Leading up to the election Obama’s picture was on the cover of every newspaper for weeks, and every day strangers on matatus and in the street would ask me if I was going to vote for him. I received weekly text messages from my Kenyan family and friends counting down the days until the election and reminding me to vote. (which I did by absentee email) Despite his clear lead in the polls, Kenyans were skeptical that a man with African roots could become the president of America. It was all a distant dream to people here…
When election day came, it felt like the night before Christmas. We are 8 hrs ahead of Eastern time, so the results just started to trickle in on Tuesday night. Across the country, Kenyans held night long vigils in churches to pray for an Obama victory, and in the western part of the country, where Obama’s grandmother lives, they projected CNN on a huge screen in the park through the whole night. I vowed to stay up all night to watch to results come in on CNN, but as always, fell asleep on the couch halfway through the show. I woke up to my cell phone ringing at 7 am. My Kenyan friend Chris was yelling, “the TV is saying Obama has won! Is it true? Obama has won!” I turned on the TV just in time to watch the projected Obama victory become official. We sat there a few minutes, taking it all in, making sure it was real. And then I felt an intense rush of relief, ecstasy, hope, and pride.
After his acceptance speech, I walked down the street to buy eggs for breakfast. The energy and excitement in the street were tangible. Obama’s speech could be heard broadcasted from the radio of every shop along the road. When I bought the morning paper from the corner salesman, a crowd of people shook my hand and invited me to have a beer with them to celebrate.
Back at the ICROSS base, I sabered a bottle of champagne for everyone in the office, and we had a celebratory breakfast feast. President Kibaki even declared Thursday a National Public Holiday – no work!! Apparently, there were huge parties all over the city Wed night, but a monsoon came and our roof started leaking, so unfortunately we missed out.
On Thursday, to celebrate the National Obama holiday, Abbie, David and I took a matatu into Nairobi to try to find an Obama celebration. We ended up at Uhuru Park in the city center. Abbie and I rented a paddle boat and played in the pond for awhile, then had our arms painted by an artist with OBAMA and American flags. A news anchor covering the festivities saw us walking with the OBAMA paint and asked to interview me for NTV, the Kenyan equivalent of CNN. (I was the only American in our group) We turned on NTV when we got home and saw my interview air on the national Kenyan evening news!!!
As I said in the interview, there is nowhere I would rather be for this historical moment than in Kenya. Not only has Obama inspired millions of Africans and proven that we are all capable of leading, but his victory has instilled a new sense of pride in people here. Even though Obama’s connections to his Kenyan roots are somewhat distant, everyone here sees him as “Kenyan,” as the son of Kenya. I think it has been valuable for all to witness democracy at its best, so close after the post-election violence. As excited as Kenyans were about Obama’s victory, they were equally impressed by McCain’s peaceful acceptance of defeat, and his call to work together as a nation.
The downside of all the excitement here is that I fear people will be disappointed – in Kenyan politics, if a man or woman is elected to office, they take care of their own tribe. Some people, even members of parliament, expect that since Obama is “Kenyan,” he will reform Africa-America trade policies and increase Aid to Kenya. The election violence and global financial crisis have hit hard here, where many people depend on the tourism industry and have no social security or savings. Many people think or hope that Obama will “put ugali on their table.” Clearly Obama will have his hands full dealing with the economy, the war, and other major issues. But no matter what, Obama will be upheld as a much-needed hero for Kenyans.
I think the most beautiful thing about this election is how Obama has united people from every class, age, and ethnic background and made them feel like they are an important part of American politics and empowered to be engaged in the world. The post-election violence in Kenya further divided the country by tribe, split open festering wounds, and extinguished what weak nationalism existed. Now, for the first time since I came to Kenya in January 2007, there is a new sense of national pride and unity. Even though Obama’s father was from the Luo tribe, Kenyans of every tribe call him their brother and son. And now, instead of being seen as a muzungu, I made to feel like a sister or fellow citizen. I have never been more proud to be an American.
