It has been sometime since I wrote something from the vaults
of my mind. I can now say it wasn’t writers block or lack of passion but it was
the fact that the more I learnt, the more confused I got and the more questions
I had. Sounds weird I know but at some point during what we call “tertiary”
education, my mind hit a deadlock that seemed at the time to be the boundaries
of my capacity to create or to be honest, I thought I had saturated my mind.
For those who know me also know I am not one to talk about certain things
mostly politics and such since I had believed my lack of knowledge on the
matter made me ill equip to do so. Over time however I have started to notice
that it isn’t I am ill equip but I look at things differently (consistent discussion
with my peers has shed light on this). As such a small crack formed in the wall
in my head and not until today and this moment has an idea been able to flow
through.
I warn those who are faint of heart or a bit touchy to
either not read this or get their tissues ready and if you don’t like what I
say then by all means discuss it with me like a learned adult and not some
drunk belligerent monkey.
I commend my fellow TANZANIANS (kwa uzalendo wenu, upendo na
ubinaadamu) for the huge and I mean HUGE movement in regards to Albinism initiative
that has been take. I am not in any way trying to diminish those efforts and
leaps made but sadly I also see how it is being used as the shiny object to
distract us. How our gaze is being made to look in one direction so we are “blinded”
from seeing things as a whole.
Ask yourself, why is it that the cases of these killings
rise during election time? Why is it the campaigns, talks and all these things
being done by our government when they will soon be asking for your votes? They
play with our emotions and our minds so that we may pick them. They distract us
from all the failings, lies, thievery, killings and deaths (due to lack of
basic facilities). I ask as well as this campaign is being spear headed, has
anyone bothered to notice a few articles pop up here and there saying that the
president has gone back on his word and that Maasai land has been sold and they
are being moved? Substantiated or not, why isn’t it being discussed and talked
about? Newspapers put full page articles about so called “celebrities” and
something important, gets put in some obscure section with a few words and it
ends there.
WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?
I heard once on the news how a man who stole a chicken so as
he could eat and live was imprisoned for life and yet someone in our government
shot and killed an unarmed dala dala (bus) driver and nothing happen to him. We
were covered with news of the miracle cure in Loliondo it was plastered
everywhere I then ask you this, what else was going on in the country. Can
anyone remember anything about Tanzania (within or outside the country) during
that time? All our focus was on that as other things were happening just in our
peripheral.
It is easy to feel empathy for another human being that has
been hurt (especially in gruesome ways) and been discriminated against. When a
survivor of such atrocities speaks to others it touches our souls. We imagine
if that was our kin, our child, sibling or parent and it is these same emotions
that is used against us. We are also swayed by our media, musicians, poets,
writers, socialites and so on and one can only ask that they do not fall under
the spell as well but try not to be blinded.
One small good thing can be taken
and used against us to hide the darker things. At times it is difficult to separate our emotions from our decision, but if we only follow these feelings then our mind dwindles and we can
no longer objectively look at something. And this is what we need to do. As an
individual and as a people. To think more, to question more and oppossed to feeling awe from the "rabbit out of the hat" we need to start looking where we are being distracted from.
Jah Bless
