> Regginald Bedford Coleman, Nairobi.
>
> Nairobi - When I first arrived in Kenya, I had the attitude that I was
> better than any African here. As a result, I was constantly comparing
> Kenya to the United States.
>
> Later, my spoiled ways and arrogant attitude changed into a motivation
> to learn more about Kenya and its people. I realised that I could be
> from here. I had many questions in my mind, like: "Could this be where
> my great grandmother and grandfather started my family tree? Could this
> be my relative and I do not know it?" It is frustrating when a Kenyan
> speaks to me and I cannot respond. At times my failure to respond
> insults the person speaking to me.
>
> Their first impression of me is that they see me as one of their own -
> until I speak. Then it changes from hello to "what can you do for me?"
> At the market, when I ask about prices, Kenyans reply in their own
> language. If I cannot respond, they realise that I am a tourist, and the
> cost rises from cheap to double the price. For the first time I
> experience the disadvantage of being an African American in Africa.
>
> One person wanted to know how Negroes arrived in America. After I tried
> to explain, he had a hard time accepting how Africans were taken against
> their will, traded into slavery and fought for freedom.
>
> I tried to tell him through this development it made us African
> Americans a strong body of people. He laughed because he could not
> understand the thought of being a slave. After leaving him I felt
> defeated and frustrated.
>
> There have been positive incidents, too, during my stay in Kenya. One
> occasion that stands out the most, is an encounter I will never forget.
> Visiting a farmer, an older woman greeted me with bright sparkling eyes
> that began to water, her warm smile stretching from ear to ear.
>
> "My grandson!" She hugged me and welcomed me to my new home. She
> accepted me as her own. The feeling I felt is very hard to explain, but
> it was like a lost child returning home after having been missing for
> several days (years) - a wonderful feeling.
>
> When I am introduced as an American, or an African American, people do
> not greet me the same as they do when I am introduced as a Black
> American.
>
> One time, when introduced to an elderly Kenyan man as a Black American,
> I received an overwhelming response.
>
> "Welcome home!! Why did it take so long for your return?!" he asked with
> enthusiasm. Afterwards, he made an interesting statement. "Nobody is
> from America - only the Red Indians!" .
>
> He welcomed me, my wife and family. He left me with a feeling of pride,
> not for being a Black American but an African American.
>
> What is the difference between a Black American and an African American?
> This question confuses some Kenyans, because there are white Europeans
> in Kenya who have citizenship and are considered African.
>
> In the United States, the term Black American refers to a person born in
> America but whose origin is in Africa.
>
> Blacks in America claim the United States as our home because we take
> pride in the contributions and sacrifices our grandmothers and
> grandfathers made to help make America, our home.
>
> We use the term African American because we identify Africa as our
> original home. African Americans associate Africa with Black Pride,
> Strength, and Unity. The motherland to all civilisation. Not having the
> resources to trace my actual roots in Africa, do I have the right to
> claim Kenya or any other country in Africa as my home?
>
> Kenyans who know something about African Americans see us as their
> brothers and sisters or the extended family in another country. With
> that thought in mind why should it be hard for an African American to
> receive citizenship in an African country?
>
> African Americans who are lucky enough to visit a country in Africa can
> develop from the positive and negative experiences, culture and people
> as I have learned and now understand.
>
> Before I arrived in this country, many people I spoke to had encouraged
> me saying: "You'll fit in well, no problem" . There was no way they
> could have prepared me for what to was to dawn on me for being an
> African American in Africa.
>
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