아프리카ㆍ중동

An African city is a space where people from different ethnic backgrounds live together. On the one hand those people who come from rural areas to cities acquire a new identity as city dwellers, but they retain the close relationship with their home areas on the other. Thus, African city dwellers generally have dual-identity, while they are living in the city. Nairobi, the capital of Kenya was built at the beginning of the British colonial period. Since then, people from various parts of the country have flocked to the city, seeking job and education opportunities. After the independence when the residential segregation imposed by the colonial administration was lifted, Nairobi has experienced explosive population increase as the migration from rural areas to the city has become quite common. New comers often settle in the eastern part of the city or slum areas. Most of the people who live in Eastlands and slum areas are economically marginalized. Sometimes their grievance against the Kenyan society is expressed in incidents of ethnic feud. For example, the post election violence in 2007 was partly caused by the ethnic feud over imbalanced distribution of national resources. The objective of this study is to look into the ethnic feud observed in Nairobi city dwellers’ oral testimonies. The field research for this study was conducted twice in Eastlands and Kibera areas from July 1, 2011 to January 29, 2012. Over 40 residents (or ex-residents) of Nairobi were interviewed during the field research. The data collected were analyzed to illuminate the ethnic feud in their experiences and memories about the recent history of Nairobi. It is evident that a series of incidents caused by ethnic collectivism and conflicts in Kenya vividly remain in Nairobi city dwellers’ memories. Economically marginalized people in Nairobi tend to relate the cause of their suffering to the ethnic ruling elites’ mismanagement of the government. This study reveals that the disillusionment with the ethnic ruling elites and the political mobilization along the ethnic line have brought about the animosity against certain ethnic groups among the city dwellers.