Have you ever met White Kenyans?

[lapearle]

Of course I know some history of colonialism, aberdare hills etc. My great uncle had a farm in Kenya until the 60s, when I thought all of the Brits left due to the loss of their privileges.

But
I was recently on holiday, and I met a very strange couple. They were both white, and Kenyans. They got really angry when someone suggested that they were British, because the one went to school in the UK and they both still had UK passports. They proudly told us that they were 6th generation Kenyans, which of course is fair enough. But they were just really odd about the whole thing. Maybe they got a lot of stick for it, but they were obviously very privileged and they were farmers, that I assume goes back to colonial times.
They genuinely still had the mannerisms from about 1950, and the woman was extremely sub-servient to the man. It was clear they really disliked being seen as Brits in Kenya, but in every single way they acted like that, just from 70 years ago. Interestingly the woman told me that were 250,000 Kenyans of European descent, but according to google there are no where near that.

Yes I think. Well the lady is Kenyan at least. Not sure if the man just moved there at dome point. A couple that are friends with my parents (her family are from the UK originally and his are Italian). They are perfectly nice and normal.

I think her parents had been farmers in Kenya but they moved back to the UK when they were all adults.
They (my parents friends) settled in Italy when they had DC and have a farm there instead.

I grew up in Kenya and knew lots of white Kenyans. My dad is Kenyan - 3rd generation; not white or African, but Indian. Again, result of colonialism, but he too gets irritated when people won’t accept he’s Kenyan.

Agree about the weird 1950s mentality amongst a particular crowd - when I was growing up there in the 80s it was v old fashioned in some respects.

Agree about the weird 1950s mentality amongst a particular crowd - when I was growing up there in the 80s it was v old fashioned in some respects.

I think this is often characteristic of many long term immigrant populations. They retain and pass down a snapshot of the culture they leave and dont realise that that culture has moved on.

My friend is of Hong Kong descent but multi- generational Canadian. When he moved back to hk as an adult everyone pissed themselves at his Cantonese because he was still saying ‘groovy’ etc.

And actually I’ve only been in hk a decade but when I go home to uk I realise that things are really different in terms of social attitudes etc.

My MiL was born in Kenya, but to British parents.

She is a casual racist in her use of language. I do correct her.

I can see their point. It would be like people not accepting a black person could be British.

They genuinely still had the mannerisms from about 1950, and the woman was extremely sub-servient to the man. It was clear they really disliked being seen as Brits in Kenya, but in every single way they acted like that, just from 70 years ago.

My family in Zimbabwe are like this, it drives me potty, "We are not subservient, just showing respect for our man". Bollocks! I couldn't help laughing when my uncle died and my aunt found out that he had left the entire estate to the children and left her nothing, respect doesn't seem to work both ways .