How about
elephants?
“There is an
elephant in the room...” means that a problem is so obvious that we cannot help
but notice it.
According to several
explanations, this English phrase can be encountered in various famous novels
by American Mark Twain and Russian Fyodor Dostoevsky. These two great
nineteenth century writers used the term to describe something visibly
important. Like a “white elephant” or “an elephant right in the middle of the
room.”
What about- “Sly
as a fox.”?
Cunning. Smart.
Or “Chickens
coming home to roost.” This is dated
700 years and refers to someone suffering because of his or her bad actions.
How about “a sheep
in a wolf’s skin”?
Someone who hides
their bad intentions in a veil of lies and goodwillness.
How many more can
you add?
Speaking of
additions and expansion. It is fascinating how animals are viewed so
differently within cultures and nations. Take beliefs and superstition. The owl, for instance. This bird is regarded
with such awe and fear across Africa. In fact, we associate the huge rounded
eyes and cat like face plus the hooting, with death. I remember when my
maternal grandmother died. I was only seven.
During that week, we had seen and heard owls wailing and hooting on our roofs.
Then the news of her demise came. It shocked and frightened me for many, many
years. By contrast, in Europe, owls are birds of wisdom. You enter living rooms
and find their pictures and paintings hanging adoringly. Citizens love them.
“So cute, so intelligent,” they say.
My, my.
Yes, outlook and
mentality makes our rounded world.
When I first
arrived in Europe, I was bewildered at how birds and animals are allowed to
roam in parks and roadside ponds. Here in London, you go in public gardens and
see many geese, ducks and pigeons. No one touches them. It is illegal to kill
or harm wild birds; you may be fined £5,000 (over 15 million shillings) or
imprisoned for 6 months, in the UK.
No wonder this
week an incident at a small village called East Isley attracted media eyes.
Three ducks at a local waterhole had been acting aggressively towards the
villagers. There were complaints. However, not everyone was annoyed. Children
and their parents continued to feed them with breadcrumbs, etc. Wazungu do that
a lot. They would stop to touch and feed birds and animals everywhere. It is
part of their customs. Things turned sour a few days ago. Someone shot the
ducks.
Now the matter has
been taken over by the police and subsequent investigation. It is very serious.
Meanwhile a hot
debate has been ongoing on the internet. I checked out comments and name-calling
and insults seem to divide the population. Some sympathise with the dead
creatures. Others say good riddance. If it were in Africa, the ducks would have
been eaten. We love meat and why try to pamper and tame creatures that are a
nuisance?
Let us talk about
Africa...
The continual
killing of elephants and rhinos for their tusks and horns has grown out of
proportions. Last week we witnessed the burning of more than 6,000 tusks of illegally
slaughtered elephants in Kenya. The symbolic “ceremony” has captured world
attention and more pressure is being mounted to stop this horrible trade.
Rhinos and elephants are rare animals roaming
mother earth. The money dished by clients in the Far East to smugglers (who
include terrorists), is tempting to jobless, semi illiterate young males. It is
often said that some of our government officials are involved. But enough is
enough.
Sometimes you hear
the question: what is the use of elephants and rhinos? Dead or alive what is
their value?
The answer is
simple science. Each living molecule contributes to our earth. It is the food
chain. Take worms. However uneasy and queasy they make us feel, they are
crucial in keeping the texture of our soil. How about bees? Without them we would
not have the fertilisation of flowers and hence plants and vegetation.
Elephants and rhinos have a contribution too ...some of the uses of these huge
animals are breaking down forests and thick grassland, Their big hooves and make
holes for water ponds. Their dung is useful to insects and the vegetation. In Asia,
elephants are used for transportation. In old days, they were useful in war.
Animals are part of
our lives. We are also animals. Our earth belongs to us all.
-Published in Citizen Tanzania 6 May 2016
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