kwa video hii na zingine kibao BOFYA HAPA
Why is Tanzania exceptional?
BY MOHAMED MATOPE
Our county is celebrating 49 years of its independence, it is a great deal to all of us, especially if we look backward to see where we came from as a nation and of course the road ahead which is always precious and hopeful. Winston Churchill once said the farther backward you can look the further forward your likely to see. On this Independence Day let’s take a pause and look backward to see where we came from as a nation. There is no doubt that the resilience of our ancestors and generations before us played a big role to the foundation of our nation and the shaping of our values.
Our society has been in existence for over 1000 years old, a bumpy road with so many hurdles, we were counted off so many times before, but time and time again we defied the conventional wisdom and bounced back, and we always came back strong than before. Our society is very unique because of the values we look up to, these set of values I call them Umoja, and because these values are shared by all of us, I incorporated them under one article, The ARTICLE OF UMOJA. So while celebrating Independence Day let us commemorate the article of Umoja, the article that gives us our identity and made us who we are today as the society.
As society we overcame many obstacles, we lived through many misery and horrors. For every misery we endured there are scars of tolerance and for every horror we lived through there are marks of courage left on, that’s why we are unique. We lived through the agony of slave trade, 200 years of nightmares, darkest time of our life. A stranger came over to our county to conduct immoral trade, capturing and selling our peoples. Families were destroyed, wives lost husbands, husbands lost wives, and children lost figure heads. Our society was torn apart, people lived in fear, desolation and uncertain. We were turned upside-down, but we held up, we were bent, but did not break. We as society persevered.
We lived through the rough edges of colonialism, a stranger came back with different mechanism of exploitation, intended to acquire and dominate our country. We resisted, our heroes fought back, Mkwawa, Mtemi Mirambo, Kinjeketile and others didn’t let it happen, they put up a fight. Stranger prevailed, as result our sovereign was suffocated, our economy was smothered, our dignity was buried, and our society was paralyzed. We were weakened, we were plunged, but did not sink. We as society emerged.
Post colonial period was happiest moment in our nation, and difficult one, the wounds of colonialism ware deeper than we thought. Strangers had instigated the tactics of divide and conquer to disintegrate our society. Our state was in disarray, we were divided. Our leaders had to make decisions somewhat painful, but necessary to transform our society and keep us back on track, in the end Swahili became our unified language and tribalism was eliminated. In 1964 the article of Umoja got even stronger when Mwalimu Nyerere and president Karume shook hands to form our new nation of Tanzania. We were subdued but retrieved. We as society triumphed.
We lived through war, in 1978 our national security was put into a challenge, our country was invaded by a dictator. We were provoked into a war with neighboring country. We sent our troops to the war with clear mission and explicit exit strategy; depose the dictator and stabilize the country. Our brave soldiers executed the mission in a matter of months and came home with dignity they deserved. We were tested but we prevailed, we as society reigned.
In the aftermath of the war things got very rough, the war was detrimental, our economy took a hit, our Shilling was devalued, unemployment rate skyrocketed, food, petrol, electricity were scarce. We had to make sacrifices, we tightened our belts to get through the hardship, we rationed the little food and resources we had for every family to get by. We were shaken but we stood up strong, we were faltered. We as society strived.
Persevered, emerged, triumphed reigned and strived is our backbone under the article of Umoja. Article of Umoja has made us exceptional because we care for our neighbors, we resolve our disagreements and disputes in the court or on the ballots not on the streets, we embrace our diversity, we don’t discriminate one another. We might not be rich in cash but we surely wealth in kind.
I met Hannah, a young white American student at Georgetown University. Hannah visited Tanzania twice on the public health mission. Hannah was touched by the peoples of Ilula, she was invited for lunch by a poor family, she was asked if she want to eat anything special, she told them a plate of rice, came to find out her hosts had killed a pig and prepared a special meal for her, the whole family celebrated with her and it was so special to her. I told Hannah that what we do, we take extra miles to make our visitors feel home. Hannah is studying to become midwife so that she can go back to Iringa to help delivering babies.
We were there during Hutu and Tutsi conflict in 1993, we brought the two conflicting parties to Arusha and stoke a deal that resolved the conflict and put an end to the genocide. We were there during Congo conflict, we opened our borders to welcome their refugees and shared the little resources we have. We stood shoulder to shoulder with South Africans during their struggle against apartheid, we were there in Zimbabwe, Somalia, Uganda…
On December 9 let’s take a moment to pay the deepest tributes to our heroes for their unwavering willingness to sacrifice all for the article of Umoja, The article we embrace with the highest proud and provide us with the great insights. We are not perfect, but we are exceptional because the article we embrace has never, plebiscites, drafted, ratified, amended, legislated, adjudicated or mandated, its just there, inside of us, we can feel it, and is there to stay.
MOHAMED MATOPE
www.msmatope@gmail.com
mkuu Matope kwenye email huwa hatuweki WWW
ReplyDeleteVery interesting article. Well written. Wabongo yaani wanaona makosa tu. Yaani kuweka www kwa bwana mwandishi ishakuwa ishu.
ReplyDeleteHaha hahaha haa. Mtoa maoni wa kwanza ameanza nagetive kama kawaida. Tunakucheka wewe na watu kama wewe. Alikwambia nani wewe.
ReplyDeleteBack to the point.
Thanx bro Matope for what u have written. We need more of this.
What a good feeling to be a Tanzanian,esp an educated one. Its a blessing. H.
Unajuaje kwamba amekosea, kwani hawezi kuchagua hivyo? Mbona mimi e-mail yangu nayo inaanza hivyo hivyo?
ReplyDeleteMatope safi sana. Umeonesha Utanzania wako. Makini kabisa, hakuna udini wala u-CCM. Ni Utanzania tu.
SO NICE nimeona wanafunzi walikuwa wanapekuwa bila ya viatu kwenye gwaride duuh! tumetoka mbali njamani.
ReplyDeleteWatanzania hata ambao tuko ughaibuni, na hata tuliosomea ughaibuni bado tuna safari ndeefu mno na hii lugha ya Kiingereza. Hiki kimombo siyo cha mtu aliye na MBA inayokubalika.
ReplyDeleteMwalimu,alikua mvutaji mzuri wa sigara
ReplyDeleteWell said Ndugu Muhammed Matope...great points to ponder pale ndani. Jamani ee, ujumbe umefika au haujafika?? tukumbuke tulipotoka...tuulinde Umoja wetu, kuwaenzi mashujaa wetu na wazee wetu kwa ujumla. I am proud to be Tanzanian. My people are strong, kind, smart and beautiful all around.
ReplyDeleteNa wewe mdau wa WWW...come on now, are you serious?? Did you even read the darn article? is that all you got from it? Unasikitisha.
Now...wewe anon wa 10.49pm. Is that all you see?? a few errors here and there? unaonesha jinsi gani uko shallow. With that attitude ya kukosoa kila kitu hutofika popote. Ndio kuna errors chache...nasema chache. Ambazo nauhakika mwandishi mwenyewe ameziona baadaye. Kila mwandishi huwa na errors, ndio maana kunakuwa, na process za proof rediading na editing ili kurekebisha. Bwana Matope was excited to share his love and admiration of his country with us.
Mohamed Matope,
ReplyDeleteUmeanza vizuri na Introduction,mapambano ya machifu wetu kina Mkwawa,hujaeleza post colonialism ilianza lini ukarukia kwenye Muungano,vita ya Kagera,utamaduni na ukarimu wa mtanzania,then genocide ya Rwanda
Sasa ukisema "we were there during Hutu and Tutsi conflict in 1993" unakuwa unatudanganya,huwezi tumia sentesi "we were there" hapa uliteleza ukakosa neno sahihi. si sahihi kutumia neno "we there during Hutu and Tutsi conflict in 1993..".
Actually article inaeleweka vizuri kwa sisi tunaojua historia ya nchi yetu lakini standard ya English iliyotumika si ya mtu msomi,si rahisi kwa mtu asiyejua historia ya Tanganyika kuelewa Article.Ila hujaeleza faida tulizopata kutokana na uhuru wa Tanganyika kiuchumi na hata tukisherehekea tuwe na sababu za kusherekekea tujivunie uhuru wetu
Article nzuri ni ile yenye mtiririko mzuri ,maneno yenye rahisi yenye kueleweka kwa kila mtu,ndivyo nilivyofundishwa na mwalimu wangu(British) wa research,usiandike kama unaongea(you have written the spoken language and not the written one).
Mwisho nashukuru kwa video hiyo ni nzuri,tumetoka mbali.Naiunga mkono
Nicholas
Email : aviguye@hotmail.com
watanzania tunahitaji kujiamini.
ReplyDeletetunatakiwa kutoka inje ya inchi yetu tuone wenzetu wanafanya nini.
kwa wanao taka kukuza lugha, kupata elimu bora, kufanyakazi wakiwa wanasoma (part time jobs) pata student VISA with 2 years work permit.habari njema imefika tembelea
www.westbound-tz.co.uk
Its all bull! kama wewe www.matope ni mtanzania kwa nini usitumie lugha yako ukaenda kutumia lugha ya wenzako kweli wabeba mabox na wachange madiaper mmezidi ubishoo huko majuu.
ReplyDeletewho ever wrote this is so dumb and stupid that was not a war if you no the meaning of war?
ReplyDeleteMay be you need to learn to use a word conflicts btn those two countries.
kwa hiyo wewe ukikaribishwa kwenu unapewa pig?wewe si muislam na hilo jina mbona umejipachika.
ReplyDeleteungeona noma kidogo kuzumzia pig lakini inaelekea na wewe unamtafuna kisawasawa bwana mkubwa.
Unajua nini brother Matope, mi nakuunga mkono.. Hata ungechanganya kihehe na kingereza bado tungekuelewa tu..
ReplyDeleteThe point it U TRIED. Hao wanao criticize, kwasababu hawawezi kwahiyo wana wivu b'se u came up with something.
Nobody is good when it comes to English, everybody including the british are working on their language skills..
You delivered what you intended and we got it...
Bravo
you wrote a lot of non-sense.Your grammar is very poor, i.e you can't say strong than before...it's supposed to be stronger than before. you are talking about a SET of VALUES that you incorporated under one article but,you never mentioned the SET of whatever your values.. Dude,you don't make any sense..!!
ReplyDeleteMatope, your article is quite interesting and full of facts. However, to talk about Tanzania's history without touching at all about the destructive politics of Ujamaa na Kujitegemea and the dictatorship of Mwalimu Nyerere is to deny the historical facts to our children.
ReplyDeleteWe can't run away from the fact that Tanzanians were denied basic rights to vote for any political party other than CCM and many poor Tanzanians died of starvation thanks to the denial of Mwalimu Nyerere to allow capitalism to flourish and the policies of Ujamaa were not enough to feed the nation.
I know Nyerere has many supporters here including Michuzi himself, who never fails to practise self-censorship to protect CCM, but, nevertheless, we cannot put destructive policies of Ujamaa under the carptet and pretend it never existed or people didn't suffer severe economic hardship and denied basic human rights under Nyerere's dictatorial regime.
Ujamaa is the number one reason why we are still poor, why people lost appetite to work hard and we still beg to support our budget since indepennce and why many of educated Tanzanians like me left Tanzania in the first place.
I will try to post my opinions again since the pervious ones were ignored by his highness, Michuzi, the owner of this blog.
Maraha ni Pesa
USA (karibu na Mungu)
Mzee Moody Matope wadau tumekupata lakini umefikia muda umpeleke nae mam sap wako japo SANZ school akajifunze english maana wewe unatema yai lakini yeye ze ze ze za kumwaga
ReplyDeletehahahahahaahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa kweli wabongo mmezidi
ReplyDeleteWatu wengine bwana, yaani kuwaonea wivu wabeba maboksi na wavunga nepi....hiyo yote ni kutokana na kutokuwahi kupata angalau kutoka nje ya bara la Afrika. Hivi hujui kuwa kiingereza kinasomwa na watu wengi tena wamataifa mbali mbali kuliko hata hicho kiswahili ulichomtaka Bw. Matope aandike. Inaelekea hata upeo wako wa kufikiria ni mdogo,
ReplyDeleteTurudi kwenye mada:- Aksnate Bw Matope kwa kutukumbusha siku ya uhuru hata kama wanasema kuwa umetuandikia kiingereza kibaya cha kuongea. Napenda kukupongeza kwa jitihada zako na usife moyo kwani watanzania wengi wetu tumezoe kuwa na mawazo hasa hasa pale mwenzetu anapokuwa kafanya jambo zuri. Hatuna tabia ya kuelewesha kwa kutumia mlengo chanya. Wote waliokuponda na kuogopa kuweka wazi majina yao huwa ninawaita waoga wa fikra chanya.
Ningependa kuweka changamoto ya wote wenye mlengo hasi nao waweze kutuandikia mada zenye akili na si kuponda wenzao. Kiingereza sio lugha ya taifa letu na ndio maana watu wengi huchanganya Kiswahili na kiingereza "Kiswanglish" wanapoongea hata kuandika. Hivyo basi "Tutoe boriti kwanza kwenye macho yetu ndipo tuweze kutoa vibanzi kwenye macho ya wenzetu"
Aksante sana kaka michuzi kwani tunaweza hata kupata kumbukumbu za nyumbani kwa sisi tulio mbali na nchi yetu.
Mwana, USA
Annony wa 03:35:00 AM, you are a wise lady/gentleman. May God keep you safe for the redemption of our nation. Our nation is in desperate need of WISE people like you. I am pretty sure if you are a parent, you make a great dad/mom. Keep it up. Umesoma article, na comments, ukafikiria kwanza, ndo ukaandika. Umeusuuza moyo wangu, maana sometimes huwa na-lose hope, especially when I get to read peoples' comments. Its either, they are going off point, or they are simply bitching an showing off without giving alternatives.It kills me.
ReplyDeleteMungu akubariki, na Pia Mungu aibariki nchi yangu Tanzania.
Mr. Matope,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking time to write a very patriotic article about independence day in Tanzania. It was uplifting and encouraging. I would advise that next time you decide to publish an article in such a public forum, have someone else review your it before you publish it. I realize that English is our 2nd language, therefore we should not expect your writing to be perfect, but consider the fact that millions of people will read the article, and it wouldn't hurt to have a 'second pair of eyes' review it before you publish it! Noteworthy advise from another Tanzanian who cares..Peace and Blessings to you!
Mh Michuzi habari za siku. Mimi ni mdigo wa Mohamedi Matope, shukrani nyingi mno kwa kuweka article kwenye blog yetu. Nawashukuru wote waliotuma maoni kuisifia au kuikosoa. Ila kuna mchangiaji mmoja ameonyesha utamaduni ambao si wa mtanzania kumshambulia mwanafamilia wa mtoa mada. Huu si uungwana kabisa, Najua Kaka Michuzi unajitahidi kuangalia hizo comments kabla haujazipost.
ReplyDelete