Twenty
eight individuals attended this very apprehensive seminar. Apprehensive in the
sense that some of the speakers withdrew at the last minute and only three
Tanzanians were present. The rest were foreigners who love the country, former
volunteers and expatriates who had worked in Tanzania- some as far back as 50
years ago.
Pensive mood and discussions...
I chatted to a former Bwana Shamba, who roved and
managed villages shortly after Uhuru was declared. The man could still greet
and joke in one of the tribal languages. Smiling and jovial he told stories
about local villagers he had interacted with. The former Bwana Shamba- a term
that is associated with pre –Arusha Declaration times- could still remember Mbege,
Ulanzi, Dengelua and Chang’aa, which he pronounced well. Swahili learners
always find it hard to pronounce words like “chang’aa” called Gongo or Machozi ya
Simba (these days). For the reader who
is unfamiliar with hardcore local drinks, Gongo is the crude, raw version of
Konyagi - distilled, packaged and bottled 35 percent original Tanzanian whisky.
Of course Gongo (or the said “chang’aa”) is stronger and much more sinister,
hence the deadly name, Machozi ya Simba (lion’s tears).
Be
warned.
SOAS Radio pundits and students, Rob Wilson (UK) and Debula Kimoli (Kenya) participated...
Lesson one
from last Thursday’s event at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
is Mmmh... what? Most that have walked
on Tanzanian soil never forget the country. May I include ones who had unpleasant
experiences? I recently met a young British guy who speaks good Swahili, loves
the language and the people but is slightly wary and cautious to return. One
warm evening he hailed a cab in Dar es Salaam and ended being robbed. The
cabbie stopped to pick up two armed thugs, who then threateningly drove him
around the beleaguered city. He was forced to call his family in the UK who
then sent a couple of thousand pounds- (millions of shillings) - via Western
Union.
Bottom
line here is that although Tanganyika of the Bwana Shamba gentleman has dramatically
changed, apprehension and politics remain focussed on the “three mantras” that
Mwalimu and TANU used to chant: ignorance, poverty and disease.
How can
that be assessed?
Newly appointed UK Ambassador to Tanzania, Dianna Melrose (centre) with BTS man, William Fulton (right) and author (self taken I-Phone pic)...
The
seminar’s goals was to look at media and democracy- born through multi-party
reforms in 1992. The seminar was organised
by British Tanzania Society (created in 1975) currently presided by ex President
Ali Hassan Mwinyi.
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