EA is more Arab than African

[Prodigal Son]

Alhamdullilahi, EA is more Arab than African

By CHARLES ONYANGO-OBBO

The other week a Kenya newspaper referred to an alleged false prophet who had taken advantage of a vulnerable local celebrity and conned her of her affections as a “half cast” (that was an error, the word is half caste).

But the message was clear; that the false apostle’s mixed race somehow explains why he is a crook.

One instance I never tire of referring to is a political campaign in Kampala some years ago where one of the candidates, otherwise a nice chap, said his opponent was unfit for office because he was a “kyotara” (half caste), and even went as far as saying this suggested his mother was a woman of loose morals. Actually he called her a prostitute.

In other words, no honest black woman can date a white or Asian man.

These things keep cropping up in Tanzanian, Kenyan, and Ugandan newspapers.

An office block under construction will collapse and kill 25 people, and the story will be told in a fairly straightforward way, with the occasional reference to greedy and corner-cutting contractors.

There will be no reference to the owner of the building being a Kikuyu or Muganda businessman.

As soon as it turns out the owner is of South Asian descent, the stories and commentaries will be sprinkled with references to “conniving” and “greedy Asian” real estate owners.

This kind of prejudice is played out daily in most parts of the world.

However, there are two big differences in East Africa. People of Arab descent, who live mostly along the Coast, are more African than some of the rest of us who claim to be “indigenous” because their forefathers arrived here before many of ours did.

The Bantu migrations into East Africa from West Africa happened between 300BC and the 16th century AD.

The Luo migrations happened much later.

Arabs have been sailing and settling the east coast of Africa since pre-Islamic times, possibly as early as the 5th century BC; by the 7th century AD, a large influx of people from Arabia and the Gulf gave rise to the Swahili.

And the last Luo settlements in Kenya, happened when Mombasa had been a successful trading post for centuries.

Many Asians in East Africa today are descended from the workers who arrived in Mombasa toward the end of the 1800s to build the Kenya-Uganda Railway

Chanzo: The East Africa

 

[Wacha1]

Hana lolote huyo Onyango ni kibaraka aliyepandikizwa na kuandika pumba all the time kwa sababu bila hivyo hana mkate wa asubuhi.

 

[Prodigal Son]

Hana lolote huyo Onyango ni kibaraka aliyepandikizwa na kuandika pumba all the time kwa sababu bila hivyo hama mkate wa asubuhi.

Huyu jamaa nimesoma makala zake kwa muda mrefu saana kuna kipindi alikuwa anaiponda saana TZ hususani na alibadilika yalipokuja mambo ya EAC naona makalazake sasa haziegemei tena Kenya kama giant wa EA anajaribu kubalance but its too late.hili gazeti nikijaribu kukumbuka walivyoreport kuhusu ubinafsishaji wa ATC, utalii wa uwindaji , waliponunua Mwananchi nakumbuka one of the editor aliyeletwa afanyie Citizen alitoa maneno ya kejeli kwamba magazeti ya kingereza ya Bongo wanacopy na kupaste tu, hawa wanajumuia wenzetu kwa kujisifia hawajambo

 

[Bigirita]

Kwa hiyo easten coast of africa is east africa? What do you call yourself again?

 

[mfianchi]

Wanasifia hata kuku wa kienyeji utasikia ai hi si kama ya kwetu ya kwetu jongoo ni wareefu,na tukirudi nyuma waTZ tuko mbele,kwanza kila MTZ anakwao hawa jamaa wengi wamezaliwa kwenye skwata na slums,wa TZ atleast kila mtu anasehemu anayoita nyumbani kwetu na ana ardhi na kibamda wenzetu hawana wanaishi kwenye nyumba za bati.husifia hata mama lishe .WTZ tuko mbele bana na ndio maana TZ pakaitwa bongo

 

[MaxShimba]

EA is more Arab than African!!!

There are so many kind of sickness!

 

[Rubabi]

Ingawa napenda baadhi ya makala ya Onyango obbo hii article naona imeenda overboard.Wabantu wallifika east afrika kabla 1500bc, na hata maandishi ya waarabu yanaonyesha kuwa walikuta watu eneo lote la pwani.

Sasa huyu sources zake sijui kazitoa wapi?

 

[Smatta]

Wanasifia hata kuku wa kienyeji utasikia ai hi si kama ya kwetu ya kwetu jongoo ni wareefu,na tukirudi nyuma waTZ tuko mbele,kwanza kila MTZ anakwao hawa jamaa wengi wamezaliwa kwenye skwata na slums,wa TZ atleast kila mtu anasehemu anayoita nyumbani kwetu na ana ardhi na kibamda wenzetu hawana wanaishi kwenye nyumba za bati.husifia hata mama lishe .WTZ tuko mbele bana na ndio maana TZ pakaitwa bongo

This are the lies that you comfort youself with huh? You think you are better off than the next bloke just because you have a piece of land under your name, and a shack that you go to at the end of the day, and some form of political sanity in your country, well if that's your definition of being better than Kenyans, then your thought process is as twisted as a crack addicts.

You fruits should learn to look at things in different perspectives, everyone is critiquing the article just because the writer presumably writes ''biased'' article about Tanzania, you fail to grasp what he is trying to put forth in this article. look at Swahili, the language we so boastfully call ours, it has more Arabic influence than any Bantu language, but we have been trained to embrace what is foreign than what is ours. Am not trying to say that EA is more Arab than African, what am trying to say is that instead of arguing sense, we are discussing things way out of context just because we dislike the writer. Uswahili utakapo watoka, labda ndipo mtafungua macho na akili.

 

[Bongolander]

Huyu jamaa nimesoma makala zake kwa muda mrefu saana kuna kipindi alikuwa anaiponda saana TZ hususani na alibadilika yalipokuja mambo ya EAC naona makalazake sasa haziegemei tena Kenya kama giant wa EA anajaribu kubalance but its too late.hili gazeti nikijaribu kukumbuka walivyoreport kuhusu ubinafsishaji wa ATC, utalii wa uwindaji , waliponunua Mwananchi nakumbuka one of the editor aliyeletwa afanyie Citizen alitoa maneno ya kejeli kwamba magazeti ya kingereza ya Bongo wanacopy na kupaste tu, hawa wanajumuia wenzetu kwa kujisifia hawajambo

Mkuu naweza kukubaliana na wewe kuwa huyu jamaa anaandika pumba. Lakini kuna ukweli ndani yake kuwa habari za kiingereza kwenye magazeti ya hapa Tanzania, nyingi ni cut, copy and paste work. Au ni habari za propaganda ambazo mtu unachofanya ni kurefer habari ya mwaka jana na kubadilisha jina na terehe and so on. Huwezi kuona creativity or efforts put into getting a story. Hakuna investigative journalism kama ya gazeti la This day, so i a way kwenye hili yuko right.

Na ni kweli Kenya ni East African giant, tutake tusitake.

Tukiambiwa ukweli unaouma tunatakiwa tukaze buti twende tuwafikie wenzetu na sio, kubisha na kuanza politiki.

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

This are the lies that you comfort youself with huh? You think you are better off than the next bloke just because you have a piece of land under your name, and a shack that you go to at the end of the day, and some form of political sanity in your country, well if that's your definition of being better than Kenyans, then your thought process is as twisted as a crack addicts.

You fruits should learn to look at things in different perspectives, everyone is critiquing the article just because the writer presumably writes ''biased'' article about Tanzania, you fail to grasp what he is trying to put forth in this article. look at Swahili, the language we so boastfully call ours, it has more Arabic influence than any Bantu language, but we have been trained to embrace what is foreign than what is ours. Am not trying to say that EA is more Arab than African, what am trying to say is that instead of arguing sense, we are discussing things way out of context just because we dislike the writer. Uswahili utakapo watoka, labda ndipo mtafungua macho na akili.

Mzeiya,

you are about to derail this thread with your posting or is that your intention?

Mfianchi has given a general statement and has not mentioned Kenyans
na naona umekurupuka kumjibu.Is there anywhere in the posting that
he has mentioned Kenya?..Sidhani.

Kisha I believe you need more knowledge about the language of Kiswahili.
It is a language that is comprised of words from Bantu languages, Arabic,
Portuguese, English and some others.The statement "it has more Arabic
influence than any Bantu language.." is therefore wrong.

What do you mean by "Uswahili utakapowatoka..."

Regards.

 

[Smatta]

Mzeiya,

you are about to derail this thread with your posting or is that your intention?


Kisha I believe you need more knowledge about the language of Kiswahili.
It is a language that is comprised of words from Bantu languages, Arabic,
Portuguese, English and some others.The statement "it has more Arabic
influence than any Bantu language.." is therefore wrong.


Regards.

I am not derailing the thread, am trying to prevent it from being derailded by the people who concentrate alot on the writer than what is written.

And for your Info, About 35% of the Swahili vocabulary derives from the ARABIC language, gained through more than twelve centuries of contact with Arabic-speaking traders. It also has incorporated Persian, German, Portuguese, English and French words into its vocabulary through contact during the last five centuries.
The name 'Kiswahili' comes from the plural sawāḥil (سواح&#1604 of the ARABIC word sāḥil (ساح&#1604, meaning "boundary" or "coast" (used as an adjective to mean "coastal dwellers" or, by adding 'ki-' ["language"] to mean "coastal language"). The word "sahel" is also used for the border zone of the Sahara ("desert")). So bantu hapo ni kidogo sana, najua utabisha lakini ukweli ni ukweli budah.

 

[Kabuche1977]

Am not trying to say that EA is more Arab than African, what am trying to say is that instead of arguing sense, we are discussing things way out of context just because we dislike the writer. Uswahili utakapo watoka, labda ndipo mtafungua macho na akili.

Wabongo tumekuwa waswahili sana, hilo sina ubishi nalo, huwa tunapenda kusema sana bila matendo, wenzetu pamoja na kuwa wametokea kwenye skwata kama mdau mmoja alivosema lakini they are smart linapokuja suala patriotism, sisi tuna umimi sana, patriotic ideal mindsets hatuna kabisa. Huwa tunabwabwaja sana mtaani na ni watu wa kulalamika tu. Halafu mimi sielewi kabisa hivi hizo NGOS zote Tanzania zinafanya kazi gani, nchi inaingia kwenye grand corruptions cjawahi ona ngo yoyote ikiandaa movement zozote kuchukua hatua hata za kwenda mahakamani, yaani wooooga mtupu---------tuache umimi na tuige mfano wa wakenya

 

[Zawadi Ngoda]

Hii ni thread ya chini kabisa katika kiwango. Huyu ndugu amepitwa na wakati.

Kifupi yu nyuma na wakati, hasa wakati huu wa Utandawazi.

Kwa mtaji wa mawazo haya, ni vigumu kwa upande wangu kufikiri kuwa Tanzania, Kenya na Uganda zaweza kuungana na kufanya EA. Ni muhimu tuungane kwanza kimawazo, na kufikiria zaidi utendaji kuliko ukikuyu, uluo au ujaluo zaidi kuliko Afrika.

Huyu bwana ni mkabila, hana lolote.

 

[Smatta]

Hii ni thread ya chini kabisa katika kiwango. Huyu ndugu amepitwa na wakati.

Kifupi yu nyuma na wakati, hasa wakati huu wa Utandawazi.

Kwa mtaji wa mawazo haya, ni vigumu kwa upande wangu kufikiri kuwa Tanzania, Kenya na Uganda zaweza kuungana na kufanya EA. Ni muhimu tuungane kwanza kimawazo, na kufikiria zaidi utendaji kuliko ukikuyu, uluo au ujaluo zaidi kuliko Afrika.

Huyu bwana ni mkabila, hana lolote.

Mkuu, huyu jamaa hajasema chochote kuhusu EAC, hajaongea kwenye hii article mambo ya Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya na Rwanda kuungana, he has written nothing on that account. So tafadhalini, lets stick to the topic at hand, sielewi kwanini hammpendi huyu jamaa, let me google him nisome articles zake then I know what the fuss is about.

 

[Masanja]

If you read between the lines utamuelewa Obbo.

First anaonyesha kabisa kwamba kuna deept rooted prejudice dhidi ya wahindi katika Africa Mashariki yote (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi na Tanzania). Anachoshindwa kuelezea bwana Obbo ni kwamba hawa wahindi wao ingawa wamekaa sana Afrika Mashariki vizazi kwa vizazi..hawataki kujichanganya na wazawa weusi. Kifupi wanaona E.A kama sehemu ya kuchumia tuu na kwao ni huko Bara hindi. Na ukiangalia..iwe Kenya au Tanzania shoddy deals ambazo zimetupotezea billions na kuchangia umaskini wetu....wahindi wako at the centre..Kamlesh Patni, Rostam (ingawa huyu ni Muirani-wengi wanamuona Muhindi tuu), Patel nk. Ndo maana chuki dhidi ya wahindi haiwezi kuisha especially given the existing income disparity. Hata wale wanaoigia kwenye siasa..wanakuwa na secret motives za kujinufaisha wao..na wala siyo kuwasaidia majority weusi..

Kuhusu Waarabu, Obbo anajaribu kuonyesha kwamba..mbona waarabu wamekaa Afrika mashariki miaka mingi sana..na wao hawana ubaguzi dhidi ya vizazi vingine/makabila mengine? Kwa hili Obbo anasahau kwamba Africa its for Africans. Na unforunately..we still define Uafrika kwa kuangalia rangi. You are African if you are black. We can sugar coat things lakini huo ndo ukweli. Ingawa waarabu wamekuja miaka mingi..lakini mpaka leo wanajiona wageni. By the way..hata sisi tunawaona wahamiaji...Sisi waafrika..hatukuhamia from anywhere..ni mipaka tuliyowekewa na wazungu..ndo ina tudefine. Mfano kama Kenya na Tanzania kusingekuwa na mpaka..nani angekuwa mhamiaji? Simply put..we are Tanzanians, Kenyans, Ugandans..kwa sababu ya hii partition..otherwise..we are ALL Africans.

Kwa hiyo sisi waafrika... siyo wahamiaji...hatukutoka ulaya wala Asia....wakati hao waarabu na wahindi..ni wahamiaji..hata kama ni miaka mia tano iliyopita..ila historia yao iko documented kwamba walikuja huk kwetu kwa kuhamia.

Its unfortunate..ila ukweli ni kwamba..utamuona mwenzako ni mwafrika kama ni mweusi. Hata kama ana passport ya US/UK etc..bado utamuona ni MWAFRIKA TUU. Same applies..kama jamaa ni muhindi..hata kama ana passport ya Kenya/Tanzania..ni muhindi tuu.

 

[Companero]

Kweli. Lets stick to the topic. The guy has a point. Na hii ndio point yake: Siasa za uzawa ni hatari sana maana ukifuatilia sana utagundua hakuna mzawa, sisi wote ni wakuja. Kwa mfano, hapa Tanzania Mngoni wa Ruvuma ni mzawa kuliko Mbaluchi wa Mbeya? Nani alitangulia kufika Tanganyika? Tujenge nchi ya 'raia' ni si 'wazawa'!

 

[Nyani Ngabu]

Kweli. Lets stick to the topic. The guy has a point. Na hii ndio point yake: Siasa za uzawa ni hatari sana maana ukifuatilia sana utagundua hakuna mzawa, sisi wote ni wakuja. Kwa mfano, hapa Tanzania Mngoni wa Ruvuma ni mzawa kuliko Mbaluchi wa Mbeya? Nani alitangulia kufika Tanganyika? Tujenge nchi ya 'raia' ni si 'wazawa'!

Na wewe kwenu wapi?

 

[Lole Gwakisa]

Prodigal Son, you seem to be "Arabised" in your thinking.
EA more Arab than African? probably your homestead and personal inclination within your self.
Swahili has more arab words?
Please go back to your basics and learn more about kiswahili and dont jump into what has been long lodged into your mind.In fact there are several cities in the Tanzania mainland where kiswahili though widely spoken comes second in terms of a unifying lingua franca.
Go to inland towns like Bukoba or Tukuyu, swahili is spoken but the local languages are paramount.This is the case in many inland towns through out the East Afican hinterland.
It thus puts to question Prodigal Sons assertion that EA is more Arab than African,the Arabic predominance that he is talking about can only exist in his (un)fertile imagination.

 

[The Quonquerer]

Wabongo tumekuwa waswahili sana, hilo sina ubishi nalo, huwa tunapenda kusema sana bila matendo, wenzetu pamoja na kuwa wametokea kwenye skwata kama mdau mmoja alivosema lakini they are smart linapokuja suala patriotism, sisi tuna umimi sana, patriotic ideal mindsets hatuna kabisa. Huwa tunabwabwaja sana mtaani na ni watu wa kulalamika tu. Halafu mimi sielewi kabisa hivi hizo NGOS zote Tanzania zinafanya kazi gani, nchi inaingia kwenye grand corruptions cjawahi ona ngo yoyote ikiandaa movement zozote kuchukua hatua hata za kwenda mahakamani, yaani wooooga mtupu---------tuache umimi na tuige mfano wa wakenya

Hata kama sisi siyo watu wa vitendo, kuna watu wa kujifunza kutoka kwao lakini siyo Wakenya. Tabia za Kikenya kenya, kiwiwizi na kikabila kabila na zisifike hapa Tanzania, kwa wale wanaowa-admire, hawajatembea na hawawajui. NGO/ Amani Forums wamepanga kunadamana dhidi ya maamuzi ya ovyo, woga wa bunge kuchukulia hatua mafisadi lakini serikali inaogopa na inajaribu kuyazima, soma Tanzania Daima ya leo. Halafu,Kiswahili is more Bantu than arabic, kwa wale wasiojua kama Smatta. Mkenya kama Smatta atajuaje Kiswahili kuliko Mtanzania? Upo hapo bro?

 

[Lukwangule]

This is more than fun. hell! what does it mean,yeah am asking what does it mean? The history what is the connection? Does it mean we are useless in urguing that this is Africa? Kuna waswahili wengi sana ASIA je wao ni wahindi waarabu wachina na huko ni uswahilini. I dont get it/Somebody is f''''''king my head and i dont like it