It was not
difficult to notice that “wazungu” (white people) are seen and treated as
different in every context, from WEFOCO’s (our hosting organization) office
till the streets. Let’s give some examples:
Whenever I
go to the office, the staff provides me with a chair, even though I am already
seated on the bench.
During the
orientation meeting, our director mentioned that “Here you will face cultural
differences, for example in Europe they don’t greet each other. Here we even
shout from a distance to another person”.
When I
washed some clothes for first time, my landlord’s wife exclaimed “Oh, you wash
your clothes alone!”. The second time I did it (in bigger quantity), she asked
me “Do you know how to wash clothes?”. After a while my landlord came and told
me: “That’s a lot of work for you, next time we call the cleaning lady.”
Every time
I take a walk in the surrounding Shianda area, there are always willing drivers
who stop asking to give me a lift.
People
really want to interact with me, from a simple handshake till a small talk. However,
I have the impression that they feel afraid and shy, hesitating that their way
of approaching may be offensive for an American (since all “wazungu” must be
Americans!). I’ve heard questions like
“Did you come out from a computer?” as well as compliments like “You are
smart”, once I greeted a child in Swahili.
It took me some time on reflecting about the
causes that led to that kind of behavior and are strongly related to
historical, socio-economic and political reasons. Furthermore, I am in a small
rural area so I have to bear in mind the stimuli that people receive here. Most
of them rarely see "wazungu" in person, or probably have seen them from a TV or book image
and there are others who may not have experienced again the surprise of seeing
people with different skin color in any means.
As I am
myself from a small village of a Greek island, I can’t say that people’s
mentality is unfamiliar to me.
Interacting with them comes out naturally so I started coming closer to
them exchanging information.
Whenever I
am offered a chair in the office, I tell them I feel comfortable also sitting
on the bench.
I underline
to the director that Europeans vary greatly among them according to their
place, customs and traditions. In addition to that, if one visits some European
countries, he/she cannot have a general image about Europe, the same as if you are
in Kenya (which is SO MUCH diverse anyway between ethnic groups and clans) and generalize about Africa. In fact, in many European rural settings,
greeting each other on the street and shouting by distance is common.
Every time
I hear a kid or adult calling me “mzungu”, I go towards him/her and we
introduce ourselves so that next time it would be much better that he/she calls
me with my name. And believe me, it works! And they are proud of themselves assuring me: "You see, I remember your name!".
When they
offer me a motorbike lift, I kindly refuse pointing out that walking is a way
of exercise for me and I like it. I have
explained to my landlord and his wife that hand washing is common not only in
Africa. I enjoy doing it and I know how to do it, as I had my mother’s example
from a young age.
I love
walking and hiking, so my walks around Shianda are frequent. That way, I get to
meet and interact with a lot of people.
It is an opportunity to share with them things and take them one step
further from ignorance. I have met
people who were surprised when I told them that in Europe there also exist
rural areas with dirt roads and villages, people who couldn’t think that in the majority of the
countries English is not an official language, people who believe that
everybody with white skin is rich.
And then I
start telling them about economic crisis, refugees, immigration, governments’ corruption and
unemployment. I tell them that there are
more continents than Africa and America in the world, that people live together
in them having different backgrounds, color and culture and among them you can
find “wazungu”, who speak other mother tongues than English (!) in every place you go. I tell them that wealth in the world lies
in the hands of very few and that at the end in feels much better having less.
I tell them that we should all focus on the things that we already have e.g.
family than those that we don’t have e.g. money. And lastly, I tell them that we are all
humans and we have to cover the same needs to be happy, we have to emphasize on
the things that unite us, rather than those that separate us.
It turns
out that every time I give this kind of “speeches”, there is a crowd gathered
around me nodding their heads, identifying themselves with what I share with them and finally recognizing me as "sister". Many of them ask for my contact for more
information exchange and I forward them to WEFOCO. It’s a great opportunity to promote
my hosting organization and its actions.
Empowerment, enabling and confidence boost for everybody. To be
continued…
