Land
by tabby | November 12, 2009 at 11:33 PM
Land is the most important asset in the African setting or should i say to me..with land one fills secure in the sense that one can build a house and stop renting a house more so it can also act a means of security in many areas for example if one wants to secure a loan from a bank,it can also act as a "shamba" as we call it were one gets to grow food for sell and for consumption within the household and still bring in income to the said owner.As we say in Kenya Land does not fluctuate but rather appreciate with each new day that goes by.
I have seen brothers Huck each other to death because of land,i have seen sons kill there own father and families feuds just because of land.From my own experience i watched in dismay as my father and my uncle battled each other to court just because of a land that my dad had inherited from his parents.As culture have it that the male children in a house hold should each be given there own land by there parents when they become of age meaning when they marry and start having there own families,as for the girl child she does not inherit land from her parents since it is assumed that she will get married and will automatically get land from her husband's family unless on occasions where by there is no male child within that house hold and the parents decide to divide the land to there daughters which is quite rare in the African setting.
It is said that the more acres of land one has the more rich that particular house hold is perceived to be.After the post election scammishes here in Kenya many people were left without land who were also refereed to as the internal displaced persons since they were forced out of there land by the different ethnic tribes in the area that they had settled in.Till now this people are still unsettled since they have no land to settle in thus prompting them to live in camps and depend on donations and well wishers.The government is trying to come up with ways to settle the IDPs three years after the election.That is how important land is to me and to the African culture and more so to Kenya.
Comments
Great to hear from you
Tabby, I smiled when I saw your post as we have missed you. The word "Land" means so many things in Kenya and has come to symbolize power, loss, oppression and abundance. The idea that people have been removed or displaced from their homelands is so heartbreaking to me as often, it is the land which gives a person a sense of place. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Land and I hope to hear from you again soon. Best wishes,
Janice
Wealth
Dear tabby,
It seems that land, before money, was the first means of wealth in human history. It makes me sad that people are jealous and covet land so much, enough to break family bonds. It makes me happy that land can provide a source of income for people, but this has to be treated carefully. Hopefully those people will get their land back!
Thank you for sharing your views about Kenyan impressions of land.
Maria
Dearest Tabby, It's so good
Dearest Tabby,
It's so good to see you here and to hear your story of Land. Time and again, I read women's description of Land tearing communities, families and nations apart. The land is where we came from and the land is where we go in the end. We need to work together to change these mentalities that land is something to divide, when actually it is the one thing that bonds us as neighbors and inhabitants of this planet we call home. And change starts with us sharing these personal stories and standing together as women to demand respect for our gender, respect for our sisters, respect for our land and our planet.
Thank you Tabby for reminding me of that. Please come back to PulseWire soon and share more with us. We love hearing from you!
Love, Jade
True words! Land is very
True words! Land is very important particularly in Africa where people kill them selves over a parcel of land. The more land you have the more wealth it translates. Indeed there is the good, the bad and the ugly side of land.
Peace!
Fatima