In Kenya on debe parlar le lingua “correcte” pro superviver.

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

Recentemente in le "New York Times" Simiyu Barasa describeva le problemas de tribalismo que nunc (afflige)/(sta a affliger) Kenya. Su patre es un lubya; e su matre, un taita. Ma ille parla le lingua del kikuyus in Kiambu, le parte del pais ubi viveva su familia.

In diverse partes del Statos Unite, si on parla espaniol, on debe tolerar insultos a vices. Ma in partes de Kenya, si on parla le lingua del kikuyus, on facilemente pote esser occidite.

Le vita quotidian in Kenya es un kaleidoscopio constante de linguas pro personas cuje patres es membros de tribos differente.

Le soror de Simiyu Barasa es un infirmera. Recentemente quando illa transportava un patiente a un hospital in le west de Kenya, un banda de juvenes armate con machetes e circumferite per gruppos de personas que illes recentemente habeva hachate, arrestava su ambulantia, demandante su identification.

Quando su carta de identification monstrava un nomine mixte taita-luhya, illes demandava que illa parlava luhya pro probar que illa non esseva un kikuyu.

"Vermente io non pote parlar lo proque mi matre es un taita!" illa diceva, addente que su patre non habeva inseniate a illa su lingua native. Illa tunc monstrava al juvenes un photocopia del carta de identitate national de su matre, que establiva que illa esseva un taita, e illes decideva non occider la e lassava que le ambulantia continua su viage al hospital.

Post su independentia, Kenya establiva le anglese e le swahili como le linguas national del pais, sperante que le status official de iste linguas nullificarea le conflictos inter le diverse tribos del pais, cuje membros esseva identificate principalmente per le linguas que illes parlava; e Nairobi, le capital del pais, deveniva un citate cosmopolitan.

Ma nunc Nairobi ha essite balkanisate. Partes del urbe ha devenite reservas exclusive de certe tribos. Alicunes ha importate bandas de brutos juvene pro proteger le inhabitantes de lor proprie parte del citate e occider invasores de altere partes de Nairobi. E le governamento del pais es troppo debile pro asserer su autoritate policial in despecto del effortios de Kofi Annan, le ex-secretario general del Nationes Unite, pro arrivar a un compromisso politic que unificarea le governamento de Kenya.

(In le Statos Unite, specialmente in Los Angeles, nos ha problemas simile, ma le nivello de violentia de nostre bandas de juvenes non es tan alte. Diverse bandas afroamerican e hispanic lucta inter e intra se, e il ha anque bandas de vietnameses, koreanos, e, naturalmente, euroamericanos. Alicunes ex iste bandas nunc publica lor existentia per videos in youtube. Si vos vole vider los, vade a youtube e cerca le parola "gangs".)

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In Kenya, people have to speak the "correct" language to survive.

Recently in the "New York Times" Simiyu Barasa described the problems of tribalism that are now afflicting Kenya. His father is a Lubya; and his mother, a Taita. But he speaks the language of the Kikuyus in Kiambu, the part of the country where his family used to live.

In various parts of the United States, if people speak Spanish, they have to (tolerate)/(put up with) insults from time to time. But in Kenya, if people speak the Kikuyus' language, they can easily get killed.

Daily life in Kenya is a constant kaleidoscope of languages for people whose parents are members of different tribes.

Simiyu Barasa's sister is a nurse. Recently while she was transporting a patient to a hospital in the western part of Kenya, a gang of young men armed with machetes and surrounded by groups of people that they had recently chopped up, stopped her ambulance, demanding her identification.

When her identification card showed a mixte Taita-Luhya name, they demanded that she speak Luhya to prove that she was not a Kikuyu.

"Really, I can't speak it because my mother is a Taita!" she said, adding that her father had not taught her his native language. She then showed to the young men a photocopy of her mother's national identification card, which established that she was a Taita, and they decided not to kill her and let the ambulance continue its trip to the hospital.

After its independence, Kenya established English and Swahili as the national languages of the country, hoping that the official status of these languages would nullify the conflicts between the various tribes of the country, whose members were identified principally by the languages that they spoke; and Nairobi, the capital of the country, became a cosmopolitan city.

But now Nairobi has been balkanized. Parts of the city have become exclusive reserves for certain tribes. Some have brought in young gang members to protect the inhabitants of their own part of the city and to kill invaders from other Nairobi neighborhoods. And the government of the country is too weak to assert its police authority despite the efforts of Kofi Annan, the ex-secretary general of the United Nations, to arrive at a political compromise that would unify the government of Kenya.

(In the United States, especially in Los Angeles, we have similar problems, but the level of violence of our street gangs is not as high. Various African American and Latino gangs fight among and between themselves, and there are also Vietnamese, Korean, and naturally white gangs. Some of these gangs are now publicizing their existence through videos on youtube. If you want to see them, go to youtube and search on the word "gangs.")