Stop judging by skin colour

As by the title am talking about judgement that many people go through but i am going to talk about my own experience. Most of my friends and even relatives can be witness that they had a different judgement about me or got confused of where was my originality as i look more different thanks to my colour and appearance.

I have never denied that i am from a mixed background an African Mother and a visiting dad (i mean a non Kenyan dad who is from the Far East) only that i was born, raised and living in Kenya. My English is strangled by my mother-tongue giving me an accent way different from my appearance as i look more Asian than the Kenyan behind the Asian face.

I was born in the Kenyan coast, later got to be raised in the depth of Nyandarua very lucky to have been brought up at the foot of a big mountain: The Nyandarua ranges famously known as Aberdares at a Village where electricity was a story we were told of, the only car we saw was a milk tractor that we saw every morning collecting milk throughout the year.

My grandmother was so lucky that she was always the compass for our village as directions would be given to all people who got lost as point of reference to get their bearings, it would always go like this “umepotea, lakini rudi nyuma ukifika pale kwa daraja ulizia ule cucu wa muchina halafu fuata hio njia ingine” ( you just got lost, however just go back to the bridge then ask for the homestead of the grandmother of a Chinese then follow the other road you left there)

Anyway, fast ahead to the future of the village Chinese boy who is now a grown but young man. Nowadays i am in the city though every month i go back to the village that raised me as it is said “.. East or West home is the best”. There are challenges that i still face thanks to my appearance which i believe many who are like me face in this city.

I have met a good number of people who are like me. Judged by the facial appearance or skin colour, one even once told me that as he boarded a matatu somewhere people begun to backbite him ” yani hata hawa wahindi hupanda gari?” (You mean even these asians board public vehicles?) This was all thanks to his Indian appearance yet he was born and raised here in Kenya making him a Kenyan and understands Kiswahili to other local languages.

I have also been harassed by authorities from policemen to even been asked for work permit by others. There is a day i almost got arrested because i never had my passport (they judged me to be a tourist or a foreign worker and needed to be with my passport or work permit) when i produced my national Identification card it was said to be forged!!! There is so much i have gone through thanks to the misjudgement by my appearance.

However, to some extent i have always had advantage from my looks. When i go to some places, i get served way better than my friends or others. The other day, together with my friends got to be given a chance to be served faster and better as they thought i was a tourist visiting the place.

But why am i writing about this if i also have advantages coming with my looks? The reason is because when we get people or facilities serving or offering things by skin or appearance it will lead to bias life may be even hatred among people. I hope we can all live, respect and never judge each other by tribe, originality or anything that creates a difference between people .

Lets live in harmony rather than division, lets see each other as friends than seeing each other by skin colour, tribe or originality. Thats why i love camping compared to anything else because in camping we call everyone in the campsite by a general name “Campers” we share a bonfire, we share stories of travel experience, we share meals at times.

As i conclude, lets develop a culture or respect for each other, live a life of no judgement by skin, originality or anything that may create hatred or discrimination above all lets travel more as we get to grow the culture of respect for everyone. My good grandmother always encourages me to travel more by her words that says, “atendete guthiî augaga nyina nowe ûwi kûruga” (he who doesn’t travel always says his mother is the best chef)

Travel more and share with friends

#ChinkuTravels #HiddenKenyansGems