Some books have to be written. They must be published
not for ego, money and fame - but future generations.
“An
African Student in Russia- Soviet Union” by Dr Onesphor Kyara is that type.
Having failed to find a publisher (one of rejection slips hurled back by the
mighty Penguin) Dr Kyara decided to self-publish. Thanks to our golden era of internet
and information technology self publishing is easy in 2014.
Available
on Amazon, E-bay, Apple i- books, as well Burns and Noble /Nook, “An African
Student in Russia-Soviet Union” will soon reach Africa based readers if Dr Kyara’s efforts
succeed through Mkuki na Nyota, local
bookshops and South Africa’s Kalahari.
These are early days.
It has only been two months...
At the
height of Ujamaa policies and the international cold war it was taboo to say
certain things.
Kyara and Marina at the height of their romance and subsequent marriage. The interesting book tells it all...
In 1975, the young Onesphor Kyara received a scholarship (of which
he is grateful to both governments) to study in Russia. He lived there for six
years, married a Russian woman and returned in 1981. The cold war was a sensitive
time. Mouths were sealed; the freedoms we have these days back then a mere
illusion.
Nowadays
a lecturer of anthropology and sociology in various Universities in the USA, Dr
Kyara explains he released the 300 page publication because very few Tanzanians
have written about their experiences overseas, and tell the world “of a system
long gone, to inform students of trials and tribulations of studying abroad”
and help Russian students. Ever detailed
and drawing parallels, Dr Kyara exemplifies the ongoing crisis in Ukraine where
“current …opposition seems to fight against a return to the past.”
Throughout these 300 pages, I kept asking a
question of the past 100 years. Which works better capitalism or socialism
(communism)?
Dr Kyara: “Communism does not work anywhere;
and capitalism does not work everywhere either, especially with ex-slaves (does
he mean Diaspora Africans?). Imported religions are causing conflicts across
Africa. Bongoism is an alternative to Western and Eastern communist atheism…”
Kyara and mate during JKT days. All high school students had to pass through this and learn the work ethic...
Deep thoughts tell it all; taking off from Dar
es Salaam, a year learning Russian, struggling
with shortages, traveling through Europe for shopping and sightseeing. Major
insight into the life of African students who had to engage in black market -
buying from “free” West and selling to
Russian citizens. These “illegal” actions assisted their six year
survival. Blunt and polemical, “African
Student in Russia” reads like an adventure; so detailed that you smell the cigarettes
( how fellow young stressed Wazungu smoked), cockroaches in student quarters
and lack of toilet papers (students using newspapers); reminiscent of 1980s Tanzania.
Is our
fearful image of Eastern European racism,
true?
“Race and racism had hardly been of concern in
Tanzania. It was something we associated with Apartheid in South Africa,
America, England and other multiracial societies with Anglo-Saxon populations.”
(page 72).
With that he narrates shocking incidents like
when a Russian youth uttered “chornaya sabaka” (black dog) “as he walked down
the street.
The book is littered with negative and positive
differences, mostly cultural. I would have personally preferred it to have an
index to guide. On page 56 we are informed how in Russia a single finger
is used to point at animals while for humans “one needed to point at least four
fingers.” Always giving examples he
alleges that Russian is a more logical and easier language to
learn than English.
“An African Student in Russia- Soviet Union” is
also, continuous interesting discussion. In at least five occasions the Tanzanian academic
proposes a universal idiom created by the United Nations. “I found it
disgraceful that the UN in general and UNESCO in particular…had failed to
design a Universal Sign Language (USL) by the end of the twentieth century!...
an absolute prerequisite toward understanding between cultures and a
cornerstone of global peace.” (page 211).
Or religion.
“Religion assists mass control, promotes pacifism, and discourages
revolutionary actions.”
This line of thought, that Christianity and
Islam were forced upon us, was also pushed by the late Nigerian musician Fela
Kuti. Today’s Africans, Dr Kyara argues, will fight you if you discuss these two religions
(“it is in their blood”).
Historically: “The pacifist and less
militarized cultures, including Africans in later years, were often forced to
convert or else!” (page 201). Africans have lagged behind while those who
offered us these beliefs continue to develop.
Page 141: “Most youths in the developed
nations no longer rely on false hope offered by religion: they rely on their
mental faculties as the quintessential solver of most problems… hopeless Third
World still needs religion to provide hope.
If the Europeans attempt to take back their religion, they could get
hurt!”
When
quizzed about his good command of English, Dr Kyara says something worth
contributing to current Parliamentary
debate regarding which language should be used in our schools (as standards of
English and Swahili fall fast!):
“Back then English was emphasized, no English,
no Cambridge University Certificate.”
That was Tanzania- 45 years ago!
Published in Citizen Tanzania, 28th February, 2014.
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