BY DANFORD MPUMILWA
A rather strange concept of ‘Old Lands’ and ‘New Lands’ was drilled into our young native minds way back in the mid-1960s as we entered Class V in the then Middle Schools in the country.
These were schools for Class 5–7 pupils only. They were unlike the Extended Primary Schools whose mandate was extended from Class 1–4 to Class 7 to embrace the Universal Primary Education policy of Mwalimu Nyerere’s government. But then, that is a story for another day.
According to our colonial-inspired education, particularly what we covered in our Geography and History subjects, the Old Lands were basically those countries in continental Europe and the United Kingdom which, in their quest for raw materials, including slaves, had gone out to ‘conquer’ and colonise ‘new lands’ around the globe.
These ‘new lands’ included Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia. This was as if these ‘new lands’ and their peoples had never existed before being ‘discovered’ and colonised by the mighty imperial powers.
This was rather confusing to us. If we were the ‘New Lands’, then how come we were home to Olduvai Gorge, the cradle of mankind, where some of the earliest human remains were discovered?
It did not take long before our young minds were taken to another level of confusion. Notwithstanding our limited proficiency in English, two American teachers arrived at our then very remote Tandala Boys Middle School, perched on one of the slopes in the chilly Mount Livingstone ranges, in what is now Makete District.
They were part of the American Peace Corps team dispatched by then US President John F. Kennedy to various ‘new lands’ countries to teach and promote the ‘American Dream’.
At Tandala, we received two teachers, Mr Duncan and Mr Epstein. They taught us English Language and Geography, respectively.
They also supplied us with glossy magazines and cartoon books depicting the American way of life. It was these materials that triggered my curiosity about that land, thousands of miles away from Tanzania.
Apparently, the Americans had everything huge: their houses, cars, farms, roads, shoes, hats and the like. And their city buildings always seemed to touch the skies. They also glorified their heroic history, narrating how they vanquished the colonial forces of the British Empire in the American War of Independence and gained their independence.
It was from there that I became fascinated by their way of life and history, including the tragic slave trade, which, among other things, helped build mighty America through sweat and blood.
In my fascination, I made it my goal to visit the US in my lifetime. This I did several times, even undertaking an educational course there.
No wonder I have been closely following America’s volatile political landscape. And naturally, I was over the moon at the rise to power of President Barack Obama some years back.
Now I am also delighted by the overwhelming victories of Democratic Party congressional and senatorial candidates over President Donald Trump’s Republican Party candidates during this week’s midterm elections.
This is not just because President Trump referred to our nations as ‘shithole countries’, but also because he has betrayed the hopes of other ‘New Lands’ countries that had looked to the US to help contain their often autocratic and corrupt regimes at home.
To millions around the world, this is America’s proud week!
I rest my case!
The author is a veteran journalist and communication expert/consultant. mpumilwa@gmail.com
