Sunday 10 June 2012

An Unwelcome Visitor

The stereotype of Africa is that it is a risky place to live.  The western media focus on African violence and mayhem.  The single story of Africa is that it is a highly dangerous place.

Until very recently our personal experience with Tanzania has been just the opposite.  Without exception the people have been polite, welcoming and friendly.

On Friday we began to have our first security problem.  Near the market a man asked us for some money for chakula (food).  This sort of thing happens occasionally even in Kibaya where there are no tourists and where, as a result, begging is rare.  When beggars do approach us we always say, 'sorry, no money.'   We are always polite to them. On Friday, we responded to the beggar as usual and thought no more about it.

On Saturday morning at 7:00, just after Pascale Antony our guard left, the same beggar showed up outside our home.  He was carrying a stick and had a machete strapped to his belt.  He woke us up and asked for money.  To find out where we live he must have followed us home on Friday.  We told him through the window, in our limited Swahili, that we were sorry but that we could not give him money.  He stood outside our window for about 15 minutes glaring at us and then left.   On the road in front of our house he began to scream and yell but then moved on.

On Saturday afternoon the man came to our house again.  Once more he asked for money and once more we told him that we were sorry but that we had no money to give.  After standing outside our house for about 15 minutes he left.  At this point I started to become a little concerned and so I phoned our manager, Mr. Ndee who suggested we go to our nearest neighbour, Mr. Joseph, a Big Potato in the district and ask for his help.  Unfortunately, Mr. Joseph was not at home.

This morning at about 8:30 the same man showed up again and got us out of bed.  He started pounding on our door with his stick while screaming at us.  When he left our door to come to our bedroom window to do more yelling, I quietly opened the door and took his picture.

This is the picture I took of the man who has been harrassing us

There are five Mzungus living in Kibaya and of all our house is the most exposed.  We have no gate and no wall surrounding our property.  We don’t keep dogs and the locks on our doors would not stand a serious asault.  All five of us stand out and are assumed to be rich.

This morning after the beggar left, I phoned Mr. Swai, a secondary school headmaster and friend and he came over right away.  When I showed him the picture he recognized the person as a local mentally disturbed man but recommended to us that we contact the police.

Mr. Joseph, our neighbour, took us to the police station late this morning and we filed a police report.  The report was written in Swahili and I signed it without being able to read it.  I hope I didn’t confess to the Kennedy assassination!

The police were sympathetic and friendly.  They know the culprit as mentally disturbed person and told us that they would pick him up, bring him to the station and warn him to stay away from our house. 

I hope this works.  Another day in the lives of two mzungues in Kibaya.



 

1 comment:

  1. Bravo! So proud of you for being peace-keepers who did not overreact out of fear. I am praying for God's angels to surround your property and keep you safe. When my husband and I were missionaries in South America we read Psalm 91 and Psalm 23 out loud every evening build up our faith and to let the darkness know that we were children of the light and would not be intimidated. Dont be weary in well doing - you guys are "smokin awesome" as a high schooler I know would say :-)

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