AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE

For decades and decades the United States of America has been against the economical systems called Socialism a.k.a communism.(I don’t see any differences).She has been against it in such a way that she is ready to launch any military attacks just to kill any elements of socialism anywhere in the world.There must be a reason, a reason that is sometimes simplified to selfishness.What is wrong with other countries to choose socialism as opposed to capitalism?
The recent Bolivian elections are viewed as a new uprising of socialist revolution from Latin American countries.Most countries in Africa which followed socialism after attaining independence from colonialists have almost given up.Undefined economical policies is dominant now.My motherland country of Tanzania is one of them.
Apparently,there is a beauty of socialism. If you ask me North America has and will always need to incorporate lots of socialism elements in order to remain “societies”. The community centres,help for the poor,the homeless,the elders etc are all true values of socialism.Perhaps what differs is capitalism nature of economics whereby very few people own all means of economics. Canada’s air transportation and telecommunication industries are two examples of how capitalism operates.
I am not injecting my “socialism” cross-overs here but trying to answer one hard question…why does US (and remotely Canada) hate socialism that much? Isn’t the world a better place when freedom of choices is guaranteed?

Finally I am starting to understand what my peers used to tell me when I was becoming a political aspirant just like any youth in mid twenties. That is the time when the ego just keep pushing you unguided.I remember one of my peer telling me this “All politicians lies all the time”.
Watching the first political debate yesternight,having prepared a little book to take some notes I ended up changing the channel when none of the “politicians” debating could not “swear” by their religion and faiths that they will keep their promises. To me that was additional confirmation that expect nothing but nothing from politicians!
However,apart from their lies I was particulary disturbed with the fact that the Green Party through their leader Jim Harris was not among the debaters. If you read any of the written facts about Canada you will easily find out that Canada has four political parties. Why one of them is delibarately left out of the democratic process like debate leaves many questions to an immigrant like me.
I come from Africa where it is believed that democracy has not yet been well defined leave alone understood and practised. I have tried to search for the meaning of DEMOCRACY to see whether there is a difference between what African countries are supposed to follow and what western countries are supposed to.Through full lights I could not see the difference.What is democracy then?Who is behind the double standards of democracy?As someone who comes from all time blamed countries for failing to honor democratic principles,what should I learn?

Controversy is not what I intend to label myself against.But I am a firm believer that while life should not be taken serious all the time(yes,we all need to relax sometimes) there are some things that worth being given minutes of thoughts and analysis. One of my blog friends warned me not to believe everything I read. What he forgot to warn me about is what to do when believing or not believing is not a matter but just looking around and agree or not. Read this piece and look who is standing around you!

Being a foreigner in North America means more than just arriving at the airport and seeing another world. You have to learn and accept whatever traditions, cultures and ways of life that you find here. Above learning and accepting you are also expected to offer maximum tolerance towards any of them.

It’s a foreign land, lots of surprises . Sometimes are known as culture shocks. Some are admissible as defense tools in some court of laws. Don’t say you didn’t know this and that instead just stick to culture shock. You can win a legal battle this way. If you decide to live in the United States of America you should be prepared to live and accept American ways of life. What it simply means is that when you get in USA you should forget about whatever traditions and cultures that made who you are and learn the American lifestyles. You will be baptized in the name of American culture. In the old days of slave trade slaves were forced to change even their names. They had to get new names that sounded like American names. Americans are proud of their country, at least those who do not know much about their foreign policies and what the rest of the world offers. Whether you like it or not your culture matters not to Americans. Their culture stands.

Canada, instead, proudly claims being a multi-cultural nation. This federal policy was born thru the 1988 Bill C-93 to be known as Canadian Multicultural Act. This followed the first attempt starting in 1971 when the federal government had announced its multiculturalism policy. The demand for multiculturalism was mostly shaped by increasing and changing immigration issues that Canada faced and still faces today. There was a time when Canada needed no new immigrants. There also came a time, after great economic successes, Canada needed immigrants to help it push forward the economic success it had started to enjoy. Labor force became a national need as industries demanded more professionals.

Multi-culturalism technically means preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a society, state or nation. Preservation, simply means keeping alive or in existence; make lasting( from the dictionary) It claims to offer the freedom of continuing practicing whatever tradition and cultures that made you a man or a woman you are before even thinking about a place called Canada. This is what I want to discuss here. How much freedom and tolerance is extended to those who wishes to practically continue to practice their cultures in Canada? Is there something like multiculturalism or there is something behind this curtain that people just don’t want to have a glance at? What about Canadian Culture, is there such a thing?Toronto and Vancouver stands out as most culturally and diverse cities in Canada.

Walking in the streets of Toronto or Vancouver one can simply notice the diversity that this city holds. People from all walks of life and ethnicity exists here. I have met people from nations that I never thought I would ever meet in my life. Canada is one of few countries in the world that can claim to be indeed rich in diversity. I agree with this fact and I love it.Canada is a modern society and therefore it embraces its modernity mostly thru improvement of social justices. Issues like gender equality, war against racism and all types of discrimination, human rights, tolerance towards ethnic diversity etc are very common talks in city halls, parliament and the entire community.

The further this nation goes in its modernization campaigns it becomes a joke to continue claiming that multiculturalism exists. Canadians are such law abiding people hence their country as well. I am always confused from the legal terms that arises when, for example sex crimes are mentioned. Rape, sexual harassment, sexual assault, improper touching, etc etc. To correctly notice the differences between these crimes one needs laws PhDs to figure out.The contradiction that social, political and economical modernization brings against multiculturalism is the main challenge that Canadian multiculturalism faces. A friend of mine told me a fascinating story about two Kenyan immigrants that wanted to practice their culture in Canada. After all they have always been told that Canada is a multicultural society whereby people are free to give life to their cultural practices. These two gentlemen lived in the condominium. According to their culture Christmas was not Christmas without slaughtering a goat. So they went and bought a goat. One challenge that they faced was where do they slaughter the goat. After some negotiating they decided to “practice their culture” in their apartment, in the bath-tub. That was the only place they could think of given the tough laws on trespassing. Just as they started slaughtering the goat it made noises that forced neighbors to call 911 thinking that someone was being brutally murdered in that apartment. Cops arrived, broke into the apartment just to find these two gentlemen with their hands full of blood in the bath-tub. They were later on charged with quite many offences from distraction of peace to cruelty against animals. Practicing their culture costed them a big deal.

Examples of tough limitations in practicing foreign cultures in Canada can go on and on. How many kids have been taken away from their parents just because they yelled at them and got what is considered disciplining in Africa and child abuse in Canada?Sadly Canada makes it almost impossible to practice whatever one would call “my/ our culture” . Before going further and making sure that we don’t leave any stone unturned its important to remember the most popular definition of culture which proclaims Culture being the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. Basing on such popular definition which accounts higher authorities it means leaving behind one or two ways of life one pays no attention to culture as culture and instead embraces what I want to call “in between cultural values” or halfway culture which to me IT IS NOT CULTURE.

I am not against multi-cultural trials that are made in Canada. However, I am of an opinion that Canadian Culture born under multiculturalism would make more sense than what surrounds our communities today. Multiculturalism policies should also include “ with serious limitations” words because that is what it is, literally. The assimilation policy that Canada tried after the second world war was perhaps not a very good way but more realistic.I believe that traditions are progressive in nature. They keep growing and changing everytime and for better. Everyone has a cultural value of some sort and before trying to change him or her necessary efforts should be done in learning and understanding their those values first. How much efforts is Canadian government giving to that? So if I am yet to believe that in Canada men also are baby-sitters, that women are free not to wear the hijab, that circumcision is not only done in the forests when someone reaches 16 years old, that to be a real man I must not marry more than one wife, that no man is entitled to take care of his deceased brother’s family including re-marrying his widow, would you respect that or you will demand to see an immediately changes in the way I value those cultural values? How many can walk free by claiming that whatever they did (wrong) in Canadian definitions is practically okay in their cultures? I am not talking about beating or abusing wives (there is no such culture in the world). Isn’t it true that there are some ways of life that are considered better than others? How willing one person is in changing towards the so called “better” culture should not be by force through laws but rather be by choices. Then claiming being a multiculturalism society would make sense. Otherwise where is the respect of my culture? Unless we completely want to get rid of the theme culture then multiculturalism does not fit anywhere in today’s world.

Multiculturalism should mean practical multiculturalism .If culture exists only in books and people’s minds without possibility of being practiced what kind of culture is that?There is Canadian Culture; there is Canadian ways of life. Regardless of where this culture originated from. We must start advocating for that. Important is to remember that this culture is made up of a combination of different types of cultures from across the globe. This does not automatically give birth to multiculturalism but instead it bears a child called Modern Canadian Culture. One culture ,practically possible.

It is said that Canadian government views multiculturalism as just about festivals and cuisines like Caribana Festival (picture above from Caribana Parade,Toronto 2005). Many argue that such is a crude oversimplification that leads to easy stereotyping.

On daily basis I try to run away from politics, from lies which can not easily be admitted by what we call our world leaders. But in my same daily marathon I tend to look back and see how far have I gone or how far can I go. The results emerging mostly from thoughts are always disturbing. What is intelligence, what is ethics and many more similar vocabularies,so famous in politicians mouths? Simple realization,I can’t run away from politics,it affects both of us.You and me ,in and out. But does it help me to only talk about and do nothing more? I am convincing myself that it does.It makes my soul free,I become holly before death.I am imagining how does heaven measure sin?Is it not by what we think first and what we do later? Actus Reus and Mens Rea are not only legal terms then.May be they originate from above.
In politics,I am not sure where I stand when it comes to American Politics. Where do you think I should stand when my screen flushes information like this? Click here.

When I was growing up my home country of Tanzania was purely socialist. Things are changing now. The Cuban President Fidel Castro is one person who has empowered me and he continoues doing so even today. He is a man who can make you listen to him from sunrise to sunset. He tells the truth,he is prepared to die defending his cause.Take time,make sure you are not in a rush.Read this and see whether he makes some sense to you as he does to me.

Few years ago the world started talking about “brain drain”. Core suggestions were that brain drain was nothing but just “new colonialism”. United States of America knows the sweetness and bitterness of all these. The unending war against racism never misses in all these.I do not remember reading about the conclusion to that discussion anywhere. Switzerland has a new idea as this article triggers. Is this the same case with Canada?

Its winter time in Toronto and most parts of the world. People’s faces are full of anger and shivering. Few people loves this season.Certainly I have not come across someone who loves and always in a mood of waiting for this season of the year. Unfortunately, it is longer than the cherished and most loved “summer”. Summer days are finally over. The only best hope for winter season is Christmas and New Year. People will party, receive and give lots of gifts. Families will gather and fights will erupts. Hey,don’t you know about family fights erupting on Christmas Lunch Tables? All in all, X-mas is the best time and saying farewell to the last long year is always fascinating. New year,New Hopes,so they say.

I am standing at the subway station heading to the heart of Toronto where business never stops. I overhear two young couples lamenting about how short summer days are. They console each other by kisses and hugs. In next few days hugs and kisses will be not a matter of choice anymore but necessity. Yes, it is going to get more chilly in Canada and that is the time everyone wishes to be accompanied by someone from whom they can get the natural heat. Bachelors and singles, I know its hard.I safely arrive at the heart of the city. Yonge Street is the heart of the city to me. All imaginable and unimaginable stuff happens on this longest street in the world. I am not sure brother/ sister; I have not seen the whole world. But guess what here in North America any outstanding or non-outstanding thing is considered to be of the world. I have heard about the NBA champions being baptized the world champions titles, I have heard and seen the World Music Award that were attended by Americans only, not even neighboring Canadians were invited. Still it’s considered to be World Music Award. To most North Americans the world starts and ends right here. Who should we blame?Its evening hours and everyone seems to be in a rush, the chilly winds of the beginning of winter season are already too harsh to handle. Everyone wants to reach their nests.
I am meeting brothers and sisters to discuss about cultural values and what we can do to revive our black culture which is literally dying. We want to lay down a cultural foundation that will attempt to re-define our culture far from the current one which indicates that black culture is about festivals and foods from the continent Africa.The meeting room is quite, I am the first one to arrive. I wonder where everybody is. Ooh I remember, black people and time-keeping. (May be its not just a joke)The no hurry in Africa theme does not end in Africa Above all its winter already.People need re-adjustments. Business people come along with all kind of propaganda. Man, you have to change your tires, you have to change this, and that. This is exactly what happens when seasons changes.The end of summer, end of fall, end of autumn. Is winter here already? How did this happen? Where did it go? Summer gets shorter every year. It used to be considerably longer; back in college and law school it ran from the end of finals in mid-May to the return to campus in late August. Those are common cries full of shocks and anger. Brothers and sisters who grew up here are always full of questions and answers.When does summer begin? The middle of May? Memorial Day weekend? The summer solstice? Late June, when all the kids are out of school? And when does summer end? The end of August, when college students go back to campus? Labor Day weekend? The autumnal equinox?At the back of my mind I still remember last summer. It was hot than usual and a friend of mine has called it Nudity License. Observing how people dressed I understand what he means. The definition of nudity and private parts needs some revision I think. I remember refusing going to the beach in fear of tempting my soul. I am human ladies and gentlemen! Can you real tell the difference between the so called nude beach and the normal ones? I certanly can’t.What does summer mean anyway? I was working, busy working trying to make ends meet. No holidays than few travels and rare attendance to some famous black people concerts and the popular caribana parade. If you don’t take holidays with your family does summer mean weather changes alone? I don’t even know what summer means anymore. It’s just a time of year when things are hot. And not always.It ended, then came fall followed by autumn. Its snowing now. I am not sure whether I love it when snow falls.

However, one thing that I am sure about is how much I enjoy driving along when snow is falling. I enjoy the discipline that rough drivers capture. No stupid overtakes and over-speeding. I am sure it’s a bad season for our revenue collectors. Sorry I mean police. Do you think they are interested in protecting and saving your life or they are interested in your dollars? If you are not sure ask yourself why do they hide in unimaginable places so that you speed or pass a stop sign first before they show up. What if you speed up and get involved in a terrible car accident?(please don’t speed) You die eenh. What if you had seen the police car in front of you? Would you have speeded?Hey brothers and sisters are here, the meeting is on. Remind me to write more later on.

Yesterday was International Day for HIV/AIDS. Many speeches,promises and analysis of this killer disease were made. As usual politicians were not behind to capitalize and maintain their political agendas by making all of us believe that “they care”. Among many stuff that were written,read and spoken there was one person who wrote a letter to President George W.Bush of USA and President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. I have found this letter impressive and making lots of sense.Especially his suggetion number 7.Please read it here.

I am writting this piece away from Africa. The air transport experts shocked me when they told me that I am sitting at about 19 hours flight from my home land Tanzania. A simple meaning to this is that I am miles away from my motherland.Its a scary feeling and I should insist its hard and almost a nightmare learning to cope with it.

I have been in North America for a while now but I am yet to get fully used to it.Shame on me?!! Its a good exposure and experience both positively and negatively. Whether we choose to agree or not, North America is different from Africa. I have spent lots of time trying to compile the similarities and I can assure you that its a hell of experience doing just that. I am not saying one place is better than the other but I am saying these two places are DIFFERENT from each other. And I am not talking about landscapes here because in that area I can mention some similarities like trees,lakes,ocean,hills etc. Its all about social life and beliefs.

I miss Tanzania and Africa in general. I know some friends thinks I am just trying to act crazy. To them Africa is not a place they wanna miss. They say they have had enough. I love the continent and of course I miss all my friends and relatives. Who wouldn’t miss the continent with all these? Click here You must be strange not to miss what is everyone’s dream to feel and experience.

Today on my way back from work many thoughts about Africa came in my mind. It was about the differences I am talking about.I specifically focused my thoughts on social affairs. In the elevators ( I live in a condominium) no body greets another, no body even smiles at one another. We were five of us in the elevator. Two of us going to the same floor.Imagine these are supposedly my “right hand neighbours” That made me remember those days when in the early morning hours I could go to the bus stop greeting and smiling to everyone on my way to the bus stop. They also smiled and greeted me back. Its not like they want anything from you NO..its just for love.Everyone is your friend or at least one respects the fact that you are all human beings. Getting a free smile here is a rare occassion. If you are lucky you can get it from the receptionist or when paying for your groceries. But this comes out of their job description orders anyway! In my neighborhood I don’t remember anyone that I didn’t know by name. It was a street of about 30 houses with each house with at least three family members. At work a young man came complaining that he has been expelled from school for a simple fight with a school mate. He goes on explaining to me how teachers called cops who came in four of them with the siren in full flash. I almost bursted into laughters before feeling the tears in my eyes. Can’t teachers handle such a simple case? I remember how much we used to fight in school, if we were here in Canada bet all of us would be inmates for life. But instead our teachers (who had almost parental powers on us) would finish the whole saga. Even the school principal wouldn’t know about such incidences. I bet they had better things to concentrate on.I know some calls that abuse and giving teachers too much powers.However,let me tell you something..I am proud of the teachers who used to handle such fights because I see how much time and money is wasted here trying to bend a fish before it dries up(an african say)

I remember how embarrased one woman was when she came for an interview just to find me sitting on the board ready to shoot some nasty questions. She happened to be from the same building I am living and as the matter of fact she had always given me a “cold shoulder” kind of looks.I am not sure if she is a racist or not. I could imagine how such a thing can rarely happen in Tanzania.Hey..let me stop I am told our society is also changing out there.Everyone wants to feel “americanized”.Ooops I guess those people do not know what the society here is missing.You can tell how lonely people are in this part of the world by the way everybody is busy with either cell phones, disc man, a novel or newspaper. No body to talk to.You better be busy with the latest tech gears.How do these people initiate relationships?? How do one start and not find a court summon the next day for sexual harrassment? Gosh they have legal terminologies here and trust me you can’t escape if they want you in pink suits.Anyway I will keep you posted about these similiraties and differences.But the most important thing is to respect each others way of life.Africa can be economically behind(africa is never poor) but can its social wealthy be compared to any other one on earth? Peace,understanding and tolerance can start there.