Nairobi Days

President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania condemned the expulsion, but our own President Jomo Kenyatta stayed silent. The broader world didn’t seem to care. Many of the Kenyan politicians were jubilant about Uganda’s expulsions of the Indians. Some gave speeches calling us “bloodsuckers” and the “Brown Jews of Africa.” Headlines in the highly respected Daily Nation and the Standard gave credence to these virulent opinions by often quoting these words. Martin Shikuku, a prominent Member of Parliament, was the politician who attacked us the most. He was later appointed Assistant Minister in the Office of the Vice President and Home Affairs by President Kenyatta. They ignored the fact that the British and multinationals were pillars of the economy.

“Daddy, what are Jews?” I asked Dad after reading an article by politicians who had urged the Kenyan Government to deport us.

“They are people who live in Israel and America. They have a different religion but they are very clever, hardworking people who save their money.”

“But are they bad people?”

“No, they are good people. But sometimes people get jealous, and they say mean things,” Dad said.

Perhaps by calling us “Brown Jews,” they were saying we were also very rich and clever. There was a slight buried in there, I could tell but it didn’t make any sense to me. I knew lots of Indians who were poor. Many weren’t clever at all. So this was confusing for me. I hated the headlines and felt hurt that we were being criticized in such a public forum.

As a result of these and other threats, our community in Kenya felt insecure about our future in Africa, which had suddenly become hostile. However, Mum and Dad had bought our Mwanzi Road house where we moved in 1972, a few months after the Uganda expulsion. My parents seemed determined to ignore the zeitgeist and stay in Kenya. The panic meant that prices for the property were at a rock bottom low in Kenya.