JUSTICE FOR THE NUBIAN COMMUNITY

10/19/2006
GRANTS WECHE MOKADHO AGAJA KUYO BARUPE WECHE DONGRUOK MBAKA NONRO JEXJALUO NGECHE LUO GI GWENG' THUM TEDO LUO KITGI GI TIMBEGI SIGENDNI LUO THUOND WECHE ;	[kca-info] JUSTICE FOR THE NUBIAN COMMUNITY PRESS RELEASE October 18, 2006 JUSTICE FOR THE NUBIAN COMMUNITY A KCA Statement The Nubian community in Kenya has for decades now faced the hardships of a people living under a cloud of non-existence through denial of their rights as citizens of Kenya. History records that the Nubian community has existed within the region that was later to become Kenya for at least a century and a half. The British who used them as soldiers in the King's African Rifles settled a larger number in Kibera in the First World War. They have spawned generation after generation on Kenyan soil through colonization, independence and post-independence, and still remain non-Kenyans through unwritten legislation and common thought that sees them as aliens. Like any other community that migrated into Kenya and settled here, the Nubians have contributed greatly to the cultural wealth that we're so proud of today, and we cannot afford to leave them out. Indeed, a common thread binds us all as communities that came from somewhere, and what we need is the unity of nationhood. When we subject one community to a systematic denial of national IDs, passports or travel documents, we harm ourselves as a nation. The Nubians have largely become a community existing in the periphery of life in the slums and earning a living in the shadows, as only one declared an illegal alien would try to do. Just as we treat Kenyans with ancestry from Britain, India or the Middle East, they too deserve dignified treatment and equal rights as citizens. The Kenyan community abroad, more than any other community of Kenyans, understands the psycho-social and economic turmoil of racism, rejection and discrimination suffered by a community because of their origins. We stand in solidarity with them as they seek their freedoms in a democratic country well-known as a haven of peace for many African refugees. We call for an end to the official practice of imposing unlawful discriminatory requirements that make it near impossible for a specific minority community to enjoy their rights as full citizens of Kenya. The KCA also urges fellow Kenyans and our government to ensure that the Nubian community is officially recognized as an existing entity that makes up the rich socio-cultural fabric of our country. By this recognition, we urge that their rights to: a) Own land b) Vote c) Earn a living and all other fundamental rights enjoyed by citizens of Kenya, are enabled as required by law. Let us build a nation with values that bespeak of Kenyans' inherent humaneness and our maturing sense of democracy and nationhood. Mkawasi Mcharo President: KCA For The KCA Executive www.kenyansabroad.org ===================================================== Joluo.com Ka in gi mari moro ma di wandik ka to orni Akelo nyar Kager, jaluo@jaluo.com Daher winjo dwondi in bende, iwinjo?	IDWARO TICH? Inyalo oro twak kod weche manyien ne: Mig. Ajos wuod Atiga WuonAbila@jaluo.com GALAMORO : Riwruok mar JOLUO e Piny Ngima, orwaku uduto mondo ubed e kanyakla mar burani. Ornwa nyingi gi nondi kaka obedo. Riwruok e teko joka Nyanam. WENDO MIWA PARO OD PAKRUOK

[kca-info] JUSTICE FOR THE NUBIAN COMMUNITY

PRESS RELEASE

October 18, 2006

JUSTICE FOR THE NUBIAN COMMUNITY

A KCA Statement

The Nubian community in Kenya has for decades now faced the hardships of a people living under a cloud of non-existence through denial of their rights as citizens of Kenya.

History records that the Nubian community has existed within the region that was later to become Kenya for at least a century and a half. The British who used them as soldiers in the King's African Rifles settled a larger number in Kibera in the First World War. They have spawned generation after generation on Kenyan soil through colonization, independence and post-independence, and still remain non-Kenyans through unwritten legislation and common thought that sees them as aliens.

Like any other community that migrated into Kenya and settled here, the Nubians have contributed greatly to the cultural wealth that we're so proud of today, and we cannot afford to leave them out. Indeed, a common thread binds us all as communities that came from somewhere, and what we need is the unity of nationhood.

When we subject one community to a systematic denial of national IDs, passports or travel documents, we harm ourselves as a nation. The Nubians have largely become a community existing in the periphery of life in the slums and earning a living in the shadows, as only one declared an illegal alien would try to do. Just as we treat Kenyans with ancestry from Britain, India or the Middle East, they too deserve dignified treatment and equal rights as citizens.

The Kenyan community abroad, more than any other community of Kenyans, understands the psycho-social and economic turmoil of racism, rejection and discrimination suffered by a community because of their origins. We stand in solidarity with them as they seek their freedoms in a democratic country well-known as a haven of peace for many African refugees.

We call for an end to the official practice of imposing unlawful discriminatory requirements that make it near impossible for a specific minority community to enjoy their rights as full citizens of Kenya.

The KCA also urges fellow Kenyans and our government to ensure that the Nubian community is officially recognized as an existing entity that makes up the rich socio-cultural fabric of our country. By this recognition, we urge that their rights to:

a) Own land
b) Vote
c) Earn a living

and all other fundamental rights enjoyed by citizens of Kenya, are enabled as required by law.

Let us build a nation with values that bespeak of Kenyans' inherent humaneness and our maturing sense of democracy and nationhood.

Mkawasi Mcharo
President: KCA
For The KCA Executive
www.kenyansabroad.org