Ng'wamapalala
JF-Expert Member
- Jun 9, 2011
- 6,811
- 6,507
Here we go! Again! Why do we always bold on these issues?
Ebanaee Nyani Ngabu haya masongi yananikumbusha mbali sana.
hili somo sijaelewa kitu, mbona kama mwalimu anajichenga?
I hope you are all well wanaJF wa majuu (Nyani Ngabu and the like) of the diaspora. I have noticed how frequently people on the forum discuss the topic of Bongo Vs Ughaibuni and it seems as though people can`t decide which one is best. Of course home is best and we all remember it nostalgically, almost always referring to it fondly; unconsciously editing out the dark bits.
I also found that the recurring subject in this topic is that Tanzanians in the diaspora believe their peers in Tanzania to be doing far better than them because they (Tanzanian peers) have already achieved the life goals of marriage, family, careers et cetera. According to some of them (diaspora), their Tanzanian peers seem to have accomplished all these milestones easily and quickly. Those in ughaibuni often say that they have to work really hard to get from one goal to the next and even after many years of toiling, they feel they can`t match what their peers in Bongo have managed to do in the same amount of time.
What some people in the diaspora forget is that they started out with the double disadvantage of being a foreigner and a person of African descent in a land where such people are a small minority. Although some countries are fair to us than others and our African heritage doesn`t affect how we are perceived, it still takes a long time to be accepted and offered an equal place in their society.
I think that it is highly subjective as to what doing better represents to each one of us and appearances can sometimes be deceiving. Displaying your wealth ostentatiously in a flashy car and living in upmarket LA,NY,LDN, Dar, Mza or Ars might be signs of being financially better off and they might be the only determining factors in deciding this but I have found that showing off all that money is often times a burden.
Life is what you make of it and earthly possessions are transitory, we all pass on to another realm in the end and leave it all behind. We should strive to be wealthy in spirit and good to each other. When we die no one remembers us as being super rich and living in a palace. Our legacy lies in how we treat each other. In Bongo or in Ughaibuni, it shouldn`t matter where we live.
Umeona eeeh? Enzi za KaZaa na Napster na ku-burn CDs.
Siku hizi ni mwendo wa iTunes tu na ku-sync ipods.
"Kids, cousins and nephews go back to school this week.
Traffic jam starts to hit the roads, a journey of 20 minutes becomes an 1 hour. Punde si punde, the days starts getting shorter.
With the credit crunch, unemployement, recesion na bado maisha Bongo tambalare! And most of the cash has gone to school uniforms, school fees extra Tshs.20,000/- for petrol cause of doing the extra school runs.
As the nights comes to end, here comes electricity in the house. Again the bills hits high rocket.
Within no time, christmas shopping started and yet we got another boring christmas. Was it me or would everyone if not majority find that day to be gloomy, lonely, full of fake smiles, but the only joy is when kids wokeked up early to open those christmas presents that you spent a fortune to buy.
Then!! New year comes, and the trend starts all over again.
I celebrate New year because i thank God for having kept me all this time and given me the opportunity to see it. But the parten remains the same once again."
Wooow
This was suppose to be a good educative and constructive thread but it have been ruined and hijacked.
Mkasika himself ruined the thread by asking a question and giving the answer himself-THE BEGINNING OF THE END. He then went on to ruin it by asking a question about worldly life and providing opinion and answers (himself) from a theological perspective. mkasika is a lost soul and a very confused fellow and thus he brought us this lost and confused thread.-THE RISE AND FALL OF MKASIKA
Because of that few Tanzanians in Diaspora hijacked the thread and turned it into a war of words instead of a constructive dialogue.
The rest of the thred is history- THINGS FALL APART
Here's my two cents, maybe the discussion could benefit from a female perspective.
First of all, I do not agree with this " Those in ughaibuni often say that they have to work really hard to get from one goal to the next and even after many years of toiling, they feel they can`t match what their peers in Bongo have managed to do in the same amount of time."
I have never felt that people were better off back home career-wise or in terms of relationships. Yes, I would say that people certainly get married at a younger age and start families earlier than in developed countries, but we all know that this is all due to societal pressures. Women are pressured to get married and have kids before they get too old (in Bongoland "old" is usually from 28 onwards, even younger in some regions). The fact that most women do not or cannot seek post-secondary education means that they'll get married at a younger age as well. The average age between men and women will increase as more and more people stay in school longer. As for career, I can't think of any opportunities that I've missed out on back home. If anything it doesn't sound that the job market is very promising for university graduates, much less thos with a high school, std 7 or form 4 education.
Even though I miss the warm weather, the great food, being around family, and overall laid back atmosphere in Tanzania, I must also think about my future, as well as my family's well-being. I have a daughter and I want her to grow up to be a strong,well-educated, level-headed, healthy young lady. Unfortunately, this is something I feel I cannot achieve back home without it costing me an arm and a leg. The education system is in shambles! Do we even need to talk about healthcare? I spent a total of 8 years in the Tanzanian education system and I can honestly say it is mostly geared towards passing the exams, not so much understanding what you are being taught. Creativity is not encouraged. The teachers would yell and threaten you, that is, if they decided to show up to class that day. As a student, you feel invisible. My confidence was at an all-time low and I'm glad I had the opportunity to finish my education elsewhere.
Please do not think that I am bashing TZ, I am simply stating my opinion based on my personal experience as a young girl living in Tanzania. In addition to problems with the education system, there is also the issue with transportation. Having to leave my house at 5am to get to school for 7 while fighting bus conductors for a spot on the bus where you either have to stand or sit on the hot engine where your ass would get burned (vipanya!!). Not to mention the sexual harassment from the machingas aallll daayy long (ksss ksssss!! eh! sista! eh eh!!). They grab at your hands, your clothes. I remember a man coming up to me, looked me straight in the eye and said "Nataka kufanya mapenzi na wewe". I was 12 years old.
These are things that my daughter will never experience growing up here in Canada. I will not have to worry about her hospital bills or school fees. She lives in a society where it is NEVER OK for a man to leer at a child, or anyone under the age of 18. People treat each other with respect here.
I do not care about material things. I love my job. I do not care about what people think of me back home. I care about the overall well-being of my family, and that's something that I'm more likely to achieve here.