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President Obama Comes to Dar; Mikumi; Saba Saba; A Postscript
In late March of this year Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Dar es Salaam and dedicated the Julius Nyerere (first president of Tanzania) International Convention Center paid for with Chinese funds. There were news stories about the visit at the time, there was talk on the street, but there was no significant fanfare. The downtown was not closed to traffic; there were no signs with the Chinese president’s picture on it. It was a relatively low-key event. On June 30, 2013, President Obama arrived in town. Security in the city center was so tight that workers were advised to avoid the downtown area beginning the Friday before the visit. The entire Hyatt Regency Kilimanjaro Hotel was taken over by US personnel accompanying the President. And most noticeably, every street in the city center and those over which President Obama would travel were adorned with posters - on every lamppost - of President Obama. Above the picture were flags; one American flag and One Tanzanian flag. Roads with potholes had been hastily repaired. They city was abuzz with the excitement.
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| As we drive to Mikume |
Adding to what was already considered to be a monumental event was the “African First Ladies Summit” hosted by the George W. Bush Institute. The event was attended by George W. and Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, and many African first ladies. The President and former president jointly laid a wreath at the site of the former US Embassy that was bombed by terrorists in 1998.
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SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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What was most interesting about this combination of events was not the fact that President Obama is hugely popular in this part of the world, or that the city was virtually “locked down” from the security incident to the simultaneous visit of a sitting American President and a former U.S. president, or even the thousands of pictures and billboards of the American President everywhere in town. What made all of this interesting to me was that the Chinese are pouring much more money into Tanzania and all of Africa than is the United States. One of George W. Bush’s legacies will surely be the health initiative he started in Africa to fight HIV and Malaria, spending more on the continent than any other U.S. president. President Obama is following with an energy program with a goal to bring continuous electric power to all people in Africa. These are small in comparison to the Chinese investment, but it seems that the people of this continent, long neglected by the U.S., are more excited about the American investments they are now getting, than they are about the massive investment being made by the Chinese.
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| Downtown along Ohio Street |
Regardless, it was definitely a time to be out of Dar es Salaam, if that was possible. For me, it was. Unexpectedly I was requested to attend the opening of a training being conducted at the Police College in Kidatu, a remote area west of Dar. The 30th of June was our wedding anniversary. In recent years we have done a lot of interesting and different things for our anniversaries due to the nature of my work. This may be the most unusual. We left early Sunday and traveled the six hours to the Police College. It sits high on a mountain in an area owned by the energy company of Tanzania. We stayed in a guesthouse offering a panoramic view of the acres and acres of sugar cane being grown by the joint public – private venture, Kilombero Sugar Company.
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| Sugar cane plantation |
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| View from Police College |
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| Baboons begging on the road to Police College |
There were some evening protocol events for us upon arrival followed by the opening ceremony on Monday morning. The event ended around noon. Rather than make a second grueling drive six hours or more back to Dar es Salaam we had arranged to stay at a lodge near the entrance to the Mikumi National Park, an hour or so on the way back to Morogoro and Dar.
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| Narrow bridge across the river |
We arrived mid afternoon where we settled into the bungalow we rented for the night. It was a pleasant place and was recommended by friends as a good place to stay in that area. The hotel arranged a morning safari drive through the park in one of their vehicles. The rest of the afternoon we spent relaxing.
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| Bungalow at the Tan-Swiss Lodge |
While eating our late lunch we witnessed a phenomenon that is rarely seen in our own country. The television on the wall of the open air bar was showing the events of the prior day when President Obama arrived at the Julius Nyerere airport in Dar es Salaam. As the program began the entire hotel staff filed into the bar area close to the television, this included wait staff and kitchen staff. Fortunately our meal had already been served. The hotel staff watched the entire hour or so re-play of the President’s arrival. For us it was a humbling experience and at the same time one that made us feel proud of who we are. The Tanzanians for their part felt honored, and I believe they also felt a sense of pride that the American President was visiting their country. It was a nice afternoon.
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| Hotel staff watching the ceremonies at the airport |
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Mshamu is eating lunch,
but he was craning his neck to see the television.
The waitress offered him a seat with a better view. |
The early morning marked our first ever trip through a game park. The main road over which we traveled runs between Dar es Salaam and Iringa and actually cuts through the park. Driving to the park entrance on that road we saw impala, zebra and giraffes. The hotel vehicle has benches in the back to allow us to see the wildlife unrestricted yet safely. Our guide/driver was also provided by the hotel. Our personal driver, Mshamu, took the safari drive along with us.
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| Giraffes along the main road |
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| At Mikume Park |
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| A zebra crosses in front of us |
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| Impala |
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| Mshamu in a baobob or boaboa tree |
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| Buffalo |
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| Warthogs |
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| Elephants |
Mikumi is neither the largest nor the most popular of the many National Parks in Tanzania, but at 3,230 sq. km (1,250 sq miles), it is the fourth-largest park in Tanzania, and part of a much larger ecosystem centered on the uniquely vast Selous Game Reserve. Although we only saw two of the ”Big Five”, the elephant and buffalo, it was exciting to see so many other animals in the wild. The “Big Five” refers to the lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard and is a term originally invented by big game hunters based on how difficult each animal was to hunt. The expression is still used by tourists and wildlife guides. We were able to see a very large buffalo herd, easily several hundred animals, as well as a few individuals. We saw several groups of elephants. Zebras, giraffes and impalas were abundant in the park. Warthogs, wildebeest, hippopotamus, crocodiles, baboons, exotic birds; the wildlife was everywhere and we were able to get very close to the animals we saw. Mshamu was disappointed, however, that we did not see simba (lion); perhaps on another trip.
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| Crocodile |
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| Wildebeest |
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| Duck |
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| Buffalo |
Saba saba, or seven seven; the seventh of July, is a holiday here. This year it was on a Sunday so there was no holiday from work. Saba Saba is also the name of a large trade fair in Dar es Salaam held each year on 7 July. At the Dar es Salaam yacht club the annual Saba Saba sailboat race is held as it has been for many years. The race begins at the very point of the Msasani Peninsula and races around the point into the harbor at Dar es Salaam and
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| Harbor at Dar es Salaam |
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| Ship arriving but we are out of the way |
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| On the run back home |
back out and around to the yacht club. I was able to crew on a 27 foot boat for the race. The wind was brisk, the ship traffic light and the race uneventful, except for the excitement of sailing. Well, our boat, Kusi, did have a bit of excitement out of the ordinary. As we attempted to fly the spinnaker on the run back from the harbor, the sail became fowled in the rigging and it took us a half hour or so working in 25 knots of wind and six foot swells to get it down. Seems someone had not properly rigged the halyards. Such is life aboard sailboats. Kusi finished dead last in the fleet of five boats. There is always next year.
Until Next Connection,
Dan
Postscript: The man who begs at the Village Supermarket and has the leg that appears to have been broken and healed wrong, leaving an unusable grotesquely shaped lower limb, may finally get his problem orthopedically corrected. Sharon gave him her usual 1000 shilling note and he stopped her to ask her to sign a pledge from some orthopedic clinic where he can get corrective surgery once he collects enough pledges. Someday he may actually return to being a productive member of Tanzanian society. We wish him well.
