Youth Counter Culture

Intro/Background

Examining the Eastern coast of Kenya through the perspective of an African Youth raised in America it is of no surprise that I related and had a certain affinity towards those on the coast in my age group. Looking at these youths and seeing a reflection of myself fostered a desire to critically analysis their experiences and the counter culture that they were able to create which circumvents the constraints of a conservative Muslim culture.

Globalization is a great factor in the manifestation of this youth culture, which is not necessarily a negative thing. Globalization is not innately evil or bad. It is the homogenous domination of one culture over other cultures that is not palatable.  If the dissemination of information, technology and knowledge is done in an egalitarian and mutually respectful way then societies and cultures learn from each other and share ideas that will empower the masses and help the progression of the human race. We should not race to lose/sacrifice our culture in the hopes of attaining the dominant races culture because of the “white privilege” that might come with it; we should pace and look at aspects of the “dominate culture” that we can incorporate in to our own culture. 

Methodology/Field Work/Discoveries

To examine/assess the situation and the issue I had to not make the mistake that many scholars do which is going into the environment wanting to look at something specific instead of immersing yourself in the culture and eventually noticing the reoccurring trials and themes.

Though I am African and share a come history with these youths did not mean that the reason I was able to be accepted in this group is tied to the color of my skin though of course it didn’t hurt. The best way to move away from the out group of “wazungu” and into the in group of Mombasa youth was to interact and allow yourself to be known. So through joining in on open soccer games at Fort Jesus everyday, talking to those that we can relate to and exchanging numbers and hanging out during the night scenes they stopped telling me that their name was for example “Cappuccino” and showed their true face and called themselves by their given names like, Abdullah.  Tourist never get to this because they seem to only want to know the surface information and the basic/ easy way to communicate to them which the youths are okay with only because of the monetary benefits that follow. To further speak on that; One evening after playing soccer and walking back to the homestay I ran into a local youth who just so happen to speak French. We had a 15-minute conversation in which I asked him why he is a guide and how he feels about the tourist. He said that he liked them because as a hustler who dropped out of secondary school to try to take care of his siblings they give him the business he needs to survive. I asked him if there was ever a time when the tourist doesn’t pay ?  This question triggered a story about a British man that agreed to paying 500 shillings ($7) an hour for a historical tour and after three hours when the youth should have been paid 1500 the British guy gave him only 500 shillings.  At this point I found out how he really felt about tourist. He said that he refused to take what the British guy gave him and I quote he said, “fucking English they do this a lot. They want me to beg but I won’t I’m working out here and if he doesn’t want to pay me then to hell with him.” This told me that just like blacks who work anywhere in service to the status quo their contentment is tied to the money that they can gain but their happiness is mostly theatrical and scripted. On a different day after leaving soccer I saw some of these same youths around smoking and I asked why do they smoke even though I suspected it to be a coping mechanisms to help feel better and revert back to who they are outside of the characters they play all day. He said that “it’s good it takes your mind off things and let you just enjoy “.

In Lamu I witnessed the same things. A scripted "play" being recreated whenever they think tourist are coming. Beach boy culture is the epitome of this. They too had names that were easy. I met a guy named Happy, Dolphin and Akon. I saw the same usage of drugs amongst youth in Lamu. One day the captain of our ship and the crew were smoking weed while we were heading to Shela.

In Zanzibar there was the same culture because tourism is also big there. Pemba on the other hand though had similar issues it was not due to tourism since tourism isn’t big there. Which further tells us that tourism isn’t the problem but that poverty and lack of economic gain is. In Pemba we saw youth doing their own form of hustling; after the rain children collected sand to sell, drugs was still being done, and there was even a festival where on a majority Muslim island alcohol was being served and consumed. Drug use was not witnessed in Pemba though we did go to the rehabilitation centers. Interesting enough, even though there were nicknames in Pemba every youth I met told me their given name when asked and then in time I hear their nickname from other youths. These names were not objects or random things and was usually a version of their name or their character or appearance.

Critical Analysis

The source of most of these youth issues/problems, which lands them outside of school and as tour guides or some way in the service to foreigners is money and being economically unsecure. I did an empirical study of these youths and these are the points that I would like to bring up regarding the tour guide culture of the youths in Mombasa.  These youth sacrifice a lot of their time to learn German, French, Italian, and other European languages so that they may be able to show these Europeans around who didn’t care to learn much about the culture or the language leaving the burden of communication on these determined youths in search of monetary gain. The stress of wearing a “mask” everyday and trying to find a place in this ever so expanding globalized world coupled with the lack of mobility due to finances leads some of these youths to drugs.  These youths hold views of the States and Europe as if the streets are paved with gold and that there are no problems in America if you work hard; not understanding the systems set in place those countries are the same systems that the African governments are trying to synthesize. 

Mr Lamu 1989. This guy though he doesn't look like it is over forty years old. When he was twenty he won the Mr Lamu Award and therefore goes my that name. He too is part of this youth culture and would be considered a beach boy though I've met his wife.

Nanini means "and what" in Kiswahili. I know the youth that wrote this on the walls off Mombasa Old Town. These two words get to the point about the issues the youths are facing. They feel like the rejected/ neglected ones which is why their counter culture was created. They see no place for them in the scheme of the Africa that exists now because they aren't sons of chief and because they are marginalized they transform that space into a place they call home.

Youth knowledge of the world here is fascinating. Most know more about america and it's policies than Americans. Aljazeera, Citizen TV, CNN and WWE (yes wrestling) are the most watched amongst the whole population.