Book recommendations: Wangari Maathai (2006) "Unbowed" and Michela Wrong (2009) "Our Turn to Eat".

In 2004, Wangari Maathai (1940 – 2011) from Kenia was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her dedication to social and environmental improvement. Her autobiography Unbowed, which was first published in 2006, is a gripping read. As you watch her grow up in a Kikuyu village helping her mother cultivate the earth and listening to her aunt´s stories and later being educated at a convent school, you are also given an insight into the structure and development of Kenyan society from the late colonial era to the parliamentary elections in 2002. It turns out that the systemic social injustice planted by the British and passed on to the first independent Kenyan government has never been rectified so far and proves to be the foundation of ethnic conflicts which erupt time and again such as after the presidential elections in 2007 and 2017. 

After studying at university in the USA and returning to Kenya with a PhD in biology, she soon made the disquieting observation that malnutrition and poverty were on the increase in rural areas and drew the conclusion that soil erosion and desertification lay at the root of this. So she set out to plant indigenous trees which hold the soil in place and protect its store of humidity and nutrients. Moreover, she encouraged women in the villages to cooperate and taught them to look after the tree nurseries until they were able to continue the project on their own on a local level. 

Thus the ‘Green Belt Movement’ came into being which helped to improve living conditions and at the same time to empower women in rural Kenya. The organization has been supported by a lot of Kenyans since then – several 100000 women and men planted several millions of trees (p. 175)

Though Wangari Maathai had a university education she always remained close to her family, which made a living from agriculture, and never lost touch with the land. So it was from her own experience that she came to the conclusion that a rural community could only thrive with sustainable development. Instead of exploiting the land with cash crops, she demanded that the quality of the land ought to determine the choice of crop and the methods of cultivation (p. 123). With her commitment to improving the lives of ordinary Kenyans she gained so much respect and trust that she was accepted as a mediator between ethnic groups during the violent conflict after the elections of 1992 (p. 235-249).

Far from being publicly acclaimed for her achievements, Wangari Maathai incurred the displeasure of the government under President Daniel arap Moi. The authorities attempted in vain to obstruct her work and in particular to crush her campaigns against landgrabbing by humiliating and harassing and even from time to time imprisoning her.  Unbowed, the title of her autobiography, rightly characterizes her as an admirably strong woman with a great organizational talent, who was incredibly perseverant and time and again put her freedom and her life on the line for her cause.

Before the parliamentary and presidential elections of 2002 Maathai had great hopes for a change of government and was herself elected a member of parliament for her constituency. In the new government she became Assistant Minister in the Ministry for Environment in 2003. After a hopeful beginning, however, the new government became entangled in a corruption scandal in whose wake the envisioned reforms came to a halt. 

It would be interesting to learn about Maathai`s role in the government at that time and about the further development of the Green Belt Movement until today, but the biography doesn´t go beyond 2002.

By the way, Wangari Maathai founded the Mazingira Green Party of Kenya in 2003.

The short film under  http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/wangari-maathai/taking-root-documentary
gives a vivid impression of Wangari Maathai´s dedication.




















Tree Nursery of the Green Belt Movement in Nairobi.
 Photo: Johanna Wiest, February 2018

  



Michela Wrong (2009) Our Turn to Eat.






Our Turn to Eat by Michela Wrong published by Harper in 2009 deals with the period in Kenyan history subsequent to Wangari Maathai´s account. It is an absorbing, eye-opening read. Like Unbowed the book gives an insight into Kenyan society, but it focuses on the developments which ultimately led to the carnage after the elections of 2007. The author considers this national catastrophe as a telling example of the dire consequences that inevitably ensue if leading politicians disregard the law and collude with big business at the expense of ordinary people. As long as the leaders of the nation just look after themselves and their families against the backdrop of tribalism social justice in the sense of equal opportunity and upward social mobility according to one´s achievements will remain a utopia, and the peaceful coexistence as citizens of one nation will always be at risk.
In this context it is particularly distressing to learn about the role of western donor nations which have basically funded the ruling class and encouraged their practices by turning a blind eye. ‘keeping quiet undermined those tempting to reshape their own societies, the very individuals donors claimed to want to encourage’ p. 212