Folks,
I hope y'all are doing great. It has been a while since I penned about this subject that is dear and close to me just as I am sure it is to most of you, i.e. Diaspora issues. The 2015 Kenya Diaspora Conference in Atlanta Georgia is upon us in a month's time, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-kenya-diaspora-conference-atlanta-ga-tickets-17628705934 . So what is this conference about? You may ask, I am sure most of you have seen and read many headlines and news about the Kenyan Diaspora in recent months and years but who is making the headlines and do the topics and/or outcomes truly represent your wishes? Have you heard the opportunity to express your wishes to the powers that be in our government and private industry back home? Would you like to be represented at all levels of government and private industry in major discussions and decisions affecting us in the Diaspora? Have you wished there was a mechanism in place that protects your investments back home? How about a concrete policy that protects our interests while living abroad? Did you know Kenya has no law or policy to safeguard its citizens living abroad including the domestic workers in the Middle East whose suffering and torture in the hands of their employers is horrendous? Did you know that five (5) years into the "new" constitution mandating universal suffrage i.e. everyone voting (Diaspora Voting), the government has NO plans for us to vote in the next general elections, yet again? Wouldn't it make sense to have a stand-alone Ministry of Diaspora Affairs or even a Parastatal as opposed to an obscure one man Director of Diaspora Affairs tucked away somewhere inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Are we foreigners?). What's Kenya's Diaspora Policy, do you know? Did you know the Diaspora is the leading source of foreign currency and economic growth in Kenya? Are you getting reciprocal respect and recognition for this beyond the rhetoric? Representation that is commensurate to our contributions to our national economic, social and political fabric is overdue, voting the government that faithfully represents and is responsive to our interests is an imperative, now than ever before.
Folks, these and many others issues are legitimate concerns we should raise and we will discuss them and adopt resolutions at the Diaspora Conference in Atlanta next month. I am asking you to join in the determining our destiny before others do it for us. Our voices matter, let's make them count – not just in the Billions of shillings remittances we provide to the government but also in real substance.
Please follow the link below and sign up to reserve your seat; Strength in numbers will ensure we have a seat at the table and not on the menu.
Let's get this done folks and I look forward to a robust conference.
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