Maybe you remember this article by Alex Renton which was published on September 6 2009 in the Observer?
Within this article Alex Renton interviewed the manager, Liz McKee, from Thomson Safaris, which later has changed name to the slightly different Thomson Family Adventures. The company is on their website offering an active family’s dream come true and meeting the native Tanzanians.
That is if there is still any natives left, I'm noting.
The Loliondo saga which makes up an essential part of Renton's article, is namely still cooking with fresh details.
Later in September the Danish Ambassador, Bjarne H. Sørensen, formally handed over 15 years of Danish support to the Maasai as part of the ERETO celebrations, but it was overshadowed by recent events that have seen the pastoralists being forcefully evicted from their homes, and their bomas burned down. ERETO has assisted in supplying water, animal health-care, restocking livestock, women’s economic groups and HIV/AIDS awareness, also in Loliondo.
Afterwards the topic heated up the Ubunge in Dodoma, the Tanzanian parliament, as referred to here on November 7.
Back to the Thomson Family Adventures. The company still uses the term 'natives', which I find rather curious, taking into consideration that the term in British post-colonial context is considered patronising.
In this case, in particular, as the natives here are reduced to a bunch of colorful Maasai expected to live up to the tourists' stereotypical ideas of natives - and then stay off the land of the safari company (according to Renton's article).
I think we all go to Africa with some sort of wish to have our stereotypes confirmed.
However, my annual income has so far prevented me from getting that done at Thompson's. Vanity and pride might be other reasons. Conscience, too.
It simply makes me feel like an idiot if I have to pay for engaging in a meeting with the population facilitated by a safari company who try to pretend they are philantropists.
It is as simple as that.
Arranging paid meetings like this make people stay with their stereotypes; It makes the natives believe that all wazungu are rich, while the wazungu believe that all the Maasai are poor people in need.
Last week I went along with the natives - the cheap way - and not that far from the Ngorongoro. I travelled with the natives to Kiserian and Moirowa villages (photo). Poor, yes. But also strong and resourceful people.
Natives all over, too, in the Lion Guest House in Namanga on the border to Kenya, in fact very few wazungu - and that costed only 5,000 TSH for a room, and I even got to see a lot of natives only dressed in towels when we shared the communal bathing facilities!
If you want my opinion on the colourfull variety of wazungu who think they contribute to change in Africa, while making money, read here. Again, this is not rocket science, this is only another example of capitalism mixed with arrogance.
