HUMAN INHUMANE

An Oxymoron is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (such as cruel kindness, bitter sweet, deafening silence, happily married among many more). The 21st Century, from my perception, is the definition of an oxymoron. This is the most advanced century that man has ever lived in but unfortunately, it is also the same time that man not lived. At all!. There is so little human interaction, so much cruelty, moral depletion, so much pain as compared to the previous times.

Technological advancements have played a major role in trying to make man's life better, comfortable, (if not bearable,) and create more time for interaction with other people and nature. There are so many inventions and innovations today; from telecommunications, medicine, agriculture, transport, that are popping up daily that it is inhumanly possible to track every single one of them. Despite having all the tech bits that aid human interaction, man has departed so much from being human to being inhuman. Why is this so? can we blame it on technology or is it just us who are inhumane?

We're so obsessed with social media that we forget to interact with whoever is sitting next to us. The only interaction will be to ask, "Is there free Wi- Fi?"

"We only meet during funerals and weddings" a Nairobi cousin says to the other

"Ikr..", the other nods her head eyes glued to the phone.
                       

 Faster means of transport automatically means that we'd travel home, shaggz, to be with our parents, grand parents and relatives. Right? No. on the contrary, it takes a funeral to  literally "remove" people from the city to go to shaggs.

"Heh siku hizi umenitupa sana!" is a common methali for the urbanites. Its a no- brainer that mobile phones are there to ease communication. Is it that mobile tariffs are too high to call each other, friends, family. or is it that we are too busy being inhuman and minding our own business?

I was fortunate enough to live in "plot 10"  in Umoja II. Yes, this was not the most palatial place to live in but I am grateful I lived there. Back in the day, there was so much unity that you could mistake this plot for a hacienda. As kids, we ate from every "door", a house was identified with the door number. We played with every child our age and our parents interacted at their own levels. Of Course there were some small squabbles, but which family doesn't have? I look at the situation nowadays and the picture is grotesque. We don't know each other anymore.

It's so unfortunate that people do not interact as the used to back in the day.  I will not blame it on technology, I will squarely blame it on us, our development, our empowerment, our independence. Our degrees, our jobs, our cars have made us think that we are invincible. We trample over anyone who is on our way to supremercy, we kill those who oppose us. We do not need the next person, whether family or not.

Its so unfortunate that we only come together during funerals (nowadays we just MPesa and we think that we've really helped). My neighbor will only talk  to me when they need a jug of water because Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company decided to play peekaboo with  water. We only talk in the mat when we are asking for charger ya pin ndogo. We only realize that "We are One" during national calamities yet we ignore a lady in the street being mugged. We have become so passive that we are literally walking dead!

Lets try and go back to being human. Say hi to the person javing next to you, gotea huyo watchie/ caretaker, thank that boda guy who dropped you to your doorstep, go to shaggs and bond with your relatives (msije mkaoana mjini), call your mom, dad and that classmate. You just never know what might happen next.