Colonization
Whether you believe that it yielded negative or positive effects for the victim country, one thing’s for certain: the methods colonisers used to assert power onto less developed countries before the 20th century were inhumane and cruel. Today, however, we’re seeing a new “socially acceptable” form of colonisation, one that doesn’t involve the massacre of millions and direct concurring of land to be plastered on social media. This phenomenon, or otherwise known as neocolonialism, involves the exploitation of a less developed country through more diplomatic means. Even if the colonisers are in some way benefiting the other party by exploiting them, as China seems to be doing with Kenya, it is still considered a form of modern day colonialism. Whether this new form of colonialism is actually “good” or “bad” is debatable.
It’s important to understand first and foremost that colonisation, according to Oxford Dictionary, is “the action of appropriating a place or domain for one's own use.” Why this applies to the relationship China has with Kenya can be compared to murky waters. China has been investing in African countries since 2015, primarily Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya in the transportation and renewable energy sectors amongst others[1]. Generally, the argument is that China’s investments and trade ties with Kenya have actually benefited the two of them quite well: Kenyans have more job opportunities because of Chinese businesses (with 73% of full time jobs going to Kenyans[2]); many shop owners benefit from the diversity of products that the Chinese export there and has appreciated the 281 million US dollars worth of investment from China since 2015[3]. Alternatively, the Chinese have access to the abundance of natural resources or precious materials like ivory and rhino horn, and also enjoys the benefits of trade with Kenya (whilst simultaneously crippling of Kenyan manufacturers because of it).
Foreign Minister Wang Yi told local Chinese television back in 2015 that, “We absolutely will not take the old path of Western colonists, and we absolutely will not sacrifice Africa’s ecological environment and long-term interests,” in spite of what a few African leaders and citizens have speculated against China’s involvement with the continent[4]. In July of 2018, The Standard, a Kenyan newspaper, reported exclusive images of how Kenyan workers are really treated behind closed doors: the images are brutal. An image of dozens of Kenyan Standard Gauge Railway crew workers shows them lying face down on the ground as punishment for not taking out the trash. Wildlife like buffalo and lions have been disregarded during construction, and well-educated Kenyan mechanical engineers do “menial tasks” that can be done by any layman.[5] It was also reported in the same article that many workers face day to day racism like not being able to travel in the same bus as Chinese workers, not being able to eat in the same table as the Chinese, and being punished for basic activities like smoking that the Chinese get away with while at work. Most instructional signs in the railway are in Chinese and cannot be understood by Kenyan workers; one worker commented, “The way we see it, the reason they are not open to transferring skills is that they want to remain relevant for a long time.”
The construction of railways is just one way that China is making money off of Kenya and other African countries, as most of these sorts of projects are initially funded by the Chinese and are expected to be paid back by the country’s government. Kenya already owes China 5.3 billion US dollars because of this, as well as the construction of other hospitals, schools, airports, and roads.[6] If the actions by Chine were truly altruistic, they would be training and educating the locals to become self-sufficient but it’s hard to turn a blind eye against the obvious reality that the intentions of China are definitely not to simply “aid” Africa. In fact, China’s ill management of Kenyan workers and schemes that bring Kenya into even more debt is probably hurting Kenya just as much as it’s benefiting them.
In retrospect there are a number of pressing questions: Given a country is taking too long to develop, should a more developed country come in and try to help it along? Does this country have the right to take matters into their own hands? Ideally the Kenyan government would elect experts from other developed countries to work within their borders along with the citizens of the country to tackle sustainable development, but if all else fails, maybe what China is doing is the only way to help catalyse development for African countries. Some may argue that the partnership with China is a fruitful one that helps both parties and thus is a positive relationship. Ultimately, if the Chinese are able to reverse the crippling effects that Western foreign aid has done to the African economy, it would be agreed upon that China’s relations with Kenya is a positive. However, if in the process of helping Kenya wiggle itself out of debt the Chinese end up physically harming workers and exploiting the country’s resources, that balance between good and bad can be quickly tipped. If a mediator doesn’t step in and enforce human rights policies for Kenyan workers, it could turn this relationship sour and Kenya’s development unsustainable, leaving them just as the West did in the 1960’s.
[1] https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2018/09/06/figures-of-the-week-chinese-investment-in-africa/
[2] http://www.globaltrademag.com/global-trade-daily/commentary/what-in-the-world-is-china-doing-in-kenya
[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/720497/china-outward-fdi-flows-to-kenya/
[4] https://www.reuters.com/article/china-africa/china-will-not-take-path-of-western-colonists-in-africa-foreign-minister-idUSL3N0UR1J920150112
[5] https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001287119/exclusive-behind-the-sgr-walls
[6] https://www.npr.org/2018/10/08/641625157/a-new-chinese-funded-railway-in-kenya-sparks-debt-trap-fears?t=1539073987848
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