Local Kenyans Cheer Obama’s Victory
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
It is not just in Kenya where people are throwing parties for the U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. In Korea, home to a few dozen Kenyan nationals, Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election gave cause for celebration.
The exact number of Kenyans living in Korea is difficult to estimate, but on Wednesday, the first evening after Obama's victory, several Kenyan citizens gathered in Itaewon for a celebration party.
Eliza Nyaga Munyi, 28, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Development Strategy, who works as a public awareness secretary for the Kenyan Association in Korea, said Obama had actualized the ``audacity of hope'' that he once wrote about.
``It's taken a black man from Africa to change the politics in the United States. He gave hopes to millions of people. Now, many mothers and fathers would see their children can dream of being anything in their country as he did,'' Munyi said.
Additionally, the President-elect's Kenyan connection and being the first African-American leader of a country where minority rights were hard-fought for is a source of pride for many.
Obama's father was born in Kenya, and part of his extended family still lives there. Once during the presidential race, he visited the country.
Munyi said the celebration in Korea was nothing compared to what was happening in Kenya. ``Everyone is crazy.''
In fact, many stories sprang up from Kenya of millions of people gathering to listen to Obama's victory speech and to have parties with slaughtered pigs and goats. Local media interviewed Obama's paternal grandmother, who had a picture of him in her living room.
To Eupharacia Ndinda Musyoki, 25, a senior at Kangwon University majoring in advanced material engineering, Obama's victory meant a possible leadership change in Kenya.
A celebrity in Korea appearing on a TV show, Musyoki said, ``Kenyan leadership is the main problem. And I expect him to help Kenyans in the leadership process.''
She won the Commendation Award at the fourth English Economic Essay Contest, organized by The Korea Times this year.
Munyi expected Obama to get African-U.S. trade off the ground and to assist the continent in stimulating the regional economy, putting an end to flows of financial aid that only made Africa more dependent on developed countries.
It will remain to be seen how Obama's African connection will play into his diplomacy toward Africa.