[kictanet] Entryism according to some dictionaries

[Binaifer Nowrojee]

As a non-ICT person-just a KICTANET donor--I am compelled to add my two bits to the debate.

To my mind, Brian Longwe's nationality is not so much an issue of entryism, but rather one of xenophobia, a phenomenon that we Kenyans appear have a high affinity to given our propensity to ethnic hatred and even violence.

Xenophobia: an intense dislike and/or fear of people from other nationalities. It comes from the Greek <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language>  words ξένος (xenos), meaning "foreigner," "stranger," and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe a fear or dislike of foreigners <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(law)>  or of people significantly different from oneself.

To my mind, Brian Longwe's intelligent and valuable contributions to the ICT sector in Kenya far supercede the issue of his nationality as the key determinant of his contributions.  

I am a bit puzzled as to how the possession of Kenyan nationality is being automatically equated with positive contributions to the nation-as somehow if we have a Kenyan in the post that things will be done better.  This is particularly the case when I look around me and see a Kenyan Commissioner of Police who is happy to kill unarmed pro-democracy advocates; a greedy parliament (all Kenyan) that is happy to award themselves exhorbitantly high salaries without paying tax; and a Kenyan government that is renown worldwide for some of the highest levels of corruption.  Is their contribution to our nation calibrated solely on their possession of a piece of paper that labels them Kenyan? 

I believe we should judge a person's contributions to bettering of the nation by their actions, regardless of their nationality.  

As the debate for constitutional reform moves forward, I also wonder where this leaves the xenophobes.  We may soon have a provision for dual nationality.

Best

Binaifer Nowrojee

 

 

________________________________

From: kictanet-bounces+bnowrojee=osiea.org at lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+bnowrojee=osiea.org at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of aki
Sent: 2008-12-03 13:27
To: Binaifer Nowrojee
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: [kictanet] Entryism according to some dictionaries

 

The net has some interesting views on this, something that came to mind while reading world politics a while back.. 

 

Entryism is a political tactic in which an organisation or group enters a larger organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, gain influence or to take control of the larger organisations' structure. This technique is commonly used by groups from the far left or right of the political spectrum to enter more centrist institutions. This is experienced more frequently in arenas where opportunities for political activity at the fringes is limited, such as two party/majoritarian systems rather than in multiparty/proportional systems where the cost of entry into the political system is lower. Organisations which are the subject of entryism often react by attempting either to marginalise or expel the pratagonists.

 

 

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