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| Obama Delivers Tough-Love Message to End Kenya Trip | |
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| NAIROBI, Kenya — President Obama challenged the land of his father on Sunday to break the cycle of corruption, strengthen its shaky democracy, overcome ethnic divisions and end discrimination against women and girls as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Kenya full of potent symbolism. | NAIROBI, Kenya — President Obama challenged the land of his father on Sunday to break the cycle of corruption, strengthen its shaky democracy, overcome ethnic divisions and end discrimination against women and girls as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Kenya full of potent symbolism. |
| Delivering a tough-love message, Mr. Obama hailed the economic and political advances of recent years and forecast a bright future for the country, but he said that further progress would require it to confront “the dark corners” of its past and tackle problems that have plagued it for generations. | Delivering a tough-love message, Mr. Obama hailed the economic and political advances of recent years and forecast a bright future for the country, but he said that further progress would require it to confront “the dark corners” of its past and tackle problems that have plagued it for generations. |
| “There’s much to be proud of, much progress to lift up. It’s a good news story,” Mr. Obama told about 4,500 mostly young Kenyans who packed the Safaricom Indoor Arena on the outskirts of Nairobi, the capital. “But we also know progress is not equal. There are still problems that challenge ordinary Kenyans every day.” | “There’s much to be proud of, much progress to lift up. It’s a good news story,” Mr. Obama told about 4,500 mostly young Kenyans who packed the Safaricom Indoor Arena on the outskirts of Nairobi, the capital. “But we also know progress is not equal. There are still problems that challenge ordinary Kenyans every day.” |
| “Today,” he added, “we can see that future for Kenya on the horizon, but some tough choices have to be made.” | “Today,” he added, “we can see that future for Kenya on the horizon, but some tough choices have to be made.” |
| Mr. Obama’s speech was meant to be the centerpiece of his trip, his first since taking office to the country where his father was born. Claiming him as one of their own, Kenyans exulted over his visit and obsessed over every detail of his stay, including the armored car shipped in to drive him around, the security that surrounded him around the clock and who got the longest hug when he landed at the airport. | Mr. Obama’s speech was meant to be the centerpiece of his trip, his first since taking office to the country where his father was born. Claiming him as one of their own, Kenyans exulted over his visit and obsessed over every detail of his stay, including the armored car shipped in to drive him around, the security that surrounded him around the clock and who got the longest hug when he landed at the airport. |
| Amid extraordinary security on Sunday, Mr. Obama saw the most sizable crowds since he arrived. When his helicopter touched down at Kenyatta University, thousands of students and others lined the streets, waving, cheering, taking photographs and in some cases wearing Obama-themed T-shirts. When his motorcade left the campus to head down a highway past a series of ramshackle slums to the arena, he went by thousands more people along the roads, in this case mostly standing silently and watching as if holding vigil. | Amid extraordinary security on Sunday, Mr. Obama saw the most sizable crowds since he arrived. When his helicopter touched down at Kenyatta University, thousands of students and others lined the streets, waving, cheering, taking photographs and in some cases wearing Obama-themed T-shirts. When his motorcade left the campus to head down a highway past a series of ramshackle slums to the arena, he went by thousands more people along the roads, in this case mostly standing silently and watching as if holding vigil. |
| At the arena, his first encounter with everyday Kenyans during his visit, the crowd chanted “Obama! Obama! Obama!” and the public address system played a song with the refrain “I’m coming home.” But when he went to shake hands after the speech, the crowd surged forward, pushing barriers several feet. “Don’t push, don’t push,” Mr. Obama implored, before he quickly left. | At the arena, his first encounter with everyday Kenyans during his visit, the crowd chanted “Obama! Obama! Obama!” and the public address system played a song with the refrain “I’m coming home.” But when he went to shake hands after the speech, the crowd surged forward, pushing barriers several feet. “Don’t push, don’t push,” Mr. Obama implored, before he quickly left. |
| He was introduced to the audience by his half sister, Auma Obama, who runs a foundation here and hosted him for his first visit to the country nearly three decades ago. Noting a common Kenyan saying, “Don’t get lost,” she said he was not lost now, “nor was he lost when he first came to Kenya. I’ll tell you that because he was with me. He fit right in.” | He was introduced to the audience by his half sister, Auma Obama, who runs a foundation here and hosted him for his first visit to the country nearly three decades ago. Noting a common Kenyan saying, “Don’t get lost,” she said he was not lost now, “nor was he lost when he first came to Kenya. I’ll tell you that because he was with me. He fit right in.” |
| She added that while “his first allegiance is to the American people, he also continues to be closely in touch to us and his Kenyan heritage.” | She added that while “his first allegiance is to the American people, he also continues to be closely in touch to us and his Kenyan heritage.” |
| Mr. Obama sought to use the public interest in him and his visit to prod his family’s ancestral homeland to make needed changes. Recounting moments recorded in his memoir of his youth, he used the stories of three generations of Obamas to tell the larger story of Kenya’s development. | Mr. Obama sought to use the public interest in him and his visit to prod his family’s ancestral homeland to make needed changes. Recounting moments recorded in his memoir of his youth, he used the stories of three generations of Obamas to tell the larger story of Kenya’s development. |
| His grandfather served as a cook for the British Army when Kenya was still a colony, his father went to America to try to get an education, and Mr. Obama himself was born just two years before Kenya’s independence. | His grandfather served as a cook for the British Army when Kenya was still a colony, his father went to America to try to get an education, and Mr. Obama himself was born just two years before Kenya’s independence. |
| “In many ways, their lives offered snapshots of Kenya’s history, but they also told us something about Kenya’s future,” the president said. “They show us the enormous barriers to progress so many Kenyans faced just one or two generations ago.” | “In many ways, their lives offered snapshots of Kenya’s history, but they also told us something about Kenya’s future,” the president said. “They show us the enormous barriers to progress so many Kenyans faced just one or two generations ago.” |
| Today, he added, “Kenya is at a crossroads, a moment filled with peril but also enormous progress.” Looking out at the young audience, he said, “You can seize the moment.” | Today, he added, “Kenya is at a crossroads, a moment filled with peril but also enormous progress.” Looking out at the young audience, he said, “You can seize the moment.” |
| He focused a lot on corruption, which infuses many aspects of daily life for Kenyans, and his call to wipe it out drew some of the loudest applause from the audience. He noted that the two-party political system in Kenya really got underway in the 1990s, when he was beginning his own political career in the United States, and that the country was rived with violence after disputed elections in 2007 even as he was running for president. | He focused a lot on corruption, which infuses many aspects of daily life for Kenyans, and his call to wipe it out drew some of the loudest applause from the audience. He noted that the two-party political system in Kenya really got underway in the 1990s, when he was beginning his own political career in the United States, and that the country was rived with violence after disputed elections in 2007 even as he was running for president. |
| Mr. Obama also made a point of urging a traditional, patriarchal society to empower women and girls, fight sexual assault and end the forced marriage of young girls. “Treating women and girls as second-class citizens, those are bad traditions,” he said. “They need to change.” | Mr. Obama also made a point of urging a traditional, patriarchal society to empower women and girls, fight sexual assault and end the forced marriage of young girls. “Treating women and girls as second-class citizens, those are bad traditions,” he said. “They need to change.” |
| He added that holding back more than half the population is like a sports team that does not let half of the players play. “That’s stupid. That makes no sense.” | He added that holding back more than half the population is like a sports team that does not let half of the players play. “That’s stupid. That makes no sense.” |
| Repeating a message he espoused during his first presidential trip to Africa, in 2009, he emphasized that “the future of Africa is up to Africans” and that they should not look “to the outside for salvation.” But he vowed that the United States would help Kenya along its path. “I’m here as a friend,” he said. “We want Kenya to succeed.” | Repeating a message he espoused during his first presidential trip to Africa, in 2009, he emphasized that “the future of Africa is up to Africans” and that they should not look “to the outside for salvation.” But he vowed that the United States would help Kenya along its path. “I’m here as a friend,” he said. “We want Kenya to succeed.” |