down and started talking. He introduced himself as Emmanuel and I shared a bit about myself as we chatted over tea. He recounted his story of making his way to Nairobi from Zimbabwe. I had just met Pastor Zoa from Zimbabwe on Sunday and my heart broke to hear the plight of this tortured nation. Here I am a few days later and this man says he’s a Christian from Zimbabwe and has journeyed to Nairobi via buses and trains and that he wants to work, but can’t get a work visa in Kenya and that his temporary visa is expiring shortly and he needs to get to Zanzibar with his two comrades who have an opportunity to go to school in Cincinnati with a professor they met in Uganda.

We had quite a good conversation, and he repeatedly commented on how he was glad that we could speak on a level of equals. Eventually I could tell he was going to ask me to help support him financially. My mind was just grinding over what to do. He essentially asked me for $150 to pay for the three of their tickets. He was somewhat desperate and stressed that if I didn’t have the money, we could go to an ATM and get the rest. I don’t know what I should have done. I ended up giving him just 20 dollars, losing all the excitement that Obama fever had engendered within me.

I walked away feeling awful. I was walking and talking with God and I just said, “Father, forgive me, for I may have just rejected you in your time of need.” I wish I would have suggested going to buy the tickets together, because I would have been willing to do that. I pray for him wherever he is, regardless of his situation. I cringe when people say that going someplace where there is rampant poverty makes them feel blessed and thankful for what they have. I don’t feel blessed or guilty about what I have, I think those are both selfish feelings to have. I tend to feel convicted and an extreme sense of responsibility to use what I’ve been given adequately. In that sense, I wish that I would have done some things differently, but I thank God for the clashing of values and the confrontation of my spiritual attitudes that my encounter with Emmanuel brought me. Again, I pray for him and pray for his nation and ask for his and God’s forgiveness.

I left feeling dirty and confused. I thought about circling back to see if I could find him. I hate the thought of being taken advantage of or targeted because I seem to be a reasonable white person or someone who is easily moved to guilt or obligation. I think that’s crap, I want to be moved by compassion and to respond genuinely and in faith with confidence. Embarrassingly, I decided that I would go buy some souvenirs and sought to distract my mind from the apprehension and discomfort that I felt. I finally made my way to the Nairobi Java House where I was quickly brought back to the Obama-mania. As I tried to figure out what I wanted, a staff of young baristas gathered around me and asked me about what state I was from, what I liked about Obama, and just wanted to hear more about the man. They begged me for my shirt offering to swap my Obama shirt for a free Nairobi Java House shirt. I told them, they were better off searching for a fresh one around town somewhere as mine was tainted by my sweating problem that most of you can attest to. (I had walked at least 4 kilometers to the center of town under the equatorial sun of the Nairobi afternoon.)

I joke that if McCain wins somehow on Tuesday, I’m not going outside for fear of repercussions, but I think there is some truth to that sentiment. There was even a political cartoon referencing that notion in the paper today. On the flipside, I plan to go downtown on Wednesday or Thursday to be part of the celebration that hopefully will accompany Barack’s victory. I await history, and I am excited by Obama, but I still put my stock in the kingdom of God, which is an upside-down kingdom where I am disadvantaged because of my privilege and wealth which I am so reluctant to lay down, despite my ardent efforts. Jesus, save your people, strengthen them and heal them in Kenya, West Philly, Zimbabwe, South Florida and all over the world.