Extract from Maalouf's "Leo The African"

Harun, towards the end of The year of the rebels: "I have killed only murderers, I have robbed only thieves. I gave not ceased to fear God for a moment. I have ceased only to fear the rich and the powerful. Here I am fighting the unbelievers to whom our princes are paying court, I defend the towns which they abandon. My companions in arms are the exiles, outlaws and lawbreakfers from all lands..."

Harun, the protagonist's best friend and brother in law, has all the qualities Hasan wished he had but could not seize. In previous posts, I seem to think that this character is usually the enemy, the ante, the foe. But in Leo the African, the other is on the same side. Perhaps, then, the importance is not in which side the different perspectives support, but in the difference of perspective itself.

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Tanzania is not Tasmania

Dear friends: Please let's stop refering to Tanzania as Tasmania. Here is why. Tanzania is located on the coast of East Africa, below Kenya. It is not origin of the the cartoon character from your childhood. Tasmania is an island which is part of Australia. The animal known to exist only on Tasmania is the Tasmanian Devil. Once again, you will see this is not the cartoon character you remember from your childhood. Let's summarize: Tanzania is not Tasmania.

Serving up the fix

Originally published on Vijana FM | 22nd July 2012 On a recent album release by Nas called Life is Good , Anthony Hamilton sings “The world is an addiction / serving up a fix”. The track goes on to discuss the dangers of selling out in pursuit of irrational dreams; indeed, “you gain your life just to lose your soul”. Sometimes I wonder if Tanzania is losing her soul. Perhaps – as time passes – it is me growing more conscious, or media becoming more pervasive to drama. But it seems like this country is chasing grandeur that is alien to her history and at odds with what she needs today. Her history and her needs; what do these mean? For the purpose of this post, I am pointing to Tanzania’s historical pursuit to be an independent nation-state, free of international dues and reliance on help. I am also referring to her current state of affairs, mainly consisting of an inefficient system of education coupled with an unbalanced system of trade. There are a few example...

Stationary

Ever get the feeling you're stationary? No, not like in the picture above, but stationary as in you're not moving? It seems that when we define goals for ourselves, they need to substantiate daily actions, because otherwise, it seems we lack purpose. And when we lack purpose, anything we do seems to go to nothing. Why did we start calling stationary (like in the above photo) "stationary", anyway?

mink

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