A few weeks ago, a Lebanese ad suggested offering a Kenyan maid for mother’s day. We were all outraged. We all screamed: Lebanon is a racist country.
Two days ago, 148 Kenyan students were brutally murdered by terrorists. Amid the frightening silence of the world, we discovered that Lebanon was no exception, and that the whole planet was racist.
Two days ago, 148 Kenyan students were brutally murdered by terrorists. Amid the frightening silence of the world, we discovered that Lebanon was no exception, and that the whole planet was racist.
A couple of week before, a German plane crashed in the Alps. 150 people died. All over the globe, not a politician, not a media outlet, not a Facebook post, not a tweet, failed to express shock and horror. Since that terrible day, the crash is allover the news, social media and world leaders’ speeches. We were told the names, ages and professions of the victims. We met their families. Shared their grief. We all became detectives and shrinks, analyzing every detail about the copilot that willingly crashed the plane. And the whole planet said “never again” and went on changing security measures on every plane there is.
But for Kenya, it was different ballgame. The victims were barely a number and a pile of bodies. We barely heard a name or two. We barely saw a grieving mother or two. We barely witnessed a world leader expressing shock and horror. We barely knew who exactly were the Shebab terrorists that committed the massacre. No one said “never again” and went on changing a thing.
Is this because the victims of the plane crash were white but the Kenyan students were not? Is this because Kenyans are Africans and no one gives a damn about Africa? Is this because western countries and companies have sucked Africa dry, merely tolerating Africans on their own continent? Is this because every country in the world is only worth the richness in its soil, and its people are kindly requested to die in silence while juicy contracts are being negotiated in closed international rooms?
The Kenya massacre shows what is terribly wrong with the world. And perhaps the wakeup call that it should be urgently changed.
© Claude El Khal, 2015