Election day:
On
the day of the election which was wednesday for us we all woke up at 5 am, went
to the bar and started drinking mimosas while watching the election on CCN
based out of al Jazeera. We were able to watch the whole election and because
we haven’t been in the states and had just gotten back from a two-week safari we
hardly knew the atmosphere surrounding the election so all the swing states
were extremely stressful to watch. Throughout the whole thing the bartender was
watching it with us and would cheer basically whenever we cheered. He didn’t
really seem to know exactly what was going on in the election but did seem to
be an Obama supporter because when we asked if we could watch the election he
said “Obama?” and when we said yes he smiled, cheered and gave us all huge high
fives. This election Obama supporters in Tanzania have greatly diminished for
the sole reason that he openly supports gay marriage. Tanzanians here can’t
wrap their heads around that idea and have very negative opinions on it. On a
side note during our focal group with the Maasai men they asked us about gay marriage
(specifically lesbianism) and how it worked. They wondered how the bride price
worked, how they had kids and how they have sex. They were literally cracking
up the whole time and one guy almost fell off his chair he was laughing so hard.
Anyways as it became clear Obama had won we were all
cheering and passing the champagne around. We were all sleep deprived, tipsy
and extremely relieved and happy and even Baba Jack and his son were joining in
on the festivities. Around 9ish or
10ish the president’s victory speech came on and all of us had chills. Given
that we have been in Tanzania for about 2 and a half months and have
experienced and witnessed the corruption and lack of tolerance among different
religions and homosexuality, Obamas speech I think made more of an impact on me
than it would have before. Family
members of my Bangatan home stay and even my Mamma and Baba don’t like Obama
anymore solely based on the fact that he supports gay marriage and they say it
flat out. It’s not tolerated here at all and that intolerance mixed with
governmental corruption made certain parts of Obamas speech give me goose bumps
and teary eyes. Lines like “We can never forget that as we speak people in
distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue
about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did
today.” Made me realize how lucky we are to live in a place where there aren’t
ridiculous laws about where you can vote making it almost impossible for many
people to vote. There have been instances here where they shut down schools on Election
Day and because you have to vote where you registered many students couldn’t
vote. There have
definitely been instances of shady elections (bush v Gore) but for the most
part we have a pretty fair accessible voting system. Although the election coming up people are getting more
vocal about all these issues. I think Tanzania is really progressing when it
comes to a fair democracy, especially now that there are two parties running.
When Obama said, “That's why we do
this. That's what politics can be. That's why elections matter. It's not small,
it's big. It's important.” It made me realize that elections are huge. In
Tanzania now that there are two parties, things are actually being done because
if CCM wants to be re-elected they have to start actually making change happen.
Elections here make things happen for the people, and it is the election
process that really makes sure these projects are seen through. Finally the
last part that really stuck with me was when he said “it doesn't matter whether
you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old
or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in
America if you're willing to try.” Living in Tanzania with a lot of intolerance
towards some races and homosexuality and even your economic status made me
rethink how lucky I am to have been born and raised in such a tolerant place. Especially
being from Portland I was never taught to look down on certain people for
things they couldn’t control. In general, although there are exceptions, it is
the American way that everybody has an equal chance to success. Although I know
this doesn’t always hold up we do a way better job than here in Tanzania. For
example if you are caught being a homosexual here you are sentenced to death.
This intolerance was shocking to me and therefore I had a new appreciation for
the laws that were passed this last election.
Early
OBAMA!
my Colorado friends 
After Party
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