Cape to Cairo on ‘African time’

Press, 21 June 1984, Page 14

Cape to Cairo on ‘African time’

GEOFF MEIN,

a journalist formerly on the staff of “The

Press,” travelled the length of the African continent recently with his wife. He records some impressions of that journey in this article.

Ten travellers stare in disbelief at the size of the “truck.” How can they — let alone their packs — squeeze into such a small space? The Malawian driver just smiles and calmly reminds them that the trip to the port takes 40 minutes, and that the boat is leaving in 30 minutes. The travellers panic — in keeping with the Western concept of time — but somehow managed to fit on to the vehicle’s deck. Before they finish congratulating themselves, seven Africans from a nearby village, including a huge woman breast-feeding a child, unceremoniously join them for the ride. Ten minutes later the journey commences. The small, pool-table-sized deck contains 16 adults, one child, 10 packs, six crates of empty Coke bottles, four baskets, two live chickens, a sack of maize meal, a buckled bicycle wheel, and 30 stinking fish. The travellers arrive at Monkey Bay port half an hour after the boat was due to depart, and it leaves “on time” 20 minutes later. “African time,” that is. Paranoia about keeping time is one European trait which has failed to intimidate Africans. Their carefree attitudes towards timetables, while frustrating to travellers, is just one example of the clash of cultures that characterises modern Africa. Much of South Africa’s tension can be attributed to the forced marriage of the old and the new. An Afrikaner proudly boasts that “Europe was yesterday . . . South Africa is today . . . and America is tomorrow,” while, a few kilometres out of the city, four African villagers are arrested for

stoning to death a woman found “responsible" for using lightning to destroy a grass hut. An African woman negotiates a busy Durban street carrying a baby on her back and balancing a vacuum cleaner on her head. Baboons from Natal’s Umfolozi Game Park are caught raiding the maize plots of adjoining villages. Park authorities fear the ape population has outgrown its food supply, and consider a culling programme, until a young zoologist discovers the real problem ... Successful herd management inside the park has left the grass lush and long, whereas overgrazing by villagers outside has resulted in erosion and bare fields. The Africans become convinced that “the white man” is stealing the rain. They begin planting their maize up against the boundary fence to catch the stolen rain, and unwittingly attract the baboons to an easily accessible feast. Although it has been fashionable to blame white prejudice for most of Africa’s troubles, Europeans do not have a monopoly on racism. This year’s annual general meeting of the Kenyan Youth Hostel Association was — like many such gatherings in New Zealand — a rubber-stamping, back-slapping affair. The predominantly Indian executive, all re-elected unopposed, praised each other for the wonderful contributions they had made to the smooth running of the organisation. No credit was given to the dedicated, hard-working African warden, whose talents make the Nairobi Youth Hostel one of the best in Africa. The warden explained later that the executive is a typical example of the Indian domination over

Africans in the region. African nominees to the executive are rejected by the Indians as “opportunists.” Resentment results. Yet to point the finger at racism as the main cause of Africa’s ills is too simplistic an answer to a complex question. Often, difficulties relate more to the gulf between old and modern beliefs and practices. Or, to a simple, traditionally-minded African being forced to grapple with a system which was neither designed for, nor suits him. In Africa, no matter how well intentioned a government, it faces endless frustrations translating its thoughts to the grass roots, often through a public service which is corrupt. (An anti-corruption squad in Tanzania was recently wound up when its members were found to be corrupt.) A popular saying in Africa advises: “When you’ve got food — eat it.” Many African statesmen seem to have applied the same maxim to leadership. Since the early 1960 s more than 70 of the continent’s leaders have been ousted by coups, so it is not surprising that some make the most of power while they possess it. Zimbabwe’s Government, which is using a specially trained army unit against its political enemies, is a topical example. Loyalty elsewhere is won in a variety of ways. Portraits of President Kaunda hang in almost every shop in Zambia; business houses and shops are closed to encourage large turnouts whenever Kenya’s President Moi is in town; and in Malawi, members of the ruling party ensure that Life President Banda is always greeted by thousands of patriotic flags and posters. Public servants frequently apply the “eat while you’ve got it” maxim to the distriction of goods, creating shortages.

Tanzanian missionaries have to drive hundreds of kilometres into neighbouring Kenya to replace six months stock of basic medicines which “disappeared” in the first week. A Peace Corps sewing teacher in the same country has to cope without sewing machines because someone forgot to order spare parts. Tourism is probably doing Africa more harm than good. On the western shore of Kenya’s Lake Turkana (formerly Lake Rudolf), the Turkana tribe live as they have done for centuries. Naked men fish from simple canoes, while women, wearing little more than brightly coloured beads, clean and gut the catch at the water’s edge. At night, the village of grass huts comes alive with drumming and singing. ■ Things are changing. A tourist lodge has been built beside the village, and a fence erected to keep the Turkana out. A sealed road now reaches to within a few kilometres of the lake. ; Package tourists sip gin and tonics on the lodge’s balcony and .stare through binoculars at the “primitive natives.” Others walk amongst the Turkana, and find themselves surrounded by naked, smiling children. For half an hour the tourist is entertained with singing and dancing. It is only when the intruder indicates it is time to go that the children reveal the real reason for their friendliness: “Give me shillingi.” Perhaps more saddening than the demand for money is the hostile reaction that so frequently greets a refusal. In Egypt, greed for the tourist dollar is in danger of backfiring. A visit to the pyramids at Giza has become such a test of endurance that tourists are beginning to wonder why they bothered. Departing memories relate more to the constant pestering by overzealous Arabs than to the spectacle of the site.

Even more distasteful is the abuse of the delightful Arab custom of inviting visitors to drink Turkish coffee. It is considered rude to refuse such an invitation, so shrewd opportunists in Cairo exploit the custom to lure tourists into their shops. Having softened the victim with coffee and polite conversation, a range of perfumes or curios is displayed at "discount prices” for the “special customer.” It takes some travellers up to four cups of coffee to realise they are being had. Once the realisation dawns, every subsequent approach is rejected, thus offending those Egyptians whose invitation is sincere. Examples abound of cases where Africans have tried to bridge the cultural gap, but have failed, often for reasons beyond their control. A young Zambian man gets a job with a security firm in Lusaka, so moves into a small house in the suburbs. His wife finds work as a housemaid, and they manage to save enough to consider replacing their broken television set. News of their good fortune soon reaches relations and, before they even start window shopping for a replacement, aunties, brothers, sis-ters-in-law, and cousins are asking for new shoes, children’s toys, or help with a hospital bill. African custom encourages sharing; reluctant to turn their backs on family, the couple face another night in front of a blank television screen, wondering why they bothered. The vicious cycle of cultural clashes continues. The tragedy in Africa is that, more often than not, the person coming off second best is black. On a continent still reeling from the aftermath of colonialism, adherence to something as simply traditional as “African time” shines out like a ray of hope amidst the Pepsi Cola signs and high-rise Hiltons.