The
Inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as reported from Tanzania
by Mama Twiga*
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It was the first morning in Tanzania for my safari group of
seven Americans, two Australians, one Frenchman and a native of Hong Kong. There
was so much to see at breakfast on the porch of Ngare Sero Lodge. Tropical
flora was thick with fruit bearing trees and flowering bushes. Rare colobus
monkeys with long white tails played hide and seek with each other and with us.
However, all this could not overpower the real story of the day. Almost 9000 miles away Barack Obama would be
sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, marking a
radical change in racial politics and the victory of populist anger over
Republican hegemony.
We Americans wondered how we could experience the
inauguration here in Tanzania. I reviewed the day with our group. We would
drive through the town of Arusha where some celebrations were planned, but we
would be too early to be a part of the events. We were scheduled to fly around
noon on charter to the Serengeti. There were mixed reactions. Most of the
travelers were excited about the plans and ready to go. The holdouts were five
of the seven Americans, who like me, were having some difficulty focusing on
the day.
I reassured the holdouts and myself that there would be some
way to watch and listen to Obama as he declared his commitment to change. I was
concerned because I knew we had reservations at Ndutu Lodge which has no TV's.
The only television in this vast plain is in a staff lounge located in a small
room at the back of the lodge near the ranger station.
The famous Serengeti is the place to see the annual
migration of antelopes and wildebeest. It is also a place that invokes images
of dramatic animal scenes and romantic figures from a by-gone time. The flight
to the Serengeti was exciting. Our plane flew over the Ngorongoro Crater low
enough to see Masai Villages dotting the edge of this conservation area they
share with the wild. Our pilot flew in wide tilted sweeps over the plains
giving us the first opportunity to spot game.
Andrew and Patrick Uronu met us at the airstrip. This father and son team would spend the next
two weeks introducing us to the miracles and spectacles of the wilderness and
to the land where man was born.
While the group was settling in, I spoke to Archie, owner of
the lodge, about the inauguration; and she reassured me we could watch the TV
in the staff room. Realizing the time
difference, we knew nothing would be on television until the evening. Only five years ago it would have been
impossible to have a working television here or anywhere in the Serengeti.
Limited electronics have come to the bush and now travelers can charge their
cameras and even spend $5.00 to check emails on the lodge terminal. Archie and
I have been friends for over twenty years and share a love for the natural
world. She knew I would never expect a TV for tourists here in paradise!
We had lunch and went out for a "game-drive" before dinner.
The  game drive is the heart of the safari. It was an amazing time; but Andrew,
Patrick and I were concerned that this first outing in the bush set the
standard too high. How could we possibly continue to produce lions, leopards
and cheetahs on every drive?
After the drive, Andrew, Archie and I deliberated over the
time of the broadcast. There was a 12 hour time difference. We calculated the
event would be about 8:30 pm Tanzanian time.
Our safari group gathered about 6:30 pm in the reception area of the
open-air restaurant. The lodge cabins are anchored around a two story stone
restaurant with two sides open facing the ridge above the Ndutu
River. At sunset guests relax on
comfortable couches sipping drinks while the natural world goes by,
occasionally including elephant  families. Although the lodge was full, we were
the only group that included Americans. We found our dinner table and ordered
wine. Those of us who were going to hear Obama made eye contact. It was time and we excused ourselves. Five Americans, one Frenchman and two safari
guides made their way down a very dark path to the back of the lodge buildings
and entered a small, stuffy room where 50-60 local workers were sitting on
crowded wooden benches watching the introduction of the new president. As
crowded as it was, they made room for us in scattered spots on the benches.
We had missed the swearing in but the speech was starting. Looking
radiant and confident, Obama started his story. The room was absolutely quiet. At
key moments I could hear the collective breathing of the group almost in unison
punctuated by a few sighs. When Obama spoke of his East African roots, I looked
to my left and I saw a tear run down the face of the man next to me. He didn't
wipe it away, maybe he didn't know he had allowed a tear to fall or maybe he didn't
care that he showed his emotions. I cried, too.
As Obama spoke of the crisis our country faces, he blamed
our problems on greed and irresponsibility. He said, "[We face] a nagging fear
that America's decline is inevitable."
I felt sad thinking that all the progress we have made and that
all the good America has done could be lost. What then? Which country would
take up the grand cause of liberty? Obama went on to allay my fears with these
words, "On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of
purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to
the petty grievances and false promises."
Over 50 years ago, Martin Luther King spoke of a dream.
Obama's message of hope insinuates the dream is becoming a reality. Hope was
being felt here in this small room in East Africa. The lives of Tanzanians are difficult, their
rewards few but on this night they felt confident that something good was
happening. The new president concluded his remarks and smiles broke into cheers.
As we filed out of the room, we shared congratulations, hand shakes, high fives
and a few hugs. One Tanzanian man looked at me and said, "I am happy America is
back."
This is how we celebrated the inauguration of Barak Hussein
Obama, not with 2 million on the Capitol grounds, but in a far off corner of
the world with a handful of working people who share our hope.
*Mama Twiga is Patricia House, owner of Vanishing Worlds,
LLC. For the last 25 years she has been traveling to East Africa, conducting
cultural field work, touring visitors, and helping Tanzanians develop safari
travel. She has partnered with Andrew Uronu and his company, Safari Tracks,
LTD, for over 14 years. For more information about safari travel contact www.vanishingworlds.com.
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Recent Acquisitions
Two recent additions to our collection of drapo Vodou are a
gorgeous Guede Mazaka by Edgard Jean Louis and a quite unusual beaded flag on a
non-religious subject by Constant.
The Guede Mazaka is Edgard at his best. The flag measures 30
X 38. Guede Mazaka is a kind of hybrid spirit according to Maya Deren, that is,
a blend of Azaka the peasant and Guede, the lord of the dead. Guede's country
cousin, if you will.
The subject of the Constant flag is a terrible taptap
accident in which it looks like the engine caught on fire. Taptaps are the
colorful buses that Haitians use as public transportation. Given the bad
condition of Haiti's
roads and the frequent mudslides during the rainy season, taptap accidents are
all too common. This flag measures 38 X 20.
Click on the photos for more information.
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