Where even is Kenya? - this was the question posed by the majority of Jewish refugees before
being cast into the East African British colony 1933 onwards. While often the last hope it
was seldom their destination of choice. A few hundred were successful in their flight to Kenya
despite the lack of willingness of colonial authorities to admit them to the country. But how
is one to survive in an agrarian-oriented sparsely populated country whose languages are just
as foreign as are the customs modes of life climatic conditions and health risks? What
options were available to refugees who were prohibited from practising their professions
regardless of whether as medics lawyers or merchants?Answers to these questions were found on
a search for former 'Kenyans' that spanned continents the putting together of fragments of
this 'Kenyan' network like mosaics and numerous conversations with contemporary witnesses who
narrated their experiences for the first time. In view of the historical context these tough
obstacle-fraught battles are made visible: the search for new identities the reclaiming of
self-worth the conquering of social recognition. Lastly it is shown how much life in Kenya
shaped lives in the short and long-term.
