Debunking “Tribalism”

Sasha Chanoff, cofounder and executive director of the humanitarian organization Mapendo International, recently wrote an essential op-ed piece for The Boston Globe debunking the myth of “tribal violence” in Kenya (and elsewhere). Here is the money excerpt:

FROM READING recent headlines about Kenya, one would think that the post-election violence is the result of tribal hatreds. But this assessment is wrong.

“Tribal violence spirals in Kenya,” “tribal war,” “tribal bloodletting” announced headlines around the world. A recent New York Times article said the mayhem in Kenya is a result of the “atavistic vein of tribal tension that . . . until now had not provoked widespread mayhem.”

This is a facile explanation of Kenya's post-election violence. Yes, some people from different tribes are attacking one another. It's ugly and scary. But it's not inevitable; it's not part of the genetic makeup of the president's tribe, the Kikuyu, and the runner-up's tribe, the Luo or of any other tribes to both hate and kill one another.

Why the violence then? It's about politics and poverty. For their own gain, politicians exploit tribal differences and manipulate the poor and the destitute. It's no surprise that the perpetrators of “tribal violence” are usually idle young men who also loot and thieve while rampaging. Politicians often covertly hire or encourage them.

Would that more journalists skipped the facile and simplistic reductionism in their coverage of Africa. But it seems that expecting complexity is to expect too much.  Nonetheless, Chanoff and others have tried recently to counter some of the more noxious and vacuous coverage emanating from even the most respected newspapers and other media.