As a kid, I would proudly sing praises of my country, Tanzania. I would recite the powerful words Tazama ramani utaona nchi nzuri… Nchi hiyo mashuhuri huitwa Tanzania (Look at the map and you shall see a beautiful country… That great country is called Tanzania – my translation). Oh my… as a kid, I knew less of that country Tanzania, but in the early years of growing up; I became even more proud than ever before.

Well… growing up also made me realize that, that great country has not only been made great solely by The Great (so I say) Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, as the song depicts (Utumwa wa nchi, Nyerere ameukomesha/The country’s colonial slavery, Nyerere has ousted – again my translation). My fascination with knowledge, of all courses (formal and informal), enlightened me of lots of unknowns, particularly women, who altogether gave their blood, sweat, and soul for the liberation of this country.

The topmost enlightenment has been the fact that this country is a product of the collective dedication of ordinary people (of Africa), a fact silenced in the pages and auditorium of history. It is in this regard that, when I sing the song in my now elderly youthful years, on that last part I say and sing, Utumwa wa nchi, Nyerere na wenzake [and his fellow compatriots]wameukomesha.

Years of Greatness

Tanzania’s greatness transcended beyond its boundaries and its definite tale of greatness resided on the genuineness of the soul of the country and its people. Nothing tops the elaboration of Tanzania’s soul than the words and meaning of the country’s national symbol – The Uhuru Torch – which was pronounced to:

shine beyond borders, and to give hope where there was despair, love where there was hate and dignity where there was before any humiliation.

These words first pronounced by Mwalimu as he addressed the Tanganyika Legislative Assembly weren’t just mere words uttered by a cheap politician. These words were, in a nutshell, a pronouncement of Tanzania’s stance, vision, mission, and most definitely the summarization of the country’s foreign policy. These same words were the order of the day to leaders, politicians, technocrats, and citizens. These words were our vow towards ensuring a better Afrika and universe.

These words were not only loved by our souls, but they also lived in us. Most importantly, these words matched our actions. We meant it when we stated in our foreign policy that we shall offer support for the struggles against colonialism, racism, and neo-colonialism; offer support for the oppressed people in the world; take part in the promotion of African Unity; and offer support for the United Nations in its search for international peace and security.

We lived to every bit of the text, word, and punctuation. We stood against racism and became a thorn to colonialism. We offered solidarity – in kind, in cash, and in sweat and blood. We marched, crawled, and ran for Africa and beyond. We sang and danced to the tune of total emancipation. We recited poetry and chanted slogans for liberation. We hosted guerrillas, political detainees, and people of all kinds committed to advancing the welfare of the ordinary people worldwide. We preached and championed peace, love, and unity.

The New Error (rather than Era)

Fast-forward, forty years later (2001), the light of the Uhuru Torch faded as we opted to (as so seductively termed) “redefine” our stance by formulating a new foreign policy. This respective policy witnessed our 180-degree diversion, from rather bold politics of condemnation against exploitation, humiliation, and oppression of people to contemporary politics of fetishisms that advocate for the mainstreaming of the principles of economic liberalization, disguised under the theme ‘Economic Diplomacy.’

Whereas the prior policy talked about the socio-economic liberation of the people of Tanzania, Africa, and beyond, the new policy talks about capital and goods. To date, the new policy, so said to have been formulated to cope with the new world order (or rather, a new world dis-order), has witnessed the definite trade of our souls and sanity to the rather new world ordeal and cruelty.

As a result of the new policy and trends, we turned a blind eye to our brothers and sisters in Libya in their very fresh massacre that shattered the country’s progress into ashes; we have remained ignorant of our colleagues in Syria and Yemen who perish in vain; and we have ignored the inhumane sanctions of our comrades in Cuba and Venezuela. We have abandoned our friends in Western Sahara and are very shockingly dining with her oppressor (Morocco).

Topping the chart now, we are actually witnessing one of the most nonsensical and outrageous acts in recent history, in Palestine. The ruthless cartel of Israel and his peers are bombing Palestinians, massacring their children and elders, and forcefully displacing them from their legal, geographical, and ancestral homeland. Yet still, the once so brave Tanzania, which stood neck and tie with the Palestinians has remained ideally silent; failing to publicly condemn the genocidal acts of Israel or even calling off its diplomatic relations with Israel – something Tanzania was so fond of doing then.

As we have auctioned our souls at the global markets and at the hands and pockets of crook and bandit individuals and organizations, we have thus remained hopeless and impotent beings, waiting to play and adhere to the tune of our masters. We have lost our senses and courage, as we have become imitators to our “Lords in the North”, waiting to receive directions on whether or not to issue a “rather very vague” statement against the ongoing attacks (and how if so) or only vote.

Otherwise, we have been opting for silence and again to remain silent. Silence is our new name and norm. It is just sad that, whereas my dons on Foreign Policy and International Relations, Ambassador Sanga and Ambassador Kiwanuka, couldn’t stop bragging about their times and experiences of standing up against the giants and standing up for justice, peace, and equality, while I was a Post-Graduate at the Mozambique-Tanzania Center for Foreign Relations, about eight years ago; I on the other hand, would not have anything meaningful to tell my children and grandchildren.

On the contrary, I would only have to tell my children that my own country almost sanctioned me for issuing a condemnation statement against the institutionalization of the relationship between Tanzania and Morocco (the occupier of Western Sahara territory), in 2016 upon the coming of the King of Morocco. I would also have to tell my children and grandchildren that my country which became home to the first Palestine embassy in Africa, took action against Tanzanians who waved flags in a football match, in solidarity with Palestine. I would also have to tell them that, this “Dear Country” also found it fit to ban any sort of solidarity rallies and marches with the people of Palestine, on bizarre claims that such rallies and marches are based on “faith-ful” reasons.

Well… as I am about to call this off, I just wonder how silent Mwalimu Nyerere, Hashim Mbita, and Salim Ahmed Salim would remain when and where all these atrocities persisted. Would the then-Tanzanian community remain silent? Would Mwalimu, like his successors, abandon, ignore, or rather romantically “redefine” his relationship with the Palestinian people? Or would he rather recall his own words as quoted in the book AFRICA’S LIBERATION: The Legacy of Nyerere:

Our generation was a generation of nationalists struggling for the independence of our own countries – that is what we were there for – but the plight of the Palestinians is very different and much worse. When we were fighting for our independence, I was in Tanganyika, Kenyatta was in Kenya. Even now, the Namibians and South Africans are in their own country. But the Palestinian plight is more terrible and unjust; they have been deprived of their own country; they are a nation without land of their own. They therefore deserve the support of Tanzania and the entire world. The world must hear their voice and give them understanding and support.

I PROUDLY SUPPORT AND STAND WITH PALESTINE!