Bagamoyo

Our last day in Dar we drove up the coast to a town called Bagamoyo. Our first stop was at a US Aid primary school that focused on environmental education. While the campus still faced many challenges, such as no electricity in classrooms and an inadequate amount of furniture, it was very different from the other campuses we had seen.

This was the first primary school we had seen with a library! The library was decorated in a very charming way and was bright and appealing to be in. The teachers and students at the school had thought of a creative solution to the scarcity of books to read. The teachers and their class wrote, illustrated, and built large picture books to put in the library for all students to share and enjoy.

The school also had a computer lab with about ten (very outdated) computers. In the lab they had a TV and sets of interactive science videos to show their students. It is amazing how much more these schools can do with just a little bit of money and support.

After the school visit we went by the first Catholic church built in East Africa. We also visited a building that used to house slaves before they were shipped to Zanzibar to be sold. Slaves were taken from all over East Africa and crammed in to small quarters for days before they were loaded on to the ships. Our guide also took us by the spot where any African revolutionary who opposed the German colonizers rule was hung.

That night we returned to our hotel and all gathered around a TV in the hotel bar to watch the World Cup final game. About 675 miles away, in Kampala, Uganda, people congregated at a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant to do the same. These spectators, however, would never finish the game. With about ten minutes left in the match, two bombs were detonated in both places, killing over 70 people and injuring many others. The acts are being claimed by a leader from a Somali militant group al-Shabab.

I hate to sound callous, but a month ago, if someone would have told me about these attacks, while I would have thought they were sad, I probably would not have given them a second thought. Today it was a different story. The people watching this World Cup game were not soldiers at war – they were citizens, both locals and tourists alike. Just like us, they sat down to enjoy a few drinks and cheer on the soccer teams. In 1998 Tanzanians experienced similar terrorist attacks – bombings at the US Embassy at Dar es Salaam – just down the street from our hotel.

For the first time, those people who were harmed on the other side of the world – could have been me. Why does it take traveling halfway around the planet to get me to understand the sadness and fear that should be so painfully obvious?

Another lesson learned on this trip – I hope I never again can distance myself emotionally from the pain and terror others experience just because they are distant to me in location.