Diversity

Remember that time you were walking, in a cool, nature filled area? The oxygen unpolluted, the sky beautiful and the landscape breath-taking. Or maybe that time you were lost in your thoughts, on a road trip enjoying the view, who knew a vast wheat farm with acacia trees randomly spread out could be that beautiful? It does not matter if you believe in the Big Bang theory or God spoke everything into existence, we can all agree that nature consistently brings relaxation and ecstasy within us. The end result of two atoms colliding or God’s masterpiece, it is all just beautiful.

What happens when it comes to the caretakers of this creation and those responsible for shaping its future? Do we still see human beings as a beauty of creation or a nuisance if they do not fit our preference? In nature we celebrate biodiversity; we fight to protect it because we know each plant, animal and micro-organism has a unique contribution to make. When it comes to mankind, even a smile can bring about discomfort. “I don’t like how he laughs,” you might hear someone say. Sounds trivial but tolerance or understanding between mankind is sometimes not straight forward and our poor reactions are a manifestation of how our mind processes external stimuli.

Our country is diverse, from religion, to ethnic groups and even race. We have seen how our differences in this country have brought about suspicion, hate and inequality. This issue is not unique to Kenya, in the bible Jesus was castigated for associating with Samaritans who were enemies to the Jewish people.

Fast forward to German soldiers who carried out experiments on Africans to prove that Caucasians were a superior race and used the bodies of the Herero and Namaqua people for medical experiments.

It also happens to people in the same country, from the same race but somehow still find ways to hate their neighbour. The Rwandan genocide, familiar because of the numerous documentaries, a famous movie and articles, is an example. There are always external stimuli that make us act irrationally and we often take the easy way out instead of thinking of long-term solutions. We choose hate instead of love.

Rwanda was facing economic problems and the Hutu led government blamed the Tutsi for every crisis. Hitler blamed the Jews for the economic issues in Germany but in both cases the woes persisted and the citizens started to realise that they had been duped.

This is happening to this day where the far right in Europe, United States and Australia blame immigrants for almost everything wrong in their countries. To the point that Great Britain opted for a Brexit vote, one reason being immigration from Eastern Europe was having negative impacts on the British culture and economy. Ironic coming from an ‘empire’ that had occupied South America, North America, Asia and Africa, imposing their culture as superior. Now, after they have seen that the warnings about Brexit were valid some are considering another referendum as a good option. I wonder how Jesus would have survived if Egypt had denied his family entry as they were fleeing for his safety. We sometimes forget Jesus was a refugee, fleeing persecution similar to Mexicans fleeing gang violence, Syrians fleeing war or Congolese seeking safety from civil conflict.

Let us think of a subject closer to home and which has brought us great pain and loss, terrorism. We recently experienced a devastating attack, at 14 Riverside Drive and I would not blame anyone who felt hate towards the perpetrators. Our minds try to rationalise what is happening and the emotions that come might lead us to generalise the blame to a certain group of people.

At this time of understandable anger, we try to find an outlet that might resemble the people who hurt us. Anything that resembles their religion, ethnic group or their country of origin instantly becomes the issue. Then we excuse these thoughts by thinking if we control this group of people or keep them away from us we will be safe forever. This happens so fast in our minds sometimes we don’t even realise we have involuntary joined the cycle of hate.

Instead of uniting to fight the vice we get suspicious of people who we should recruit as allies, our county men. The real issues and loop holes will not be discussed but instead rumours will spread, fear will be prevalent and the enemy will be successful in bringing disunity.

So how do we avoid this? First we need to be ‘irrational’ and chose love where love is not expected. Martin Luther King Jr. chose non-violence and compassion in his activism at a time that anger would have seemed more justified because of how his race had been treated. By the time he was assassinated he had recruited a lot of allies to the cause and influenced many to see the need of equality in America.

Paul understood that his work in spreading God’s word would be useless without love. He acknowledged that spirituality void of love is noise, like a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. So in our work and life love is a necessary component.

Another option is seeing creation for what it is and embracing its variety. The different mix of beliefs, ideas, cultures and all other lovely differences are what make life interesting. Respect for what you are not accustomed to or what is not part of your culture is hard but doable. That’s why I felt sad when wearing a Hijab or a Rastafarian turban to school became an issue in Kenya. I understand the discomfort that comes with accepting change but change that embraces diversity should be welcome. To those who fear that this would open the flood gates of expectations and bring disorder in our schools and society, should consider compromise. Democracies allowed women to vote, fear mongers said it would disrupt the society and bring disorder but all it did was make for better decision making. Beyond the fear, hate and confusion is a life full of happiness and understanding among us. All of God’s creation is beautiful.