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Door: Jeroen
02 Augustus 2009 | Tanzania, Dar es Salaam
It is so long ago since I wrote here, I hardly know where to pick up the thread. But maybe there never was a thread anyway. I am still in Dar es Salaam, and it seems I have found my home. So many things have happened since the last time I wrote, I cannot even consider to give a logical account. So I will give you a random account of things that happen or happened in my life here.
Corruption.
Some weeks ago Tanzania scored a number 1 position in a corruption survey. A research compared the East African countries on the subject of corruption. Kenya scored the worst, Uganda second and Tanzania has the least corruption of the three. In Kenya in almost 1 out of 2 cases there is corruption involved, in Uganda 1 of 3 and in Tanzania ‘only’ 1 out of 6. Unfortunately my private experience is different, I have encountered an enormous amount of corruption lately. In contrast, while the Kenyan police are the worst of all in this survey, I had a very nice experience with Kenyan police. Traveling in the coast region last year they stopped me having no valid insurance. Instead of giving me a hard time or demanding money they let me go back to the town I came from to purchase a temporary insurance.
When I was with Janeth I was never very alert in these matters. I remember once in Mombassa, Kenya, we were in our hotel going for a late dinner. We were the last customers and the head waiter and the cook both went home while we were there. There were just one waiter and one person in the kitchen left when we were ready to pay. They came with a handwritten bill on a scrap of paper. Unfortunately for them we didn’t have any cash and asked to put it on the bill of the room. Janeth noticed how distressed the guys were and explained to me what happened. Their trick is to make the customer pay for a fake bill, then to make an official bill leaving out second drinks, desert or a salad. In that way they get to pocket the amount of the things left out of the official bill.
On another occasion we were in a traffic jam in Namanga, going to shoppers plaza. A lot of people skip the jam driving on the wrong side of the road, cutting in the line somewhere up ahead. That is very frustrating to law abiding citizens, but the police do not seem to consider this a priority. We saw one car after another passing us and cutting in the line ahead of us. There was a traffic police officer, but he was not very active. At one moment however he actually stopped a car. I asked why he stops this car and not the one before? The taxi driver said that the car before was a government car…. Ok, sure that makes sense. There is no use in fining government people of course (?). The car that was stopped however did not pull over as the officer demanded but just cut in the line. The officer went after the car, and reappeared again after a minute or so, with a big smile on his face. Janeth commented: ‘He’s got his dinner for today”. And indeed he disappeared to the side of the road, not showing any interest to stop another car! A summary of corruption of more recent date I will give the next time.
Divorce.
July 9th Janeth and I divorced. We have been married for just over 10 months. Our marriage was effectively over since Christmas, but Janeth refused to cooperate to divorce. I had a difficult time to find the right procedure. In the end I had no other choice than to open a court case against her. That did the trick, she finally agreed to talk and we reached an agreement. Now that we are not together anymore we both seem to be rather confused about how on earth this could have happened to us. We both realize we still love each other, but why did we totally fail to live together!? I am planning to share my life with a new love, but sometimes I feel caught in Nelly and Kelly’s dilemma: “Even when I‘m with my Boo, all I think about is you”. But I hope it is just the after pains of the separation. I know that after my first divorce there were days I remembered only the good moments and I had to force myself to remember the bad moments too, or else I would be falling in love all over again. Somehow the bad moments seem to fade away when you are not together anymore, and you remember only the good times.
Fursa!
The name of our business. It means ‘Opportunity’, which refers to the ample opportunities that the Tanzanian market offers to do business. All you need is a good idea, people you trust and some capital. In Fursa we combined these features and started a computer business. A computer shop, maintenance and networking services, a training center and an internet café. We are three partners, David, Anton and me. David is a hell of a commercial man, Anton a very good technician, and me I will take care of finance and administration. I’ve got a lot to learn though, a lot of things here are quite different from what I know. David and Anton had a similar business before, with three others. They started after graduating from the Technical institute with a lot of ideals, but without any capital. When they decided to close their business, we got together and the three of us started anew. With more capital, a better location and with a more professional attitude. So far business is good, sales is doing nice, maintenance is getting there, the training center needs a bit more time but will get there within a few months. The internet café is not yet open.
Fursa also refers to a shared awareness that opportunities are there for the taking. To be able to do so however you have to be ready and prepare yourself. We have so many other ideas and plans and are very happy to establish a company that at least positions us to fulfill some of those ideas and plans. And, last but not least, it also refers to an attitude of life, namely that opportunities will always present itself and call on us to act. When opportunities do not seem to present itself it is our duty to find them or create them.
Memories.
How do you choose a book to buy or read? For me the choice usually presents itself quite clearly. This time I check the shelf for a Bernard Cornwell. I have read a lot of his books, amongst others the complete series of Sharpe. I missed only one and I occasionally check the bookstore for that missing copy. At random I open another of his books “Scoundrel”. The first paragraph reads:
‘August 1, 1990 was my fortieth birthday. Sophie, my lover for the past three years, left me for a younger man, the cat fell sick, and the next morning Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.’
This is the book I must buy today.
First of all today is August 1st. Also I remember that day in 1990 and I remember the invasion of Kuwait on the 2nd, because my mother suffered a stroke the same day, which eventually led to her death in January 1991. It was the time too that my wife was pregnant. Therefore, instead of going back to the Soviet Union to live and work there, which had been my dream since 1975, we decided to stay in the Netherlands. It meant the end of many of my dreams. My father died that September. I failed to graduate. I found a job in a factory and took a loan to buy my brothers half of my parents’ house. Reality kicked in and it kicked me hard.
Furthermore, although it is neither my birthday nor 1990 the year I turned 40, I remember the day of my 40est birthday very well. That night I dreamt of dying, for the first (and last) time of my life. It set me soaring into a huge midlife crisis. Suddenly I realized that the part of my life left to me was shorter than the part already behind me. I’m only now getting out of that crisis finally. 51 this month, it’s about time!
Traffic.
When Tanzanians say traffic they usually refer to the traffic police. There are a lot of them around. Their main business is regulation traffic at crossings. Traffic lights don’t always work, and even if they do they don’t. The police have regular checks on validity of insurance and registration, and whether you have a fire extinguisher in your car. To give you a fine however they have to take you to the station. But since they usually don’t have transport (!) they depend on your car to go there. I was stopped one time last year in the centre of town and I refused to let them come in my car. That was a problem. They wanted to solve the matter alternatively, us being friends and all plus me probably not having time to go to the station. For just ten thousand (official fine is twenty thousand) we could solve it right there. I insisted to go to the station, claiming I had enough time and looking forward to the experience. But not with my car! Eventually they just let me go without paying anything. Otherwise the police do not enforce any rules. Driving without lights? Wrong side of the road? Speeding, not stopping for a red light, not using indicators? None of that seems to be a problem here. The police, having no possibility to act, pretend not to see.
Corruption.
Some weeks ago Tanzania scored a number 1 position in a corruption survey. A research compared the East African countries on the subject of corruption. Kenya scored the worst, Uganda second and Tanzania has the least corruption of the three. In Kenya in almost 1 out of 2 cases there is corruption involved, in Uganda 1 of 3 and in Tanzania ‘only’ 1 out of 6. Unfortunately my private experience is different, I have encountered an enormous amount of corruption lately. In contrast, while the Kenyan police are the worst of all in this survey, I had a very nice experience with Kenyan police. Traveling in the coast region last year they stopped me having no valid insurance. Instead of giving me a hard time or demanding money they let me go back to the town I came from to purchase a temporary insurance.
When I was with Janeth I was never very alert in these matters. I remember once in Mombassa, Kenya, we were in our hotel going for a late dinner. We were the last customers and the head waiter and the cook both went home while we were there. There were just one waiter and one person in the kitchen left when we were ready to pay. They came with a handwritten bill on a scrap of paper. Unfortunately for them we didn’t have any cash and asked to put it on the bill of the room. Janeth noticed how distressed the guys were and explained to me what happened. Their trick is to make the customer pay for a fake bill, then to make an official bill leaving out second drinks, desert or a salad. In that way they get to pocket the amount of the things left out of the official bill.
On another occasion we were in a traffic jam in Namanga, going to shoppers plaza. A lot of people skip the jam driving on the wrong side of the road, cutting in the line somewhere up ahead. That is very frustrating to law abiding citizens, but the police do not seem to consider this a priority. We saw one car after another passing us and cutting in the line ahead of us. There was a traffic police officer, but he was not very active. At one moment however he actually stopped a car. I asked why he stops this car and not the one before? The taxi driver said that the car before was a government car…. Ok, sure that makes sense. There is no use in fining government people of course (?). The car that was stopped however did not pull over as the officer demanded but just cut in the line. The officer went after the car, and reappeared again after a minute or so, with a big smile on his face. Janeth commented: ‘He’s got his dinner for today”. And indeed he disappeared to the side of the road, not showing any interest to stop another car! A summary of corruption of more recent date I will give the next time.
Divorce.
July 9th Janeth and I divorced. We have been married for just over 10 months. Our marriage was effectively over since Christmas, but Janeth refused to cooperate to divorce. I had a difficult time to find the right procedure. In the end I had no other choice than to open a court case against her. That did the trick, she finally agreed to talk and we reached an agreement. Now that we are not together anymore we both seem to be rather confused about how on earth this could have happened to us. We both realize we still love each other, but why did we totally fail to live together!? I am planning to share my life with a new love, but sometimes I feel caught in Nelly and Kelly’s dilemma: “Even when I‘m with my Boo, all I think about is you”. But I hope it is just the after pains of the separation. I know that after my first divorce there were days I remembered only the good moments and I had to force myself to remember the bad moments too, or else I would be falling in love all over again. Somehow the bad moments seem to fade away when you are not together anymore, and you remember only the good times.
Fursa!
The name of our business. It means ‘Opportunity’, which refers to the ample opportunities that the Tanzanian market offers to do business. All you need is a good idea, people you trust and some capital. In Fursa we combined these features and started a computer business. A computer shop, maintenance and networking services, a training center and an internet café. We are three partners, David, Anton and me. David is a hell of a commercial man, Anton a very good technician, and me I will take care of finance and administration. I’ve got a lot to learn though, a lot of things here are quite different from what I know. David and Anton had a similar business before, with three others. They started after graduating from the Technical institute with a lot of ideals, but without any capital. When they decided to close their business, we got together and the three of us started anew. With more capital, a better location and with a more professional attitude. So far business is good, sales is doing nice, maintenance is getting there, the training center needs a bit more time but will get there within a few months. The internet café is not yet open.
Fursa also refers to a shared awareness that opportunities are there for the taking. To be able to do so however you have to be ready and prepare yourself. We have so many other ideas and plans and are very happy to establish a company that at least positions us to fulfill some of those ideas and plans. And, last but not least, it also refers to an attitude of life, namely that opportunities will always present itself and call on us to act. When opportunities do not seem to present itself it is our duty to find them or create them.
Memories.
How do you choose a book to buy or read? For me the choice usually presents itself quite clearly. This time I check the shelf for a Bernard Cornwell. I have read a lot of his books, amongst others the complete series of Sharpe. I missed only one and I occasionally check the bookstore for that missing copy. At random I open another of his books “Scoundrel”. The first paragraph reads:
‘August 1, 1990 was my fortieth birthday. Sophie, my lover for the past three years, left me for a younger man, the cat fell sick, and the next morning Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.’
This is the book I must buy today.
First of all today is August 1st. Also I remember that day in 1990 and I remember the invasion of Kuwait on the 2nd, because my mother suffered a stroke the same day, which eventually led to her death in January 1991. It was the time too that my wife was pregnant. Therefore, instead of going back to the Soviet Union to live and work there, which had been my dream since 1975, we decided to stay in the Netherlands. It meant the end of many of my dreams. My father died that September. I failed to graduate. I found a job in a factory and took a loan to buy my brothers half of my parents’ house. Reality kicked in and it kicked me hard.
Furthermore, although it is neither my birthday nor 1990 the year I turned 40, I remember the day of my 40est birthday very well. That night I dreamt of dying, for the first (and last) time of my life. It set me soaring into a huge midlife crisis. Suddenly I realized that the part of my life left to me was shorter than the part already behind me. I’m only now getting out of that crisis finally. 51 this month, it’s about time!
Traffic.
When Tanzanians say traffic they usually refer to the traffic police. There are a lot of them around. Their main business is regulation traffic at crossings. Traffic lights don’t always work, and even if they do they don’t. The police have regular checks on validity of insurance and registration, and whether you have a fire extinguisher in your car. To give you a fine however they have to take you to the station. But since they usually don’t have transport (!) they depend on your car to go there. I was stopped one time last year in the centre of town and I refused to let them come in my car. That was a problem. They wanted to solve the matter alternatively, us being friends and all plus me probably not having time to go to the station. For just ten thousand (official fine is twenty thousand) we could solve it right there. I insisted to go to the station, claiming I had enough time and looking forward to the experience. But not with my car! Eventually they just let me go without paying anything. Otherwise the police do not enforce any rules. Driving without lights? Wrong side of the road? Speeding, not stopping for a red light, not using indicators? None of that seems to be a problem here. The police, having no possibility to act, pretend not to see.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
