It’s Oil… and China…
And our task to prevent the genocide of the Samburu people has suddenly become much clearer and much, much harder.
The Kenyan English-language newspaper, The Daily Nation, reported today that “Kenya begins drilling for oil in two weeks.” And guess where? Yes, in the Samburu lands, specifically at Boghal near Isiolo.
The article did, however, name one major, non-Kenyan party involved in this search for black gold: the China National Off Shore Oil Corporation. China, which in the past year has been driving a highway through Samburu lands and towns; China, whose government has been entwining itself in African affairs for the past decade.
We have been worried since last March, when police fired on Samburu from the sky and drove away their cattle, that oil lay behind that betrayal of trust.
I want to be wrong. I want a peaceful Samburu, grass springing from the earth but nothing else. If the rains come, the grass will too, but now we have a much bigger fight on our hands.
Save Samburu!
To read the news for yourself, go to
http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/-/1006/671428/-/ifb9nsz/-/index.html
I just found out about you guys but it definitely looks like you are doing a great job and you care deeply about Samburu. I was near Maralal this summer(home). My opinion is that if the Samburu do not adapt to new ways of living (which in themselves are hard to define given the conditions they live in) the community will soon be distinct [presumably, the commentator means "extinct", Roxanne]. That said, I wasnt privy to this venture of oil drilling by the Chinese. There are a number of ways to look at this. The most likely scenario is this, if drilling occurs, the government or powerful individuals will be highly involved and consequently the Samburus or any other community in the area will not benefit from the resource. They might even end up being told to pack their belongings, take their animals and move to another place. If the Chinese are the good business partners they claim to be, then they must incorporate the community to any drilling they are going to. That drilling must find a way to benefit the locals even if it is not directly. However, I cannot see how oil companies ever benefit places where they drill.
If this goes on as is mention in the article, then the Samburu in this area must be ready to fight in order to benefit from any resource in their land. This should also become a huge election talking point for any future politician who wants to represent the area.
Best with your efforts
Today (10/25/09), the Boston Sunday Globe published an (Associated Press) article discussing China’s deep presence in Africa, especially when it comes to extracting oil and minerals for use by China, and its poor record of supporting human rights or pushing the African government in question to support human rights. Not too encouraging, to say the least.
Here’s the link:
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2009/10/25/deal_with_guinea_highlights_chinas_business_ties_in_africa/
Roxanne
(yes, I’m commenting on my own blog entry, but it seemed a good way to both catch people’s attention as the recent comments are noted near the top of the blog, and still associate the comment with the relevant entry.]