Jambo!

---

Jambo!

Or; hello, as it means in Swahili. I’ve been here for a couple of weeks now, but I’m afraid it’s going slow with the Swahili learning. I’m starting to understand the basic greetings, but it’s far away from any conversation.

Since I don't have much to write about, I'll give you a short briefing of Tanzania's history instead. You might know some of this already, but it's always good with a little repetition ; )

• The first signs of human beings can be traced back 3.6 million years ago when a party of two or three trekked across the plain at Laetoli near Olduvai Gorge in the northern part of Tanzania. And you probably know the rest of that history…
• What is Tanzania today is a mix of people who came to the country in waves of migration. Nomadic people hunter-gatherers, tribes from today’s Ethiopia, Bantu speaking settlers who came fro the Niger delta, pastoralist from southern Sudan, merchants from southern Arabia and then the Europeans and the colonialism. Today there are about 190 different tribes in the country!
• The country itself originated when Germany and Britain “sliced” East Africa into pieces around the 1890’s.
• Tanganyika became independent in 1961, with Zanzibar following in 1963.
• Tanganyika African National Union, led by the teacher Julius Nyerere, led the first autonomous government, and with the integration of Zanzibar in April 1964, United Republic of Tanzania was created.
• In 1962 Nyerere published an essay “Ujamaa - The basis of African Socialism”. Followed by the Arusha Declaration in 1967, the government committed to socialist approach to development.
Throughout the country, people turned out to help their neighbours build new schools and repair roads. Nyerere and his ministers also grabbed a shovel and pitched in with regular occasions.
Industry and banks were privatised and all land became common property.
• In 1965 Tanzania became a one-party state
• Throughout the 70’s Tanzania was the largest recipient of foreign aid in sub-Saharan Africa, and was the country to test out every new development theory that came along
• Nyerere refused to implement the IMF structural adjustment program. The economy in the 80’s was on the way down and when Nyerere resigned in 1985 the experiment with African Socialism was over.
The long term impact of these programmes is still under debate…
• Nyerere, representing Tanzania was in the 60’s to 80’s a voice of moral authority in global forums. And the government was also a vocal advocate for the liberation of Southern Africa from white minority rule.
Tanzania has always opened its doors to civilians fleeing violence in the surrounding countries and it still hosts more than a million refugees.
• Today Tanzania is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world… They have gold as one of their main natural resources, but is failing to get the benefits of it when it’s foreign companies that are running the business…

The internet down here is pretty slow, and I haven’t managed to find any computer that can upload my pictures. Actually I haven’t taken to many pictures so far. Since we are working with our project all the time, it’s not that much time to walk around and get some god shoots. And I think I’ve been a bit spoiled by my trip last year. I don’t think it’s anything special to take photos of here… Or, of course, it’s something, but my last trip was different.
In fact, it’s not much to write about either. As I said we are mostly working, at that is pretty boring to read about. That’s why I give you some history lessons instead ; )

Field work is quit a hard work actually. We have been in contact with different tour operators to get their perspective on tourism. There is a project here called Kilimanjaro Porter Assistance Project which helps the porters on the mountain, we want to get in touch with some porters and hopefully their families, we want to talk to some farmers and shop owners and hopefully some officials as well. As you see, it’s a lot to do and we don’t have that much of time. I can see why a field work for a master degree should be more than 4-5 weeks!
But except for feeling a little bit stressed, we are having a good time down here. It is really interesting to look at the broad consequences of tourism.

Our travel tips to you so far:
• Be aware!
• Be interested! (In for example the company you want to use, ask them questions about how they pay and treat their employees, maybe their environmental concerns and other relevant tings. Don’t use them if you don’t believe them)
• Buy food at the local market, not imported goods in a supermarket!
• You don’t have to show that you got more money than them. Don’t flash your expensive camera’s everywhere! (It’s easier to get robbed of course, but you also show the huge gap between the western world and the developing world.
• Don’t give anything to the kids! Don’t even a pen if they ask for one!! It changes their attitude and behavior.
• If you are going on organized trips, tips directly to each person. It’s quit common that the guide is receiving the tip and are supposed to give it to the rest of the crew, but he takes a good portion himself!
• Don’t f*#k the natives! ; ) (You can get HIV, and it’s not a fear situation for the local anyway. You are in a powerful position, so don’t misuse it)

And last, but maybe the most important: Always bring a torch and toilet paper everywhere you go!! You never know when you need it

You probably know this already, but I feel I have to give you a little reminder ; )

Anyway, enough history and moral speeches for today!

Enjoy the winter back home!

---