Africa for Obama

Tuesday 20 January 2009

About 67 million people actually cast a ballot for him but for hundreds of millions more today is a historic day. He may have been voted President of the United States of America only but over here in Tanzania it certainly feels like Barack Obama has been anointed the leader of the united nations of Africa too. I can only imagine what it must be like in neighbouring Kenya but over here the Obama-mania is thick enough to cut with a knife. Everywhere you look you can see Obama bumper stickers, Obama shirts and shawls, and buses decorated with "yes, we can".

It is hard not to be swept away by all the enthusiasm and I too of course recognise the significance of this day. Rather than watch the inauguration ceremony all alone on CNN in my hotel room, I decide to join the crowds in the bar. Although there is still almost an hour to go before the supreme moment, it is already very crowded. I suddenly find myself wedged on a sofa between an American woman and her Tanzanian companion. The three of us each represent a different continent and we each have our own reasons to be excited by this moment but the feeling is equally intense in all of us. Together we watch the moment when Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the USA. Together we briefly draw our breath when it seems he stumbles over the most momentous words of his life. It is not until the next day—away from the bar clamour—that I learn the mistake was not his but was prompted by the bumbling Chief Justice. It does not matter. All this crowd cares about is that as of this moment Barack Obama is the new president; not just America's but Africa's too.

Return to the light

Monday 19 January 2009

December is not my month. Call it holiday blues, call it winter depression, call it whatever you like but December just really is not my month. All I want to do is fast-forward the year to its inevitable conclusion and start fresh. January is better. Maybe it is the illusion of the blank slate, maybe it is the slow lengthening of the days but January inspires me to look forward rather than backward. Before me now is a new adventure: two weeks of field work in Tanzania. Over the next 14 days I will be working both in Dar es Salaam and in the Northern parts of the country.

I have been to Dar before—less than half a year ago—so naturally my arrival here has had a slight déjà-vu feel to it: the prerogative of the returning traveller. I am even staying at the same hotel I did last time and recognise some of the faces of people working here. The temperature is equally familiar. So near to the equator defining seasons as "winter" or "summer" is pointless. Strictly speaking I have moved from the European winter to an African summer but I can't really tell the difference with my last visit here when the situation was reversed. It was hot then as it is hot now.


After a productive first working day, I fall back into a routine I established during my previous visit and wash away the city dust in the hotel pool. After weeks of darkness and inactivity, I feel reinvigorated by the light and excitement. The new year is off to a good start.

Resuscitation

For a variety of reasons this blog has been in deep hibernation for a while. In fact, I had every intention of letting it sleep all together after two years of service. However, over the last weeks and months several people have lamented this decision and have urged me to reconsider. It is for them that I will attempt to breathe some life into the old girl once more. Forgive her for waking up a bit groggy still.

Plenty of things have changed since my last post; even more things haven't. I am still living and working in Amsterdam though that situation is set to change before winter's end. Over the holiday season my suitcase has been sharing shelf space with this blog. The arrival of the new year, however, has had me dust it off to pack for Tanzania again. Although—as we say in Dutch—this might come a bit as "mustard after the meal", over the next few days I will attempt to share some of my experiences there with you in words and images.

We have a pulse...