Is Tolerance Enough?

“What do you do when someone steals your dream?” This was question posed by one Moses from Soweto West during the Action Inter-Ethnic Youth Dialogue and Peaceful Reconciliation Project held at Mashimoni Environmental Centre. To most Kenyans who supported the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy in the just concluded elections, the feeling is that their dreams were stolen. Another participant in the same forum added: “It is easy to see people resorting to violence because there is a gap that cannot be filled by anyone. True reconciliation only starts by solving the main problem.  There can never be peace if the bitter seed that was planted still exists”

It is now evident that the Kenyan election period passed but there are people who still hold grudges while others feel hurt, robbed and victimized. If you consider the way people express themselves on social media insulting and degrading each other, the truth is that we are yet to accept in full the outcome of the elections. People have even gone to the extent of not buying goods from shops of business owners belonging to specific tribes. Whereas it is normal to have feelings when one has lost or won, how one expresses these feelings is very important.

For starters, a dream that is broken can be likened to a river that meets an obstacle on its course. In the circumstances, the river never stops but circumvents the obstacle. This takes time, resilience and tact. For the people thinking their dream was stolen, it doesn't mean the end of life. Progress, in many a case, may only be delayed but not stopped. One may be angry at the person who has broken their dream and when that person is not there, this anger is likely to be taken out on another person. It is therefore important to be careful not to eliminate the person who has in no way been involved. One should maneuver the obstacles and find new opportunities along the way.

The end result is that in life you have to tolerate others. Give people a chance to air their opinion. It is a fact 

hat Kenya cannot move on without the people appointed in power, however, everyone should ensure that peace prevails. People should not shy off from saying which candidates they voted for. That does not mean that we all have to agree with each other’s choices but we should respect each other’s choice and opinion. This is summed up very aptly by one participant who added: “I think we should stop pointing our fingers on everybody else apart from ourselves. We can change right from the daily relations we have with people. For example, when we were asked to mingle here, this lady told me that I should not seat next to her if I support Uhuru. Though she said it jokingly it shows the extent to which tribalism has taken root in our lives.” That is the work on the hands of all residents in Kibera.

Story by: Ramogi Osewe

This project is sponsored by The European Union