'It's like a dog set loose on us' - fear over Kenya's crackdown on foreign traders

Image source, BBC/Brian KhisaImage caption, Burundian tuk-tuk driver Ndaikech Ali says Kenya, which has been so welcoming to him for years, now feels hostile.

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Os amantes do chai do Quênia não estão felizes enquanto as vacas do país ficam sem água. Publicado em 4 de setembro.

Para Ndaikech Ali, que tem percorrido as ruas da capital do Quênia, ganhando a vida como motorista de tuk-tuk nos últimos nove anos, o tráfego de Nairobi - não a xenofobia - tem sido sua maior preocupação.

During his time in the East African nation, the Burundian says he has always found Kenyans to be friendly and welcoming - that is until last week, when the president ordered a crackdown on foreigners working as traders or operating small-scale businesses.

Now they have turned against us," he told the BBC at the Burundian embassy in Nairobi where many have been queuing this week for documents to allow them to travel back home.

The threats are many… even from children," he said, adding: "It's a like a dog has been set loose upon us. We have been bitten.

President William Ruto fez suas declarações na semana passada ao se dirigir a comerciantes quenianos reunidos na Casa do Estado - em referência à legislação perante o parlamento que busca excluir cidadãos estrangeiros do comércio de pequeno porte e obrigar a origem local de certos materiais.

During his speech, he said that all foreign nationals operating small businesses had until 7 September to pack up shop, saying such low-level jobs should be reserved for Kenyans.

Ali, like others, panicked, saying it seemed the president's announcement had been interpreted by some Kenyans as a signal that foreign nationals were no longer welcome in the country.

We face harassment and can't work," he says. "If our work is stopped, we lose the income that enables us to pay rent and buy food. When those jobs are taken away, the only option left is to return home.

Now he's gone, who will help me pay school fees"Kenyan Grace Wamaitha, whose Burundian husband has leftOther Burundians and some other foreign nationals have rushed to border crossing points to leave the country, with reports suggesting that a number have ended up stranded there.

Alguns casais temem que serão forçados a se separar - e algumas famílias já foram divididas.

Eu estou aqui desde 2019," disse um homem burundês, que se identificou apenas como Prosper e tem um filho com uma mulher queniana.

When I heard the announcement, it was very painful because when I go, I'm forced to leave my family... and I love my family," he told the BBC.

In Nairobi's low-income neighbourhood of Majengo, Kenyan Grace Wamaitha said her Burundian husband had already gone - leaving the day after the president's 3 September directive.

She is distraught as she has been left trying to feed their five children - and has taken on extra work washing clothes.

Agora ele se foi, quem vai me ajudar a pagar as mensalidades? Eu não sei o que fazer. Deixe-os voltar," ela disse à BBC.

In Nairobi and other major towns, migrants from the region can be found working in barber shops and salons, construction, operating motorbike taxis and street vending, as well as selling clothes, food and household goods.

Some have fled conflicts or economic hardship at home, while others have moved to Kenya in search of better opportunities. Within the East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc made up of eight countries, including Burundi and Kenya, the relative free movement of people is allowed - but employment and long-term residence do require permits.

A lei keniana também reconhece o direito dos refugiados de trabalhar e operar negócios, embora também seja necessário que eles obtenham a documentação apropriada.

Filmon Eyob, a co-ordinator within Nairobi's Eritrean community, agrees with concerns that the crackdown order will be used as pretext to harass foreigners.

Ele disse à BBC que, enquanto muitos quenianos foram solidários e acolhedores, alguns eritreanos e etíopes fecharam seus negócios e ficaram em casa na última semana como precaução.

The president's remarks also sparked a diplomatic row, with the Burundian foreign affairs minister warning that "hate speech against Burundi" could have repercussions for Kenyans abroad.

The authorities in Kenya have struggled to contain the fallout - and as the matter came to a head, Kenyan foreign affairs official Korir Sing'Oei visited and apologised to Burundians at the embassy this week, assuring them of protection from violence.

Critics argue that Ruto's remarks were a populist move that risked stoking xenophobia, although the government has denied this.

Desde então, uma série de declarações oficiais tem buscado esclarecer a diretiva.

O governo agora concedeu um prazo de 90 dias para nacionais estrangeiros sem documentação que administram pequenos negócios se registrarem e cumprirem as leis locais.

Durante o processo, os que estiverem em processo de registro serão presumidos como vivendo legalmente no Quênia.

Image source, EPA/ShutterstockImage caption, Burundian national flocked to their embassy in Nairobi following the announcement.

Yet observers and those affected argue that it did not have to be this way.

Academic Hesbon Owilla told the BBC the president's comments were bound to be misinterpreted, especially by people who did not have the right documentation.

Ele diz que, embora a política proposta seja boa para o Quênia e esteja em linha com os protocolos globais de migração, a comunicação sobre ela deveria ter sido mais diplomática.

Para quem não estava no público, Owilla diz que as pessoas interpretaram as palavras do presidente como: “Estamos expulsando esses caras”.

The president did not stop at small-scale traders. A day later, he ordered India's Tata Chemicals to leave the country, saying the company had not provided sufficient benefits to the local Maasai community in Kajiado county.

Tata has been mining soda ash for years in Lake Magadi, a vast area often covered by a whitish salt crust. The lake's extreme briny environment sustains algae blooms that attract flamboyances of pink flamingos that thrive in the area.

Mining operations began at the lake in 1911 under a British colonial arrangement that is said to have remained largely intact, despite long-running land and resource disputes pitting the company and its predecessors against community and the government.

Economista Odhiambo Ramogi afirma que a medida de restringir estrangeiros nas empresas é demasiadamente ampla — e poderia ser aprimorada.

He points out that Kenya hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees as well as other migrants, mostly from the EAC region, as well as other international investors.

Ramogi diz que a intenção de Ruto parecia ir além de "apenas proteger empregos para os quenianos.

The president's remarks have prompted a wave of support for foreign nationals, including by civil society groups and ordinary Kenyans who have criticised his approach.

Em meio à crítica, Ruto, que concorre à reeleição no próximo ano, tem buscado conter a reação negativa.

Kenya will remain an open, secure and welcoming country, protecting opportunities for its citizens, safeguarding the rights of all persons lawfully within its borders," a statement by his spokesman said.

Kenya's commitment to the East African Community of the African continent remains firm.

Ramogi afirma que, no fim, é o Quênia quem tem a perder quando cidadãos de países vizinhos são alvo.

It absolutely makes no sense what the president has done.

For Nairobi resident Lima Kabura, whose husband is Tanzanian, the president's remarks were just too hasty. She says he should have first established those who were in the country illegally.

When they are forced out, I'm left with no work, no business and no husband," she said.

Cobertura adicional por Ahmed Bahajj.

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