Africas Freedom Railway(HI 368)

TITTLE OF THE BOOK      : AFRICA’S FREEDOM RAILWAY.

AUTHOR                            : JAMIE MONSON.

YEAR OF PUBLICATION  : 2009 INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS.

CONTENTS OF THE BOOK

The book is well organized into two parts having chapters and part one have four chapters and part two have three chapters. These parts and chapters are as are as follows;

1.    Freedom Railway which contain:

(i)  Introduction

(ii) Railway vision

             (iii) Building the people’s railway

             (iv) People living along the railway

       2.   Ordinary Train which contain:

              (i) The ordinary train

             (ii) Landscape vision

             (iii) Conclusion

At the end of the book there is appendix 1, appendix 2, and appendix 3, notes arranged chronologically according to subtopics in the book, bibliography, index and biography of the author.

Jamie Monson is a Professor of History at Carleton College. She is an editor (with James Giblin) of the Maji Maji War, National History and Local Memory. Monson is a past president of the Tanzania Studies Association.

Africa’s Freedom Railway is a book written by Professor Jamie Monson who is a Professor of History at Carleton College Bloomington United States of America. The book was published in 2009 by the Indiana University Press, United States of America. The  book is concerning about the research made by Professor Jamie Monson on the project of the construction of the Tanzania and Zambia Railway (TAZARA).In her research process a Professor Jamie Monson obtained information from various sources in Tanzania, China, Zambia and Germany.

 Either the author used other sources of information and got help and support from various institutions such as Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, TAZARA headquarters, The Institute for West Asian and African Studies in China and The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and intellectual support from the Department of History at the University of Dar es Salaam.

 Our discussion is based on the following aspects;

            3. (a)  Identification and discussion on the types of oral sources used and how were 

                              they used.

                       (b) Problems/challenges faced the author in research.

                       (c) Appreciation of any outstanding achievements.

                   4.  Providing a general overview on the extent to which oral sources have been 

                          shaped the book.

Identification of oral sources used and how were they used;

Oral sources refer the sources which provide past information verbally. They include oral traditions and eye witness accounts. In writing her book, the author used the following types of oral sources;

Eye witness accounts;

Eye witness account refers the information given by a person who witnessed the event or participated on it. In her research of collecting historical information the author obtained information from the people who participated in the activity of the construction of TAZARA railway project. The following are the eye witness accounts used by the author;

The first eye witness account is that explaining the completion of construction of bridge according to the one version of event reported from an eye witness the “Chinese had just completed the construction of bridge number 117 over a tributary area of Greater Ruaha River” (page 1). Also eye witness account that  verified by Raymond Ndimbo who explained to the author in which he remembered when one of the Tanzanian worker  was demoralized by a minor injury and encouraged by his Chinese supervisor “Work!”  The Chinese technician exhorted him, “because people will ride on this railway, your parent will ride on this railway”

Also Carol Mpanda Mugongo explained to the author, “The Chinese came and told us that or Jamani! Hey every one! We have come, we are read now, we are bringing the news that we are building the railway” This justifies the arrival of the Chinese technicians and engineers so as to start the process of constructing the railway (page 39). Also Benedicto Mkanyago in page 39 explained his witness of construction equipment that were unloaded at Kurasini by saying that “Kurasini was the first camp that was  where all equipment for railway was kept” The heavy equipments was taken on the central railway up to Mikumi then to Kiadatu where they built the second big camp at Man’gula.

Also Edwin Von Moos who was a missionary lived in Ifakara for over forty  six years  explained to the author how he witnessed the villagization process in Ifakara he said “villagization was very bad time, some peoples’ house were burned on the  Mahenge side of the river and people were moved forceful to Kivukoni. The police came with the gun to make them move, a lot of them did not move. They had to move to a place where is nothing no house ,no water, nothing. They had to live behind a house, trees, a very nice shamba [farmer]”  page 81

In page 131 Elisha Kindumba explains when he was moved to Kilombero from his home in Njombe seeking for work in 1985 and his decision of remaining in the area rather than returning back to Wanging’ombe after being laid off by the sugar company at Kilombero, he said “I saw that it was difficult to return to Wanging’ombe”

Also Richard Mwailunda was not interested in returning to Kyela also a rice growing area as it was already overcrowded. One could obtain a farm through inheritance, he explained “I like here at Mwaya” he added by saying “because it feels like home” page 131.This eye witness explain how and why people preferred to settle alongside TAZARA railway how they benefited and how TAZARA railway played an important role in facilitating agriculture.

 Gerald Pius Mikapi explains that “in other parts of Tanzania people are to find a place to farm, they have left those places they are coming here”. This is the reason he said for population growth in communities along TAZARA where land was still available. In page 131-132 Martin Kibija said “The railway attracted many people to settle in the area…….” And therefore land became to be scarce alongside the railway he said “and farms were decreasing in size and availability” The next generation which includes his own children is moving out westward to Mgeta,Chita and Mbingu where open land is still available for settlement.

Oral traditions;

Oral Tradition refers the testimony that follows the rules of language and they transmitted orally from one generation to another.

In collecting the historical information, Professor Jamie Monsoon used the following oral traditions;

(a) Poems;

A poem refers the traditions that learned by heart or wrote. In her research the author have been used the following poems;

The poem that explained a theme of friendship as it was used to explain China’s development assistance to Africa. Philip Snow said t

                                                           “Friendship roads,

                                                             Friendship ports,

                                                            Friendship buildings,

                                                           Sprang all over the continent”

This poem was written in the book of poem about TAZARA railway construction written by Chinese technician and published in 1975 with the title of Rainbow of Friendship. This poem illustrates the smiling Chinese workers toiling side by side (page 26).

 (b) Narratives;

Are coherent of the past that are handed down over generations and they did not follow the rules of language. In her book the author used the following narratives in collecting historical information as follows;

 In page 65 Jiu Lui narrated to the author how Chinese government imported food to Tanzania to feed Chinese workers who wanted to recall the type of food of their culture in China and to help the Tanzania government in solving food problem to railway workers, he said “the Chinese team imported large quantities of food stuffs from home including soy source, sharkfines, dried mushrooms, preserved meats and 5000 tons of sugar”

In page 141 Michael Mureji narrated how Ndamba people adopted their daily activities in order to suite with the environment. He narrated “in the colonial period Ndamba people wrote an ethno history that recounted the ways his ancestor has used canoes, harpoons, fraps, and weirs in their rine environment.

Problems /challenges that the author faced;

In her research the author have been faced the following challenges;

 A challenge on obtaining information;

This challenge faced the author at the beginning of her research study. She failed to get potential information from informant  but later she succeeded after she had been advised by Proffesor  Kimambo, Fred Kaijage, Yusufu Lawi, Reginald Mihanjo and Rehema Nchimbi all of them from the History department at the University of Dar es Salaam in which she established relationship with them.

The research of TAZARA was made difficult by the secrecy and suspicious that enveloped the project from its inception. The railway built when Chinese activities in Tanzania were highly sensitive and it was difficult to gain access to data. At the same time the railway was targeted by the   white settlers regime in South Africa because of its strategic and symbolism. TAZARA was protected from enemy by secret negotiations and planning.

All these made Professor Jamie to rely on workers, retirees and officials who generously shared their knowledge and experience in both formal and informal interviews in Tanzania, Zambia and China (page 12.)

Language barrier where by some data were written in Germany language. This happen especially during interview where she has to be assisted by her husband (Steven Davis) to translate Germany colonial document. People prohibited taking a photo by the railway administration except the government of Tanzania (By Tanzania Department of Information Service [Maelezo]) and shortage of official documents of railway as at that particular time the National Archives that located in Dar es Salaam were not yet set by the government.

Appreciation of outstanding achievement;

Despite of these challenges Professor Jamie Monson have succeeded to use various methodologies in collecting historical information such as the use of oral sources, interviews, pictography ,written documents and field observation. She also succeeded much as her research covered more than one country such as Tanzania, Zambia, China and Germany. She succeeded to make various interviews with workers of TAZARA in China, Tanzania and Zambia and collected other historical information from Germany and this is contrary to other historians in the same intellectual area who wrote the history of small ethnic tribe of people.

The author also succeeded to show the absolute chronology where events have been arranged chronologically. This is seen when the author noted “…….this study used photographs for the year of TAZARA completion (1975), (1990),(1996) and (2001) in page 135.  Also “….. the Kilombero Sugar Company predated the railway (it was established in 1962) and then underwent expansion in 1976 that coincided with TAZARA’s completion (page 128).She succeeded on obtaining the railway history from the memories of those who built the railway and from the life histories of its users. She helps us to understand the local experience of the railway development in the rural communities in Tanzania and Zambia.

General overview on the extent to which oral sources have been shaped the book;

Oral sources provided a vital role in understanding the environmental conditions concerning the process of constructing a railway and aftermath of its construction. For example it helped to show how environment hampered the workers during construction process and how people migrated to and settlements increased in the areas along the railway line after the completion of construction of TAZARA railway project.

Oral sources also have been provided an evidence of friendship between Tanzania and China that existed for a long time.TAZARA project symbolized strong relationship between China and Tanzania and the imperialism of China in Africa as opposed to Western imperial countries. Good relationships between these two countries also have been shown for example how Chinese workers cooperated effectively with Tanzanian workers in working during the time of TAZARA project construction.