Seafarers(maritime)industry and the socio-economic&political development of the coastal region of kenya Historical Perspective At times facing the truth can be a heart-wrenching experience. Unfortunately, it seems the only way to rouse us from our decades of slumber, is to face the stark truth of facts on the Seafarers in particular and the Marine Industry in general. So let’s take this bitter pill together. We must face question: Why is there so much acrimony in the Seafarers affairs? Is there more than meets the eye? Is there an underlying agenda that fuels this persistent drive to ensure that the Seafarers Union of Kenya (SUK) will never succeed in its objectives? Allow me to lay the food/facts on the table for your consumption/consideration. I first begin by transporting you back through the centuries to the present day East African Indian Ocean Coastline. The Socio-Cultural and economic lives of the peoples living along this coastal were inevitably linked to the Ocean. Seafaring was an integral part of their lives. They traded and intermingled with each other along the Coast. They traded and kept in contact with distant lands of the Near, middle and far Eastern Lands. As a result their socio-cultural development was linked to the ancient civilizations of these distant lands. Centuries before the Colonialization of Africa by the White Europeans, the Coastal people were well ahead in terms of civilization and economic advancement as compared to people of the Hinterland. As the world-Renowned Professor Ali Mazrui poignantly states in his unforgettable series “The Africans, the Triple Heritage”, “The Coastal were already Reading and writing long before the hinterland people had even coined words for ‘Paper and Pen’ in their respective languages. When the White man eventually landed on the Eastern shores of Africa, this is the situation he found. A learned and civilized people did not favour his Colonialization Agenda. He thus moved into the hinterland where there were people better suited for the implementation of colonial-agenda. Throughout the Colonial Era (of East Africa), the Colonialists engagement terms and policies towards the Coastal Regions was geared at reversing and breaking down this socio-Economic and cultural advancement of the Coastal. Thus, professions such as “seafaring” and “sea-trade” were put into the back burner of the colonial government agenda with a view of curtailing the advancement of the people whose socio-economic advancement was anchored on the “Sea”. It is a fact that the independence brought about only a “change of masters” with those who took over the Government of Kenya adopting the Policies and tactics of the exiting colonialists. I challenge you the reader to exam post-independence engagement with the coastal region for you to see the pattern. The Seafarers were from the word go sailing against strong state headwinds. Standby for a look at the post-independence Kenya and the Seafarers and Marine industry in Part II of this series.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 14:09:07 +0000
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