Following the death of two American missionaries gunned down somewhere on the Nairobi-Naivasha road last week, the US government has issued another advisory warning its citizens against visiting Kenya.
This is not only unfair but also hypocritical considering that several people including foreigners violently meet their deaths in the streets of New York, Washington and even Los Angeles in the US yet their home countries don’t issue travel advisories against visiting that violent country.
There is no way that the US can convince anyone that the upsurge in violent crime in Kenya rivals what is happening in America today, the terrorist threat notwithstanding.
After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center where over 5,000 people were killed in one day, it was obvious that the US had become one of the most dangerous places to visit on earth yet no country issued advisories against it and now that two of its citizens are gunned down in Kenya, they rush to say the country is unsafe.
For starters, the Americans who met their deaths in Nairobi had stopped and parked their car in a spot notoriously known for hijackings and having a sports utility vehicle, they increased their vulnerability without knowing and being white people in a deserted highway, they became easy prey for gangsters who always assume foreigners carry plenty of cash with them all the time.
The travel advisory will adversely affect the tourism industry in Kenya this year at a time when the country was expecting a record number of visitors but it is comforting to note that American tourists to Kenya are negligible as most of the visitors usually come from Europe.
What would really be worrying is if major European countries were to borrow a leaf from the US and issue travel advisories against Kenya. Mercifully, this is unlikely as the only European state known to side with America without thinking twice is the United Kingdom.
US is definitely a more dangerous place to live in than Kenya has ever been and the American authorities should know that gone are the days they could easily dismiss an African country and everybody in the west would believe them.
Read this awesome African lion safari tale of an unlikely match at the Samburu Game Reserve. Meet also some of the people capable of giving you an unforgettable African safari holiday in Kenya.
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Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI understand your frustration. Kenya is a great country and most of its people extremely generous and welcoming. However, you are missing the point. When in Kenya as a foreigner you do feel targeted and the security measures in Nairobi in particular cannot be stressed enough. It is a shame that this is plaeyd as a nationalistic issue. It is not, but there is decreasing trust in the Kenya authorities to handle this issue. And the truth is probably that ordinary Kenyans are suffering even more - car jackings are a rutine occurence as is theft in residential areas both where foreigners and Kenyans tend to live in Nairobi. Face up to the issue so that more people will be encoraged to visit Kenya rather than pack it away. Or do you want me to trust Michuki? Be serious and get taken serious! And no, I'm not an american but I have travelled in the US - including the cities you mention.