Solidarity Forever - The Dar-es-Salaam Workers Peace March

On Saturday 11 August 2007, The Trade Union Confederation of Tanzania (TUCTA) Dar-es-Salaam Region branch organised a peace march aimed at calling for the Government to raise salaries, particularly the minimum wage which currently stands at about TShs 84,000 [USD 67] per month in public sector, but as low as TShs 45,000 [USD 36] in private sector.

The march was a long one, starting from Mnazi Mmoja grounds to Jangwani grounds, some 3 km distance. Now, trekking is not my favourite pastime, therefore i brought up in the rear at a slow pace. Trekking back there I was looking at the development contrasts along the way: apartment blocks rose on roadsides, and there was a park of sorts, complete with fine, rather new concrete benches. The park had been taken over by humanity at the lower echelons of society, not necessarily mentally deranged, but some who had nowhere to turn to for shelter. This you could tell by the threadbare cloths that have endured soapless washing several times to have acquired a tone distant from the original dye. They also each habitually had a large plastic bag where all they had was stored--toothbrush, a doll picked somewhere in hope of getting a buyer some lucky day, etc, mostly scavenged from trash the occupiers of apartments were throwing away.

I also couldn't help but notice car yards where new, reconditioned and used cars of all sizes were on display for sale. Judging by the number of such open yards mushrooming in all parts of the city of late, several among us had money to buy the mechandise. "Just as well I'm participating in this march", I mused, because with my two degrees and more than twenty years of honest and loyal work, I wouldn't be able to afford a decent station wagon of USD 8,000 (which works roughly to TShs 10,000,000) at the monthly takehome of USD 300. If a miracle would occur and freeze all the bills, and I and my dependants wouldn't need any food to eat, so as to pay for the car, it would take me 27 months to settle the score. But not only do I have to eat and pay bills, the car company shall need its money intact in exchange for the car, not pay in instalments while it uses up the garage space.

Back to the events of the march. I eventually caught up with fellow workers just in time to join hands to sing "Solidarity Forever", signifying things have begun: introductions, some speeches some brass band song (which played more than once the song "Mwalimu Nyerere" a tribute song for the late Father of Tanzania nation). Whenever this music in minor scale is played, it sends deep feelings to the minds of many Tanzanians who feel short-changed by politicians and cunning businessmen who are greedily helping themselves to the national cake while umma goes suffering--there couldn't be such a thing if Nyerere was alive, even if in comma.

The key speech given by the TUCTA Dar-es-Salaam Secretary bared it all:

• can't thwart corruption by public servants if you are offering them salaries that won't last more than a week to buy only essentials.
• can't contain the propagation of HIV/AIDS among the population when the workers have to do anything to make ends meet.
• can't reverse the infant mortality if parently can't afford the very bus fare to health centre (in the cases there is one at all).

Even as thousands of us united there as one and applauded to this speech and others from such key speakers like Professor Issa Shivji (who introduced the phrase "walala heri" as a class above "walala hai" and "walala hoi") we weren't all that optimistic that things would turn rosy overnight. Nevertheless this has been a massively supported class struggle which shall be documented in the trade union movements in the country. More importantly, it sends a loud and clear message to the grabbers of the national cake--from gross imbalance of things to outright thieving through tricky wording of contracts and earning commissions from umma wealth: "Stop, reform. Give umma what is rightfully theirs".