A CHAT FROM LONDON: The language issue and business development in Tanzania

>Whenever our political leaders fly overseas there are people who are  very keen to meet and hear them.  Earnestly.  A second group prefers keeping grievances secret and carry on “boxing” as the Kiswahili slang goes.

TheCitizen

Habari Zinazoendana

9 years ago

TheCitizen

20 Nov

A CHAT FROM LONDON: How language is changing with our troubled times

I received an SMS from a long time friend in Brazil.“Boss! Get out of Europe, those fanatics will kill you. It is no longer safe. Come to Brazil...”

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

17 Oct

A CHAT FROM LONDON: The business of keeping teeth clean isn’t easy

>As I write this it is fifteen years since Mwalimu Julius Nyerere died right here in London. I remember walking, flabbergasted and shocked, past his body at Westminster Abbey. I had mixed emotions.  October 1999 was a sad month.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

10 Oct

A CHAT FROM LONDON: London welcomes, supports anti-FGM push in Tanzania

>Wednesday, October 15, 2014...A tiny delegation of well educated women; modest and intelligent, will be welcomed into one of the most powerful rooms in the northern hemisphere. First is Mrs Rhobi Samwelly (pictured), mother of four children, hailing from Butiama, Mara Region.

 

11 years ago

TheCitizen

07 Feb

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Morning chat with a fabulous, frail English old lady

A good day becomes evident in the morning...so the Swahili proverb goes. It was ice cold but the sun was shining.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

12 Sep

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Now let’s chat about memorable videos and films

>May I share a few clips from last week? First the video.  A mass of frenzied people are chasing a man somewhere in West Africa.   Right on the knees of Ebola.  Someone sent it via WhatsApp.  Don’t frown if you don’t use WhatsApp.

 

9 years ago

TheCitizen

27 Nov

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Wet afternoon, junkie hobbling on a London street

It is a cold wet winter afternoon, a few days after the Paris and Bamako terrorist attacks. As I stroll down a major street in East London, a man is melodically hollering:“Evening Standard! Evening Standard!”

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

29 May

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Living away from home makes you know who you are

>May we begin by asking a question? Is it true that there is a huge difference between the thinking of Africans living on the continent and those outside it? Over 50 years ago, we used to call overseas-based ones the “African Wazungus” not because of race but attitude and manners. It was insulting being called Mzungu Mweusi. Nevertheless, behind closed doors it was privileged.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

03 Apr

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Easter thoughts: Elections and the depressed

>As Easter 2015 arrives, two episodes to reflect. Fast moving Europe. Quarter of the year gone.   One person’s dustbin is another’s treasure. I am not sure if this old English idiom fits what I am about to present here but... let us not compare tragedies. We may discuss their implications. Tears are a reflection of pain; sorrow knows no definition.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

09 Jan

A CHAT FROM LONDON: When molehills are left to become huge mountains

>When a small matter is exaggerated, cognitive psychologists call it magnification. A good example is paranoia. Irrational fear and worry. An accidental incident becomes an intention. Misinterpretation. Drug addicts know this very well.

 

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