"Welcome to Our Town!"
At the end of a poorly maintained tarmac road, crossing a wooden bridge that creaks a bit too loudly every time a motor vehicle drives over it, and then going up a dirt hill...a journey to a remote populated corner of the larger Iringa district brings one to, well, something a bit different. On the top of the hill is a massive brick cathedral, reminiscent of southern Europe, surrounded by a slew of carefully crafted buildings that also would not feel out of place on the northern continent. Still, the little area established by Italian missionaries sees few visitors, perhaps increasing the level of curiosity showered upon a foreigner.
The fact that the local residents are exposed to foreign establishments, specifically manifested in the Caucasian priests of Roman Catholic faith, does make them much bolder toward approaching foreigners than residents of other nearby villages. The fact that English-medium secondary schools sponsored by the church are long-established in the vicinity of the cathedral equips the locals for conversations with foreigners. And when I decided to wander into the secondary school to glare at their Italian-esque architecture, the locals, with some on their way to Sunday service, maximized the opportunity for conversation.
That is not to say the conversations were deep and meaningful. They were mostly in the range of "Where do you come from?" "What are you doing here?" "How long have you been in Tanzania?" But this is already much more detailed and pin-pointed than the usual "Hello" and "How are you?" that I normally get when wandering around a new place in rural Tanzania. Again, it is not that the locals here are more interested in the foreigners dropping by, but more likely because of the greater confidence they have in their English skills.
And the sheer number of people that followed me, a lone foreigner, around as I took pictures were just incredible. Students jumped at the opportunities to be in the pictures. Locals walked me toward the junctions of the main roads when asked about the short-cuts to the town area. With their actions, they have displayed their welcomes to someone who clearly does not belong, and often seem a bit confused to be in a place so far away from even the most basic public transport option. Indeed, on the way back, I had to walk some 3 kilometers just to find a minibus back to Iringa town.
Yet, come to think of it, the fact that foreigners do get so much genuinely positive attention is because generations of foreigners who got the attention in the past reacted well to the attention. Sure, there are cases in which foreigners are directly asked for money because the solicitor simply claimed to be poor and in need, but the solicitations are generally not pesky and can be easily deflected without constant follow up. In other words, even the locals who do the attention-giving know, by their own cultural standards, that there is little reason for foreigners to react negatively to the attention given.
The foreigners, at least at the grassroots level, have not disappointed the locals in most cases. Indeed, most foreigners in remote, more impoverished parts of rural Tanzania came to contribute instead of rip off the locals. It goes without saying that NGOs have worked on projects, whether successfully or unsuccessfully, that has had the idealistic intentions of improving local people's lives in one way or the other. Even for-profit ventures, such as masses of Chinese road-builders, have invested in projects that would bring long-term returns not only for the companies themselves but the local populations.
As such, there should be constant reminders to the foreigners themselves that the attention paid to them as they walk down the street, however annoying and irritating as they can be at times, is fundamentally a sign of approval and blessing for continued presence. Had these foreigners done nothing but thieving and pillaging, locals would not hesitate to greet with violence. Crime against foreigners remains low, even though foreigners are incredibly wealthy by local standards and local policing, when a crime occurs, remains ineffective at best.
Rural Tanzanians, just like people elsewhere, are rational creatures who are capable of doing basic cost-benefit analysis. Treating foreigners well and they bring long-term benefits. That is a mantra that has served them well for the past decades of NGO-centered development efforts. To keep this impression alive and well is for the benefits of both these locals and the foreigners.
The fact that the local residents are exposed to foreign establishments, specifically manifested in the Caucasian priests of Roman Catholic faith, does make them much bolder toward approaching foreigners than residents of other nearby villages. The fact that English-medium secondary schools sponsored by the church are long-established in the vicinity of the cathedral equips the locals for conversations with foreigners. And when I decided to wander into the secondary school to glare at their Italian-esque architecture, the locals, with some on their way to Sunday service, maximized the opportunity for conversation.
That is not to say the conversations were deep and meaningful. They were mostly in the range of "Where do you come from?" "What are you doing here?" "How long have you been in Tanzania?" But this is already much more detailed and pin-pointed than the usual "Hello" and "How are you?" that I normally get when wandering around a new place in rural Tanzania. Again, it is not that the locals here are more interested in the foreigners dropping by, but more likely because of the greater confidence they have in their English skills.
And the sheer number of people that followed me, a lone foreigner, around as I took pictures were just incredible. Students jumped at the opportunities to be in the pictures. Locals walked me toward the junctions of the main roads when asked about the short-cuts to the town area. With their actions, they have displayed their welcomes to someone who clearly does not belong, and often seem a bit confused to be in a place so far away from even the most basic public transport option. Indeed, on the way back, I had to walk some 3 kilometers just to find a minibus back to Iringa town.
Yet, come to think of it, the fact that foreigners do get so much genuinely positive attention is because generations of foreigners who got the attention in the past reacted well to the attention. Sure, there are cases in which foreigners are directly asked for money because the solicitor simply claimed to be poor and in need, but the solicitations are generally not pesky and can be easily deflected without constant follow up. In other words, even the locals who do the attention-giving know, by their own cultural standards, that there is little reason for foreigners to react negatively to the attention given.
The foreigners, at least at the grassroots level, have not disappointed the locals in most cases. Indeed, most foreigners in remote, more impoverished parts of rural Tanzania came to contribute instead of rip off the locals. It goes without saying that NGOs have worked on projects, whether successfully or unsuccessfully, that has had the idealistic intentions of improving local people's lives in one way or the other. Even for-profit ventures, such as masses of Chinese road-builders, have invested in projects that would bring long-term returns not only for the companies themselves but the local populations.
As such, there should be constant reminders to the foreigners themselves that the attention paid to them as they walk down the street, however annoying and irritating as they can be at times, is fundamentally a sign of approval and blessing for continued presence. Had these foreigners done nothing but thieving and pillaging, locals would not hesitate to greet with violence. Crime against foreigners remains low, even though foreigners are incredibly wealthy by local standards and local policing, when a crime occurs, remains ineffective at best.
Rural Tanzanians, just like people elsewhere, are rational creatures who are capable of doing basic cost-benefit analysis. Treating foreigners well and they bring long-term benefits. That is a mantra that has served them well for the past decades of NGO-centered development efforts. To keep this impression alive and well is for the benefits of both these locals and the foreigners.
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