Baba (father) Impressions of Tanzania
In mid-April Marty and I joined Tai in Tanzania. She was completing her three month project with Global Service Corps and was looking forward to a couple of weeks of “free time” there. I was anxious to see what she had been up to and to set foot in Africa which I had never envisioned doing. Impressions there were immediately striking and rich. It’s a wonder how the senses wake up in unfamiliar territory. We first touched down at Kilimanjaro airport and emerged from the plane into heavy equatorial air. The darkness offered no sense of landscape. Tai, her friend Andrew (taxi/safari driver), and our bags all showed up as planned. We were driven to Tengeru, where Tai’s host family lived (and who had graciously offered us a room for two days). Along the way our headlights barely illuminated a surprising number of people (for 11:00 p.m.) walking close to the traffic and seemingly at great risk of injury. What were they doing at that hour? I saw no sign of buildings or entertainment. In Tengeru the road turned to dirt, then mud, then a maze of puddled holes, and finally a grassed-in driveway. We were greeted warmly by “Baba” and “Mama” and immediately knew why Tai had felt so comfortable there.
After a much-needed night of sleep, I was ready for what daylight had to reveal and for the busy schedule that Tai had so thoughtfully worked out. The next two weeks were filled with people, markets, gardens, mountains, steppes, rain, animals, music, and especially walking. We were to spend five or six days in the Arusha/Tengeru area and then head east to Dar es Salaam and finally Zanzibar. Tai had two days of project work to complete and I felt lucky to observe how appreciated she was and how comfortable she had become with basic Swahili, the sweat, the crowds, the food, negotiating, etc. We walked to nearby villages and I was struck by the contrast between the lush habitat and the widespread poverty. It was the wet season (elevation 5000 ft.) and food dripped from the landscape. Corn, bananas, beans, coffee, mangoes, avocados, passion fruit, guava, oranges, and much more were thriving and growing quickly under the daily morning rains. Surrounded by “plenty”, many families lived in small one-room enclosures with few signs of septic, drainage, or clean water systems. Kids happily played in the mud and mixed with any animals their family might be able to afford.
The kindness and generosity we received was also abundant, even from the poor farmers who could ill afford to offer us what they did. I felt welcomed in most every situation and was impressed with the openness of new acquaintances. So many people walk, and as you pass by stranger after stranger, it was customary to exchange greetings. Hujambo! Wishes of peace came unsolicited several times from farmers, young students, and even from camo-clad park rangers. This gentleness sometimes dissolves in more desperate urban situations. If a thief is caught, it is not uncommon for the nearby crowd to beat him to death. We thankfully saw no incidents of violence. Weapons were evident only at banks, where armed guards often toted machine guns. The airports were not intimidating.
Tanzanians expressed a lively interest in politics and a general pride in their country. Although many were concerned about recent government scandals and corruption, I felt little outright animosity towards their leaders. The socialist structure organizes national, regional, and local groups, right down to ten-person neighborhood “cells.” Cell leaders mediate when problems arise and communities appear to enjoy a strong social network. After spending a few days in Dar es Salaam, I became more aware of some of the pressures that will test the country’s leaders. Malaria and AIDS pose a huge challenge to their healthcare system. The population is moving to the cities and oftentimes the migrating newcomers find it difficult to survive there. The Maasai tribe grows steadily while their livestock holdings stagnate, open grazing lands diminish, and identity gets ground up in the modern world. Neo-colonial pressures were also evident. The U.S. apparently would like a military base, China wants timber and other resources, and multinational companies have interests there. The need for capital could pressure the government to enter into harmful agreements. Hopefully they will recognize their strengths and move towards a sustainable economy.
Our last few days were spent in Zanzibar, where I felt we were in a different country (it became part of Tanzania in 1964). Stonetown is a maze of narrow streets and eroding stucco buildings of Indian and Muslim influence. It is tourist-dependent and conservative; “Please limit displays of affection in public”. Streetwise hustlers are anxious to lighten your pockets in one way or another. Exotic spice plantations still operate there but at a level less prominent than in the past. The beaches cater to visiting foreigners but local workers and fishermen are very much in the mix. I felt lucky to be there in the off-season as the seaside was nearly empty. The ocean’s mild temperature and blue-green glow were stunning, particularly when contemplating April in Vermont.
What can you really know of a country after only two weeks there? Not much. Impressions can be misleading. Comparisons to one’s own culture can be facile. I knew our short visit offered a glimpse of something special there. Contact with a more basic lifestyle and the smell of people in close was good for us I think. I thought returning home might be a bit difficult, but somehow returning to Vermont is never difficult. When we got here, the thing to do that felt most right was to till and plant the garden.
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