From: Tebiti Oisaboke
HE Ambassador Demob
Your apology has been accepted though its too little and too late for the damage had already been done. Once destructive messages of this nature gets in the public domain, they spread like wildfire and retracting them really doesn’t help much because the US Dept of Justice through its Nrb-Kenya embassy has already got the contents of the message. It will involve lots of explanations to clarify this message which are normally painstaking. Its a good gesture though which needs to be complimented but the manner in which it was delivered was poor and unacceptable in modern day Kenya. We don’t need to spill our beans in public, it hurts the poor man more than it does the elite and well to do your Excellence.
TOI
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On July 9 2011, an article, “New Requirements for Travelers to USA” written by Chris Wamalwa (in USA) appeared in the Kenya based, “The East African Standard”. The same article has been subsequently, carried on in social networks like Mwakilishi.com, Diaspora Messenger, among others. As a result, Kenyans of goodwill have written or called the Embassy, seeking clarifications on the contents of the said article.
Consequently, Kenya Embassy in Washington D.C. wishes to take the earliest opportunity to convey our sincere apologies for what appeared in the article. Under all intent and purpose, the article totally misrepresents His Excellency the Ambassador’s initial communication with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which was to explore possible ways of briefing Kenyans wishing to travel to USA.
Having interacted with Kenyans in the USA, clearly, majority of them are doing great in many aspects (socially, economically, etc) and there is no question about that. Maybe a small fraction is grappling to make ends meet. Many, irrespective of how well they are doing, have shared their experiences about their early lives in America, citing how long it took them to settle down, if they have. On a day to day basis, the Embassy receives many concerns about some of the challenges and difficulties that some Kenyans are going through; ranging from unemployment, drug addiction, to social distress, among others. Listening keenly, it emerges that most of them did not know what to expect on coming to America.
It is on the basis that there is no sufficient information to Kenyans travelling to the USA (and other parts of the world), as students, immigrants etc, that the Kenya Embassy in Washington deemed it necessary to initiate a conversation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the need to provide useful information to would-be travellers in order to mitigate some of the challenges that arise when Kenyans arrive in the USA. Secondly, some orientation of Kenyans before they migrate to any parts of the world would enable government to capture requisite data that is critical for national planning, especially in the current dispensation where the government expects tangible participation of the Diaspora in national development. Indisputably, therefore, it is the responsibility of the Kenya Government to promote and protect the interests of all Kenyans abroad. And so, the goal of the Kenya Embassy in Washington is to ensure the welfare of Kenyans in the USA.
Undoubtedly, the spirit of the article in The East African Standard does not capture at all, the well intended proposition of the Embassy; that is, to adequately prepare Kenyans migrating to the US. This is highly regretted and the Embassy would like to sincerely apologize for any misunderstandings that this may have caused.
Kenya Embassy
Washington D.C.
July 12 2011
— On Tue, 7/12/11, Tebiti Oisaboke wrote:
From: Tebiti Oisaboke
Subject: Do we need to make it any harder than already is to secure a visa from Nairobi?
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 3:40 PM
This is not a solution Ambassador Odembo. Prior to me coming to the Western world in search of education, I attended a two day orientation organized at the American Cultural and Educational Center behind Nat’l Bank of Kenya building in the summer of 1986. This was only to enlighten us on what to expect upon arrival in the western hemisphere but didn’t give us survival tactics. We had to figure them out by ourselves. Our speakers were people from the American Embassy, Nrb-Kenya, some returning Kenyans who had schooled, lived, and worked in America. All they told us was about cultural shock something which was reinforced again during my first quarter’s freshman class. The more we give hints that we cannot make it in America, the more we give the Americans a leverages to tighten visa rules. Besides the economical recession is just a temporary thing and will soon go away. Its not only Kenyans who are affected, but the native/indignant American citizens too. We are trying to run away from corruption, nepotism, impunity, clanism, marginalization, insecurity, unemployment sailing way over 100%, starvation, epidemics, lack of education because all the cash donated to educate our kids by foreigners has been stolen and many many other social issues which we the commoners have to deal with on our daily lives.
When Kenyans come to America, its a last resort. If we all had economical resources, why would we come here for? What you should advice Baba Jimi’s administration is to find ways to create employment, distribute the Nat’l cake equally, provide security, water, healthcare, infrastructure, to all and not just a few chosen ones. End nepotism, corruption, impunity and above all, justice to all Kenyans including those who murdered Mercy C. Keino, Sam Wamboi, Dr. Ouko etc; and you will see Kenyans not outsourcing themselves due to economical hardships.
I have just learnt that you will be touring America’s south this weekend and I’m looking forward to talk more with you about this issue. I don’t want to pre-empty myself right now.
Welcome
TOI
In harry
— On Tue, 7/12/11, Kennedy Gisemba wrote:
From: Kennedy Gisemba
Subject: Do we need to make it any harder than already is to secure a visa from Nairobi?
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 12:22 PM
From the East African Standard
By Chris Wamalwa in USA
Kenyans planning to travel to USA may soon be required to prove that they have basic knowledge of how life ‘actually’ is in America before they are issued with travel visas.
Proof, to be in the form of some kind of ‘certificate of induction’ issued after attending Basic Information sessions conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be part of a retinue of requirements that must be presented to the US Embassy in Nairobi as part of qualifying documents when one is seeking to travel to America.
Currently, one has to show proof that they are financially able to sustain their stay in the USA without becoming a ‘public charge’. For those going to study, they must present financial bank statements from their sponsors either in Kenya or in the USA.
The move that is bound to be received with mixed reactions by a public that is wary of the many complications around visa applications for traveling abroad, is being spearheaded by the Kenyan Embassy in the USA, more specifically Ambassador Elkanah Odembo.
Odembo who first proposed the requirement through a letter he sent to his Permanent Secretary in Nairobi, says the move is aimed at protecting the safety and integrity of Kenyans migrating to the USA. In the recent past, the Kenyan embassy in the DC has been inundated by calls and letters from Kenyans living in the USA seeking help for all manner of problems.
“We are seeing too much suffering on the part of some Kenyans who came to this country with scanty information about how life actually is. We think part of the solution to this problem can be tackled when someone is still in Kenya and that is why we are proposing this initiative,” Odembo said in an exclusive interview with The Standard.
He says proper information for those going to America is very key in helping them prepare financially and psychologically for the life they are bound to find there.
Odembo, who was himself once a Diaspora student in the USA, said the embassy is in the process of developing a manual containing basic information about America. This will be part of the literature that will be given to those intending to travel to the USA for whatever reasons but especially for those choosing to study in America.
“When we came to America to study long time ago, this was part of the requirements. We had to prove that we knew what we were going to do in America. Of late, this is not happening,” he said, adding that the manual is a necessity and will contain not just the do’s and don’ts but also basic information
about important contacts and help centers managed by the Diaspora in the USA.
Odembo said he was working closely with the newly appointed USA ambassador to Kenya, Scott Gration, whom he described as someone who is very ‘conversant’ with these issues.
If approved and implemented by the Kenya government, this will be one of the measures aimed at tackling some of the immense challenges that the Diaspora is currently facing in the face of changing fortunes for USA, following the September 11,
2001 terrorist attacks in New York and the collapse of the financial markets.
Many Kenyans living in the USA have not only lost their jobs in the recent past but also their homes and investments as a result of the economic recession.
Some of the measures aimed at checking illegal immigrants to the USA include tightening rules for foreign students.
Many foreign students can’t find jobs within the campuses and if they drop some classes to find work to supplement their upkeep, their student visas are revoked.
Frustrations arising out of this have led to increased social ills such as domestic violence, suicides and drug and alcohol abuse.
Hardest hit are those who are migrating on the lottery visa commonly known as Green Card. Many are staying for months on end and sometimes years without finding employment