I recently came back from a trip in Zanzibar. It was just what I had hoped for. Great beaches, weather, food, scuba diving, etc. As per normal all the pics are on the main website:
Click on this and then go to Zanzibar
These views are right from the private beach of the hotel. Laze on the loungers and soak up the sun and wait for dinner. Very relaxing. Zanzibar, the spice island, is a special place. A rich and fragrant spot on Earth, lying there you can feel supported on the lap of Africa.
We took a tour to the original centre of the island’s activities, Stone City, and I was not expecting the impact that the slave market would have on me. There is a monument, on the actual site of where the market was, that symbolizes the state of humans in this state. It is so blatantly wrong to do this to a person that you shudder to think that people were doing that to each other not very long ago. What is even worse is that there are probably a lot of people who would still do it today. In the church built on the site, there is a marble circle to mark exactly where the whipping post used to stand. Every single slave brought to the market, was tied to the post and whipped to assess their strength before the bidding started.
The market was held twice a week. The slaves were held in holding cells, which still exist, and a picture is shown below of one. 50 people were crammed into a space not fit for humans, with a pit in between them for excrement, and hardly any food and water. Those not sold on the market, were returned to the cells, for the next market day, or to die. Imagine what it must have felt like to be in that situation?
I can’t describe what if felt like to stand in those cells, and to imagine what those poor souls must have felt like when they were captives in there, the terror and fear and despondency. Dark feelings held with good reason.
When I got home, I rented the entire “Roots” series on DVD. It is over 30 years old, but still is a great portrayal of the slave trade. That “civilized” humans would capture other humans and treat them as physical goods, with zero regards for the feelings or wellbeing, is depressing to consider. I recommend it to all people to watch, it is a great story, especially because it is true. Profound to think that the burning desire of Kunte Kinte to be free, ended up in his direct descendant, Alex Foley, telling the story of slavery from the perspective of the slaves to the whole world. Shows what determination and visualization can achieve. I suppose there is hope that we have progressed since those days of oppressing each other. But, have we progressed so much?
The average citizen of Zanzibar has an income 3.3% of that of the average person in the USA. 62% of their income is spent on food, as opposed to a country like USA where people only spend 12% of their income on food. Also, their demand for food has a high income elasticity (if they receive more money they spend almost 80% of it on food) which indicates that they don’t currently have enough food with their normal spend.
I stayed in a 5 star hotel, in the lap of luxury, and found out that they paid the kitchen workers $60 a month. That is a fraction of what minimum wages are back home in South Africa, which is also a relatively poor country. It cast a bad tinge on every impression of the country that I had.
I was enjoying the country so much, but I did not feel like the citizens that inhabited the country were gaining much from my visit. My money was going to an international resort operator, owned by a Middle Eastern company, where all the profits went. The staff received “slave wages” and the only money that I know helped the country was my $30 airport tax.
That is not how I want to go on holiday. I don’t want to benefit through the exploitation of other people. I want to reward them fairly for my pleasure, and help them to improve their lot in life. Give and take. Although I paid a high financial price, I did not feel that I gave enough during my stay, to the people of Zanzibar. Or rather, the system did not cut them a fair share.
The only way for balance to manifest in the global economy, is when there is a more equitable distribution of wealth, and the proceeds of trade. Not everyone needs to be a millionaire. But when people are down and have low bargaining power, we should resist the temptation to take advantage of that.