Growing up in the Kenyan middle class, I watched as the standard of living in my household and that of my friends drastically declined in the span of 20 years even though my mother (the bread winner in the family) invested in two houses, was promoted at work and got raises in her salary.
I watched my younger siblings being moved from one school to another as their former school got too expensive, we quit eating breakfast as bread, butter and milk became too expensive and we quit doing monthly household shopping since we could not afford it anymore.
My friends and I theorized about the creation of wealth and the formula behind it… if there was any. I wondered (often aloud to my mother) if the creation of wealth was by chance, both for countries and for individuals since I also watched many of my well educated relatives move to wealthier countries to work unskilled jobs for better pay and higher standards of living...
The Devil's Footpath, a documentary about law student June Arunga's travels throughout Africa to discover why the best and brightest minds in Africa decide to migrate elsewhere, screens at the Amercian Renaissance Film Festival on Sunday, January 15 at 10:00 a.m.
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I am thrilled to see this story, written by a native of Kenya. IMO she is on the right track, but she faces a formidable task in getting her message out.
A bit of back ground: In 1997 my wife and I visited Kenya and Tanzania to see the marvelous animals in their game parks. While the game viewing was a marvelous experience, one of the things that impressed us was the way the Kenyans and Tanzanians looked at us. They seemed to believe we were:1. Fabulously wealthy. (Truth: We had scrimped and saved so we could make the trip.) 2. We were able to pass out money, gifts and or buy unlimited handicrafts, but were just too stingy and uncaring. (Truth: We had a strictly limited budget for buying souvenirs.)
3. We came from a place where everyone was rich and milk and honey flowed in the streets. (No comment necessary.) 4. The Klu Klux Klan was still a strong organization in the U.S. (Again, no comment necessary.) They had no understanding of why their country was not wealthy like the countries from which their tourists came.
One experience gave us an insight to part of the problem. We saw a group of furniture vendors along the road from Nairobi to Karen Blixen's farm. We stopped and looked. The wood furniture was well made and very inexpensively priced. I told our guide that these furniture makers ought to form a co-op to export their furniture to Europe and the U.S. His answer, "Oh no, if they start making too much money the government will just come in and take it away from them." That showed me that the Kenyan government under Moi was basically a kleptocracy.
Other experiences showed how strong tribal loyaties were and how tribal ties made a huge difference in people's lives and their opportunities.
Since that trip I have asked myself thi question: How does a country that has resources and good people that are willing to work break out of the cycle of poverty.
I found the answer, as did Ms Arunga in DeSoyo"s book, THE MYSTERTY OF CAPITAL. However, I have seen Mr. DeSoto interviewed on CSPAN and although he his ideas are valid and some in the third world would like to implement them, the governments (dictatorships and kleptocracies) are unwilling to proceed to the concept of private property buttressed with ironclad legal enforcement of the title to that property. It is a concept we take for granted in this country, but it was won at the cost of much bloodshed and over hundreds of years.
Anyway, I wish Ms Arunga good luck and God speed in her efforts to bring the concept to Africa.