Nyerere Day

Tomorrow is a national holiday in Tanzania.  It is Nyerere Day which honors Tanzania’s (formerly Tanganyika) first President, Julius Kambarage Nyerere who was born on 13 April 1922 and passed away on 14 October 1999.  He served as President from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985.  In honor of this day, I thought it might be nice to tell you a little bit more about this quite visionary politician. 

In Tanzania Nyerere was known by his Kiswahili name Mwalimu which means 'teacher'.  This was also his profession prior to politics.  He is also referred to sometimes as Baba wa Taifa which means Father of the Nation.  Although Nyerere received his higher education outside of Tanzania, studying in Kampala and Edinburgh, he returned to his homeland to become a teacher.  Nyerere was instrumental in Tanzania’s plight for independence and managed to help Tanzania (Tanganyika at the time) gain independence without war or bloodshed.

It was not until 1961 that Nyerere was elected Tanganyika's first Prime Minister, and following independence, in 1962, the country's first President.  In 1964, Tanganyika became politically united with Zanzibar and was renamed to Tanzania. In 1965, a one-party election returned Nyerere to power. Two years later, he issued the Arusha Declaration, which outlined his socialist vision of Ujamaa that came to dominate his policies.

Nyerere retired in 1985.  He died of leukaemia in London in 1999.  Posthumously, in 2009, Nyerere was named "World Hero of Social Justice" by the United Nations General Assembly.   It is undeniable that he had an immense impact on this country as many of his policies infiltrated the community and are still followed.  The party that will most probably be re-elected at the end of this month, CCM, was also his party.  His influence lingers on not just in politics but in the character of Tanzanians. 

Since I have arrived, it has been quite noticeable that Tanzanians are extremely friendly (generally) and there is a strong sense of community and family.  From what I have read about Tanzania, this is a general observation that has been made by many authors.  Tanzania is considered one of the safer countries in Africa and the people are considered to be extremely open and pleasant (which I know to be true).  Nyerere believed socialism was an attitude of mind that barred discrimination and entailed equality of all human beings.  Although economically, Ujamaa, which is what his African Socialism theory was referred to (means familyhood in Kiswahili), did not succeed, the moral aspect of this political theory clearly still lives on in Tanzania.  The anti-discriminatory foundation of this theory appears quite modern for his time but clearly this social development policy is one that should transcend boundaries.

Although there are reports of abuse of power and Amnesty International investigated human rights violations in Tanzania during Nyerere’s rule, there is no question that he still much revered by his people.  There is still a deep sense of pride for the Father of their Nation.  One thing we can all learn from him is acceptance of all human beings as equal.  So in honor of Nyerere Day, I beseech you to be tolerant and accepting of all human beings, not just the ones you like J

Better Late than Never

Since I have received some comments about not including enough information about my work, I thought I’d give you a quick update on what I’ve been doing since completing the brochure on female genital mutilation.  On a side note- the brochure is being translated into Kiswahili which is somewhat of a challenge given that the Kiswahili language is limited in vocabulary and just as the Eskimos may have ten words for snow, English has more words than Kiswahili so finding a way to translate some of the terms is turning out to be quite difficult.  However, to make the brochure accessible to those it is designed to reach, it needs to be in Kiswahili. 

As for my larger project, the training manual for the children’s help center volunteers, last week at work I worked primarily on the ice-breaking and confidence building portions of the training manual.  This was actually a very interesting exercise for me as I think we probably could all use some confidence building every now and then.  I also find that my training as a Guardian ad Litem and Mediator has come in useful here as I recognize that a lot of the tools such as role playing and participant interaction actually cross boundaries and cultures and are therefore also good tools when designing a training manual such as this one.  I had to have a lengthy discussion with my supervisor over who the target volunteers were to be.  This is the first time that there was a noticeable culture difference in our approach to this project.  My supervisor was suggesting that girls as young as 12 could work as volunteers at the help center.  Although I agreed that if they were victims themselves that this would certainly make them able to connect to the victims that would be seeking help, I did raise the point that at that age, although they may seem quite adult due to the fact that they have probably seen more hardship than most people see in a lifetime, it is not fair to make them have to process the hardship of others too.  Furthermore, given that they will be taught the law and part of their job as a volunteer is to advise the children seeking help on their options, they have to be able to process and make decisions quickly and effectively and it is my opinion that at 12 you are not able to do this.  As I said, this appears to be a cultural difference as where I am from, we want to protect our children from as much as we can (I dare say that few of us would want out young children to know about FGM or some of the other horrors out there) and it appears that here, because you cannot protect them you must teach them.  I have a hard time reading some of the stories of these young girls so I cannot imagine as a young child having to listen to these stories over and over as a volunteer with this program.  We agreed that some of the information being handled would probably be too technical for young children and settled on the fact that 16 may be a good starting age but that the volunteers would have to be screened to make sure they have reached the maturity necessary to deal with the very sensitive subject-matters they will be dealing with. 

This week I am going to face a bit more of a challenge when it comes to work as I am focusing on the communication aspect of the manual.  Given that the trainees will be speaking primarily to victimized children the training should really cater to that.  Given that I am by no means a specialist in this area, this is a daunting task.  It does help somewhat that the constrictions that exist in the legal system that I was trained in do not exist to the same extent here with regards to interacting with children who have been victimized.  In speaking with my supervisor about this portion of the manual I did indicate it would probably be a good idea to have a child psychologist involved to give some advice on this part of the project. 

Work aside, I promised on Friday that I would give a rundown of my weekend today.  It was fantastic.  Although I didn’t make it to the wedding on Friday, I did manage to have Florence at work henna my nails for me just like hers and Grace’s.  As you can see from the picture, only half the nail is actually covered.  It looks really cool in person, I’m not sure if the picture does it justice.  It also does not chip.  It was a really bonding experience and I think I am finally starting to get a little closer to some of my coworkers.  Although I was a little disappointed not to make it to the wedding, I did have a wonderful time at Kipipeo Beach and had a truly local experience at the Tanzania v. Morocco football match.  Kipipeo Beach is a ferry ride away from Dar es Salaam and is maybe 9 km outside the city.  Once you get there you feel like you’re in a different world.  I stayed in one of their bandas (Kiswahili for hut) which is made from predominantly local materials and is very eco-friendly.  The bandas are located a little behind the beach in a completely secluded wooded area and when you’re in them you feel like you are completely alone in the world.  A truly mesmerizing feeling.  They are extremely simple; there is a bathroom downstairs and upstairs is just a plain open room with a beautiful balcony with a hammock.  The place is very open and with the sea breeze blowing through, it stays a perfect temperature all day and night.  It is so quiet that you can hear the ocean.  It helped that it was a relatively quiet weekend and the bandas around mine were empty!

On Saturday we went to the Tanzania v. Morocco football match.  It was a shame that Tanzania lost but the atmosphere was really great.  The stadium was packed.  Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium holds 60,000 people and it appeared pretty full to me.  Interesting bit of random information- the stadium was predominantly funded by the Chinese government who paid more than half of the 56.4 billion TZS it cost to build the stadium.  You would think with that kind of investment that they would have functioning bathrooms.  Since I’d spent the morning at the beach, I had drank a lot of water.  Normally, this would be a good thing, except when you are at the Tanzanian National Stadium and the toilets do not have a seat.  Instead it is a hole in the ground and you pee standing up, just like the fellas.  I’ve never had to go so bad and not want to go so bad in my life!  I have now officially opened myself up to all kinds of new experiences given that this is the first time I have actually peed standing up (hovering over the toilet in a skeevy bar is not quite the same).  The picture is not super clear, but I think you get the idea.  Had there not been a tremendously long queue to get out of the stadium, I would’ve made it. 

After the game, Olaf’s colleagues from Finca invited us to go to a local bar, Jollies, for some food and drinks.  As we sat in the back of the pick-up truck Sule and Mussa took the time to explain local football to me.  This started after they took a picture with the head coach of the Young Africans football club who happened to be wandering around the parking lot after the game.  Mussa wanted to make it clear to me that he was not a Young Africans supporter but that he just wanted a picture with the guy because, well, he’s famous.  You see, Mussa is a Simba fan, and Simba is a big rival of Young Africans.  As the debate between Mussa and Sule went on they decided I would be the deciding vote.  I told them I could not decide without watching each team play.  Hopefully, this will mean many more football matches will be watched with Sule and Mussa (as well as Gershom, Mike and Olaf) because I had a truly fantastic time and am very much looking forward to choosing a local team to root for. 

As I said, the game was such a great experience.  We got to sit super close to the action even though we were a little bit late.  Although we were late, we did not miss the national anthems.  Usually these are played before the beginning of the game, turns out that for the second time in a row there was a glitch with the sound system and they could not play the anthems at the beginning of the match and instead played them just before the second half.  Lucky for me because I got to hear the Tanzanian national anthem being sung by 50,000 Tanzanians. 

As with the last Tanzanian football match, the President was in attendance.  Very important, especially now, since the elections are at the end of the month.  My understanding is that CCM is the favorite and that Jakaya Kikwete will win once more.  At least in Dar it is clear that he has devoted much time and effort (money) to campaigning.  His face is everywhere which is noticeable mostly because you see very few posters or billboards for the opposition.  I guess we’ll know soon enough if it worked.  As for the debate of which is better, Simba or Young Africans, that remains to be determined J

my  banda at the kipipeo beach village

There were lots of navy personnel on the beach, not sure what country they were from though

seriously comfortable, seriously difficult to get out of

the view from my bed

my banda

Kipipeo Beach

Kipipeo Beach

This picture does not do it justice, the water was so beautiful, clear and blue

View from the ferry

View of Dar from the ferry

Tanzania is in blue, Morocco in red

Olaf and I at the game

Sula, Mussa, Gershom, Mike and Olaf at the game

Sule and Mussa with the coach of African Youth

Alfred and Twaha with the coach from African Youth

Mussa, Sule and I in the back of the pick up truck



My henna-ed hands





the infamous toilet in the floor



Movie Review: Inception

Yesterday we went to see Inception at the cinema.  I am by no means a movie snob and am usually quite easily entertained but movies like the matrix sometimes get me so discombobulated that I don’t know what’s going on.  I thought Inception might be one of those movies.  I was very pleasantly surprised that it was fantastic.  Two thumbs way up.  The manner in which they present the dreams within a dream concept is very linear and following it was not difficult since the movie didn’t jump around unnecessarily and there was always a link keeping the different dream levels in line.  Strangely enough, it all seems to make perfect sense.  A truly awesome film that I highly recommend.  It is a long sit though at 2 ½ hours plus an additional 30 minutes of previews meant some stiff legs by the end of it and can someone please explain why I always eat the popcorn before the movie starts (not that it would have mattered in this case since I was so enthralled that I completely forgot about the popcorn- not a small feat to find a movie that can make me forget popcorn!) 

So if any of you are looking for something fun to do this weekend and haven’t seen it already, or have, but definitely worth a second viewing, this is the movie to see.  The cast was phenomenal, even Leonardo, who I have to admit does appear to get better as he gets older.  I never really like the scrawny kid from Titanic but he seems to have filled out a bit and looks better for it.  Tom Hardy gives a truly kick-ass performance and the appearance of Michael Caine in any movie always endears me more to it.  (How perfect is he as Alfred in Batman?! Truly enlightened casting choice there) 

Last week I left you with some serious facts to ponder over the weekend.  This week, I just want everyone to enjoy the weekend and pumzika (relax) as I intend to do.  We’re going to a wedding tonight- I’m hopeful this will be a very authentic experience and will definitely be taking pictures.  Then we’re staying at the beach for the rest of the weekend, except for a little break to watch the Tanzania v. Morocco football match tomorrow.  The teams are locally (in Africa) known as the Taifa Stars vs Atlas Lions.  How cool is that?!  My first live football match and it’s going down in Dar!  So excited J  Can’t wait to tell you all about it on Monday.  Have a great weekend!!

food pics

 As promised, below are a couple of pictures of the delicious Arabian food from the other night.  Not the best pictures, I admit, especially since we'd already eaten a lot of the food (I was really hungry and forgot to snap first, eat later).  I have also included a picture of a papaya and some of the bananas we have here.  These are the sweet bananas which are different (smaller) than the ones used for Ndizi.  We used these plus some left-over passion fruit and mango to make an awesome fruit juice in the juicer this weekend.  It's the little things in life.  I'm pretty sure that it was at least partly responsible for my quite speedy recovery.  Ah, the magic healing power of nature. 

Baba Ghanoush Goes Old School

Since everyone was feeling better, we decided to venture out for Arabic food at a little Lebanese restaurant (clearly, I like to live dangerously!).  Olaf, Sunday and I basically ordered almost everything on the menu that could be shared and dipped.  We had tabouli, stuffed grape leaves, baba ghanoush, lentil soup, some other things which I cannot recall the name of, and of course, hummus (those who know me know of my undying love for the stuff, I could quite possibly happily drown in it!)  It was again a really fantastic meal, (those who were worried I might starve for lack of fine cuisine can rest assured that this will absolutely not happen here in Dar).  The evening was made even better by the wonderful company I had and some of the best do it yourself dj-ing I have come across.  The restaurant was great and we sat outside but it became clear that what it missed was a little musical ambience.  Sunday to the rescue.  To my gleeful surprise, Sunday had all the old school hip hop and R&B your heart could desire saved to his BB and we had a wonderful time listening to some old school jams while we ate (yes, there was some singing along, which probably perturbed the other patrons to no end).  I did manage to snap a couple of pictures of the food and will post them tomorrow. 

 I learned some more lessons this week.  One is that what is considered Arabic food has also been called Mediterranean food in certain parts of the world which I find interesting.  I also learned that the kissing sound made my men (I have not yet seen or heard a woman do it) on the street in Dar is not meant disrespectfully towards anyone but is in fact used as a way to get attention, whether the conductor on the daladala is letting the driver know someone wants to get off or a bicyclist is warning you to get out of the way.  Other things that I have noticed while here is that British football teams are hugely popular.  I see a lot of Arsenal and Manchester United gear all over but especially on the daladala and I always wonder if they have teamed up with fellow supporters and have a little Arsenal fan club of daladalas.  I’ve also noticed that very few people here smoke.  The reason I noticed this is because I smelled a cigarette yesterday at the restaurant and realized that was the first time I had smelled cigarette smoke since I arrived here.  (For those of you concerned, no, I have not started smoking again!)  Lastly, I have noticed how well-dressed most people are.  Now, to be fair, they are probably, just like me, heading to work, but I am quite impressed by the men in their dress pants and long sleeve shirts (it can get quite hot) and the ladies who wear heals even though the roads are mostly dirt and very uneven- now that takes talent!  The last thing that is worth noting is that before cell phones I'm not sure how people communicated.  At the office I'm working in people do not just approach each other's desks.  Instead, they will text each other from less than 4 feet away.  By the way, we all sit in a big room, you wouldn't actually have to leave your chair to have a conversation.  I realize that this may all be out of politeness to the other workers, but it seems a little bit extreme (and very quiet).  Don't people just talk anymore?!

oh crap!

I had big plans for this weekend.  You might remember, Olaf and I were going to ride our bicycles to Dar city center and then hop on the ferry to the beach.  I was really looking forward to it.  Sunday had lent me his bike and brought it by Friday evening so we were all set.  You can imagine my chagrin when I suddenly fell ill on Saturday.  It actually began on Friday but I put on a brave face because Olaf was actually not feeling well on Friday and I so wanted to make it into Dar (finally) and to the beach of course.  Luckily I took great care of him on Friday, cooking him my world famous tacos, because the next day it was his turn!  I'm guessing it was all the new foods I tried last week, either that or it was my cooking.  I refuse to believe that it was my cooking (although more than likely, it was :)  Although yesterday was certainly an improvement on Saturday I was still not 100% (probably not even 50%!).  Since Olaf was also not feeling well we decided to rest up for the work week and save our beach trip for next weekend.   So I’m sorry to say, I don’t have much to report and just hope that the coming week will give me more fun fodder for this blog.

Having been told that many of you read my blog with your morning coffee, I felt like I should at least include a little something for your reading pleasure and so you'd have something to mull over during your day.  Instead of fun filled facts about my weekend (which, trust me, you do not want!) I will copy and paste parts of the brochure on FGM I created instead.  Please be aware that it is a first draft and that the intent is to have it translated into Kiswahili to make it accessible to everyone.  I hope you enjoy it.

I cannot copy and paste the brochure as is, but below is the majority of the text that will appear in the brochure.

Tanzania has ratified many international conventions that are designed to protect women and children from violations of their human rights. Amongst these conventions, most notable are the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). In addition to having ratified these international treaties, Tanzania has also adopted several regional conventions that contain provisions that are designed to protect women, and more specifically girls, from Female Genital Mutilation. These include the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul) (ACHPR) and, more specifically, the Protocol to this Charter on the Rights of Women (Protocol) Each of these treaties contains at least one clause that can be applied to limit the practice of FGM and from this it can be determined that by ratifying these conventions Tanzania has agreed that this practice violates the basic human rights of its victims.

By ratifying these treaties, Tanzania has agreed to abide by these rules. In November of 2009, Tanzania took a big step in the right direction when it adopted the Law of the Child Act, which makes it an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding five million shillings and/or imprisonment for a term less than six (6) months to perform or cause to be performed FGM (Article 158 of the Law of the Child Act). Furthermore, the Sexual Offence Special Provision Act (SOSPA) of 1998 specifically outlaws FGM (Article 169) and provides for a punishment of at least five years, but no more than fifteen years of imprisonment and/or a fine of three hundred thousand shillings.

The hurdle to overcome at this point is not the creation of legislation to protect women and girls from this practice, but implementing existing law and actually holding offenders accountable for their actions. Breaking the silence associated with FGM is an important step in the fight towards eradication of FGM as a cultural practice. Article 95 of the Law of the Child Act addresses this issue and places an affirmative duty on community members to report any information they have that a child’s rights are being infringed upon. This is important because the Article makes it a punishable offense should one not report the information. However, reporting alone is not sufficient since fear of being punished will only exacerbate the secrecy in which the practice takes place. What is necessary is education and awareness which will lead to discussions and eventually the reporting of violations so that the offenders may be held accountable.

Changing the law to meet the requirements of the international conventions to which Tanzania has avowed to adhere is merely one step in the process of eradicating a practice such as FGM. Clearly, the law in Tanzania makes it a punishable offense to participate in and perform FGM, however, the practice is still common and actual implementation of the law is lacking. It appears that the tools are there but they are not being used. In order to be able to use these laws to protect women and girls from the practice of FGM, communities must be educated and informed of the consequences of FGM both to the victim and to the offender. Only by informing the community, the victims and the perpetrators can we move towards a future where women and girls are not subjected to FGM.

Memorable Quotes:

“I refused to go through FGM because I knew other friends who were mutilated and had bled heavily and one had died, so I was scared that if I went through the ritual I might die and dreaded the fact that the bodies of those who die during FGM are just thrown away.”

“My father brought a “ngariba” at home and asked the brothers to hold me down. One of the brothers sat on my chest while the others held my legs apart so that the “ngariba” can cut me. They told me that if I screamed the father would have to pay the “ngariba” one cow, as she was asked to come to do the cutting at home. So I had to keep very silent despite all the pain I felt."

Female genital mutilation (FGM) encompasses “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injuries to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons.” (WHO, 1995). The negative effects on the victim’s health both physically and psychologically are profound and the practice certainly rises to the level of being cruel and inhumane and violates the human rights of victims of FGM.

WHO Classification of FGM types:

Type 1: Excision of the prepuce with or without the excision of part or the entire clitoris.

Type 2: Excision of the clitoris with partial or total excision of the labia minora.

Type3: Excision of part or all of the external genitalia and a stitching or narrowing of the vaginal opening. “Sealing” is a variation of Type 3, where there is no stitching but the vagina is ‘sealed’ by allowing blood to coagulate in the opening, creating an additional hymen to detect the loss of virginity.

Type 4 (unclassified): Includes all the other procedures that are carried out on the genitalia of women and girls. These include cauterizing the clitoris and surrounding tissue; scraping the tissue surrounding the vaginal orifice (angurya cuts); cutting into the vagina (gishiri cuts); introducing corrosive herbs and substances into the vagina to cause bleeding or to tighten or narrow it; and any other procedure which falls into the definition of FGM as defined by the WHO.

FGM is used as a rite of passage for one to move from one stage of life to another. The community considers it as a rite of transition from childhood to womanhood. Once the girl has been through FGM, she is considered to be ready for marriage. This enables her family to receive a dowry from a potential husband. The younger and harder worker the girl is, th emore the dowry will be. FGM is now practiced on children from the age of 10.

Health Consequences of FGM

· Extreme pain and shock
· Severe blood loss, possible hemorrhage
· Possible injury to adjacent tissue
· Infection of the wound
· Possible HIV infection
· Infections may spread causing problems with the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries
· Chronic pelvic pain
· Infertility
· The retention of urine and menstrual products
· Incontinence
· Permanent damage to the reproductive organs
· Vulval abscesses due to infected cysts
· Obstetric fistula
· Painful sexual intercourse
· Psychological problems
· Difficulties in passing menstrual blood
· Death

Reasons for the practice of FGM

· Belief that girls who undergo FGM have a higher chance of getting married
· It is a rite of passage into womanhood
· To reduce women’s sexual desire and thus to protect against promiscuity
· To prevent stigma from peers
· Fear of repercussions within the family
· To receive a higher bride price
· Tradition

Have a good weekend!

It’s been quiet the last few days so not a whole lot to report.  We finally have internet again at the office, however, there is no way of telling whether it will shut off again and for how long.  It’s a little frustrating but does ensure high productivity on my part.  Having finished the brochure on FGM, I am now returning my focus to my bigger task, that of drafting a training manual for the help-center workers (at CDF they refer to them as paralegals but given the connotation that has, I prefer to stay away from that label for this project).  If anyone has any suggestions on what we call these people, let me know, until then they will be referred to as trainees or help-center workers.

So, since I don’t have very much to report today but do want to leave you with a little food for thought for the weekend, I kindly asked Sunday if I could use some of his words of wisdom in my blog.  You may remember, Sunday is Olaf’s colleague who came over for dinner earlier in the week.  For a lawyer, Sunday has some very wise things to say, although credit must also be given to Sunday’s grandfather who also contributed to these words of wisdom.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Hopefully Sunday will give me more fodder for my blog in the months to come.  This kind of knowledge needs to be shared.

The seven Cs to a lasting relationship (courtesy of Sunday’s Grandfather): Communication, Compromise, Connection, Conviction, Compliment, Conflict Resolution and Contact.

And a piece of advice-

Don't step on a foot that may belong to the ass you may have to lick tomorrow

My twist on this- don’t kick the ass of the person whose ass you may have to kiss tomorrow

Have a great weekend!!