Bring Kenyans stranded in Lebanon back home

Smoke billows from a site targeted by the Israeli military in the southern Lebanese border village of Kafr Kila on July 29, 2024. [AFP]

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi says the government has set aside Sh100 million for the evacuation of Kenyans stranded in Lebanon. The government had earlier urged Kenyans in Lebanon to register in an exercise that sought to determine their numbers and locations in Lebanon so that they could be reached for help. Mudavadi told a Senate Committee on Wednesday that there are 26,000 Kenyans stranded in Lebanon. That's welcome. It's what responsible governments do.

In the last few weeks, Israel has been bombing Beirut, Lebanon relentlessly in its determination to flash out Hezbollah militants and destroy their hideouts. The Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza have been a thorn in the flesh of Israel that has vowed not to rest until the militant groups are annihilated. 

The attendant destruction has been massive and many, including Kenyans and foreigners caught in the fighting, have been left stranded without food, shelter and other essentials for survival.

There seems to be no end in sight to the escalation in hostilities in the Middle East after Iran attacked Israel recently, which is why government efforts to rescue Kenyans threatened by the fighting in Lebanon are welcome.

Kenyans and other Africans caught in the war in Lebanon complain of abandonment and racial segregation in the scramble to find refuge in available bomb shelters. Racism has openly played out as some Africans and other migrant workers are locked out of bomb shelters and left exposed on the streets and in destroyed buildings and homes where they used to work. 

Such blatant acts of racism also played out when Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022 and people tried to leave in haste. Many Ukrainians escaped to neighbouring countries but African who attempted to leave Ukraine were denied access to the only available transport means.

It doesn't make sense that people, who until recently offered friendly services, took care of homes, the elderly and children while working as house helps can be abandoned to perish as war rages all around them. Racism has no place in modern society. Everybody caught in the war deserves equal and fair treatment. There are no special human beings.