Keynez
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 12, 2007
- 2,428
- 3,937
Many years ago, I came to this world and luckily I was born in the land of Tanzania.
Over all these years I have come to know my country as a welcoming nation for people of all races, religions, nationalities and other backgrounds.
Not once did I perceive my country as being hostile to any particular group of people, even when we had serious disagreements with powerful governments over geopolitical issues.
With the UK during the Rhodesia and Apartheid crisis, with Israelis during the 1967 Israeli-Arab war, with the Americans during the Iraqi war, with the white-minority South African goverment during the Mozambique war of liberation.
All these examples were serious disagreements during which our diplomatic relations suffered alot. But what I like most about our approach is that the principles of humanity that guided the foundation of this nation were never altered. We handled them masterly as a free and sovereign nation while still recognizing others as human beings worthy of respect.
The COVID-19 pandemic which came as a result of the spread of the novel corona virus, is showing a new Tanzania that the world has never seen before.
It is now a nation that allege and imply that those nations that suffered more than us from the corona virus as sinners. That they must have done something wrong to deserve God’s Wrath. While hundreds of thousands of people have died the world over as a result of this epidemic, and are still dying at this very hour, we have not offered a single word of sympathy or encouragement to our dear sisters and brothers.
Come to think of it, we have not offered a single word of condolences even to our own people who have succumbed to this disease. Rather than a vigil, we are throwing a party.
We keep insisting that this disease did not originate from ‘us’. That it was imported. In the larger scheme of things, especially while in the middle of this crisis, I wonder why do we have time for this kind of talk? The other day I heard our leader mockingly while smiling, saying this disease has really ‘coronize’ even the wealthy nations.
Italy, a nation that has been very supportive to us in various sectors for many years has been hardly hit by this pandemic. I am sure even a simple public statement of support to them would have meant a lot and may even leave a lasting positive impact to our relations. But nothing of sort.
I don’t think the new image our goverment is portraying to the world is a representative of who we really are as a people. I still think the people of Tanzania are still compassionate, caring, loving and welcoming to people of every background.
Hopefully, this ugly phase will disappear as quickly as it came and a new, brighter Tanzania will emerge once again.
Over all these years I have come to know my country as a welcoming nation for people of all races, religions, nationalities and other backgrounds.
Not once did I perceive my country as being hostile to any particular group of people, even when we had serious disagreements with powerful governments over geopolitical issues.
With the UK during the Rhodesia and Apartheid crisis, with Israelis during the 1967 Israeli-Arab war, with the Americans during the Iraqi war, with the white-minority South African goverment during the Mozambique war of liberation.
All these examples were serious disagreements during which our diplomatic relations suffered alot. But what I like most about our approach is that the principles of humanity that guided the foundation of this nation were never altered. We handled them masterly as a free and sovereign nation while still recognizing others as human beings worthy of respect.
The COVID-19 pandemic which came as a result of the spread of the novel corona virus, is showing a new Tanzania that the world has never seen before.
It is now a nation that allege and imply that those nations that suffered more than us from the corona virus as sinners. That they must have done something wrong to deserve God’s Wrath. While hundreds of thousands of people have died the world over as a result of this epidemic, and are still dying at this very hour, we have not offered a single word of sympathy or encouragement to our dear sisters and brothers.
Come to think of it, we have not offered a single word of condolences even to our own people who have succumbed to this disease. Rather than a vigil, we are throwing a party.
We keep insisting that this disease did not originate from ‘us’. That it was imported. In the larger scheme of things, especially while in the middle of this crisis, I wonder why do we have time for this kind of talk? The other day I heard our leader mockingly while smiling, saying this disease has really ‘coronize’ even the wealthy nations.
Italy, a nation that has been very supportive to us in various sectors for many years has been hardly hit by this pandemic. I am sure even a simple public statement of support to them would have meant a lot and may even leave a lasting positive impact to our relations. But nothing of sort.
I don’t think the new image our goverment is portraying to the world is a representative of who we really are as a people. I still think the people of Tanzania are still compassionate, caring, loving and welcoming to people of every background.
Hopefully, this ugly phase will disappear as quickly as it came and a new, brighter Tanzania will emerge once again.