ArtCaffe is not the problem;neither are the croissants!
So today for the very first
time I get to learn about a certain ArtCaffe that is being accused of racism
and selective discrimination in Nairobi.
Apparently, ArtCaffe became operational
in 2009, and it has since extended to four main branches; Westlands, Gigiri,
Junction and Karen. You see, the reason I may be hearing about it for the first
time today is because those are not my ‘normal visit/frequented’ places! Perhaps
if it was about Paul’s Cookie Man’s Bakery on Tom Mboya Street or the pastry
shop at the Nairobi Naivasha stage, I’d be well conversant!
For the few times I have been
to the Village Market, I do not remember taking any drink or snack there.
Not that I do not love pastry;
I always have to resist myself from taking a croissant from one of ‘the
state-of-art’ bakeries here in Paris. A simple butter croissant goes for a cool
1 or 2 euros! Now imagine if I took two daily!
But what amazes me is that, I haven’t at any
given time been refused the pleasure of buying one, or being limited to quantity,
because of my skin color here in France. It therefore amazes me to hear that a
client has been detained for buying one too many a croissant, reason being that
he is BLACK!!!!
I am thinking that the worst
form of discrimination would be one received in one’s country, and to make
matters worse, from a fellow compatriot with the same skin color! I have been
trying to look out everywhere what kind of discrimination that is called, but I
still haven’t found. If you know the name, kindly inform me.My learned friend
Emma tells me it is more of inferiority complex.
I have seen numerous, persistent complaints about ‘black’
people in Nairobi being harassed, completely ignored or denied entry or access
to ‘RESERVED’ tables awash on the
internet;TripAdvisor,ArtCaffe’s Facebook page, Twitter etc. and some date over two years. Why there has been
no remarkable change after such serious complaints is worrying.
I do not know the origin of
the bakery, but going by the name, it must be of European origin, maybe Italian
or Spanish, or Mexican. I also do not know who their management team is;
whether black/Kenyans or white. I do not know which work ethics they employ in
their business. Perhaps they need to be investigated to establish where this
passive/aggressive behavior being portrayed by their employees is coming from.
May be the employees are just giving back to the community what they get from
their employers. But I will not try to interfere with Atwoli’s work lest he
sends me his goons! I am a coward and I lack the courage of one hero, Boniface
Mwangi!
But I will try to explore a
few issues about our Society that came up while I was reading the ArtCaffe
story;
Lack of Civility
Our
society is lacking in civility; it is not only in the hospitality industry.
Respect has decayed and all our manners are gone. We do not treat each other
with respect and kindness. Our speeches and behavior lack basic formal
politeness and courtesy. We resort to name calling in case of disagreement, quarrel,
snipe and love to gossip. All these are forms of incivility. Every day, I see
people on social media talk disrespectfully about their house helps, watchmen, gardeners,
security guards etc. Does it occur to you that every human being deserves respect?
Why would it hurt when you get mistreated or why should the whole world react
while you advocate for the same in your own home or workplace? You see, Martin
Luther once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We need to break this vicious cycle, perhaps
by adopting the mantra, ‘Do unto others as you would wish to have done to you’.
We need to make sacrifices to be able to live together or we ‘perish together
as fools’. Having good manners is determined by one’s morals, and the treatment
of others reflects our morality. Let us learn to regard each other’s as equals
before law and God.
‘Mzungu is a rich man mentality’
You see,
this problem is not only at ArtCaffe but almost everywhere in Kenya. How many
times have you seen a white person being allowed to bypass security checks
while the rest of us have to go through it? What makes the security personnel
think that a white person should be treated as first class citizens? How many
times have waiters/other staff handed the bill to a white man who is being accompanied
by a black date? Do they think that a white man always has money and is loaded
and that any lady accompanying a white man is just some broke, lazy, gold digger?
Gender and racial difference; We need to discuss these issues openly, through
media or awareness campaigns to avoid such unwarranted embarrassments in our
own country.
Widening gap between the rich and the poor
You will
agree with me, most of those who have been to ArtCaffe are not your ‘average
‘Kenyans. They are not Mathare or Kibra residents neither; these are some stylish,
classic middle class people who are looking for a place to relax comfortably,
getting quality service at a price (or let me just say, where they get value for their money).Hospitality
industries are so demanding in terms of working hours, and most of the time the
employees maybe under stress to deliver. In this case, a few errors may be understandable,
but when it becomes the norm you ask yourself what could be wrong. With the
growing middle class in Kenya today who can afford lifestyles which were
primarily for white people, those working in such places may treat the clients
in a bad way since they could be receiving lesser pay and benefits .I am not
saying that there should be same salary for all work, but is possible those
employees live harder lives and lack in higher education than the middle class.
This doesn’t excuse uncivil behavior, but it depicts the pressure those working
in such industries would be facing and hence their actions.
It is sad that society is
become more and more incivil, and technology is
Even as we get to seek to
bring down ArtCaffe for their behavior, let us look deeper into our society and
try to seek to solve the problems using a medical approach.
It is not about rudeness or croissants at ArtCaffe.
Something is seriously wrong with our SOCIETY.
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