Kenya’s planned port threatens Swahili culture
In East Africa, a multi-billion-dollar supertanker port is being planned for Lamu on the coast of Kenya. The massive project would give a boost to the isolated area and forge economic links between countries in the region. The plan includes proposed oil pipelines, motorways and railroads, linking Lamu with Southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda. But the big changes also threaten one of the last strongholds of traditional Swahili culture – a mixture of Arab and African cultures dating back from trade between Africa and the Middle East in the 9th Century. From Lamu, Kenya, Matthew Brunwasser reports.
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(flickr image: mysterybee)
