It is Drink and Drive in Tanzania

By lute wa lutengano

I remember it very vividly. I was in New York sometime back and had an appointment with a friend of mine, a Tanzanian for that matter, in one of the several 2^nd avenue pubs. The appointment was set for 8 p.m. Since I had nothing much to do I decided to go to the pub at around 6.30 p.m.

I did so, among other reasons to make sure that I had located the pub way in advance for the 8 p.m appointment. It was a cosy Italian pub cum restaurant.

Walking in I was welcome by a very plumb but friendly Italian-American gentleman. I sat down at one corner of the pub and ordered my first beer. Since it was a hot and humid day, the beer went down my throat in no time. I then ordered my second, third and later fourth beer.

It was then that the Italian waiter approached me and wanted to know whether I had any problems, domestic or work related problems. I told him I was ok. I then ordered my fifth beer. That is when the waiter, this time accompanied by his supervisor, approached me and insisted that I must have a problem. I asked why. They replied that I could not be drinking so many beers in normal circumstances.

I told them that, I was actually waiting for my friend so that we could sit down for a drink. They almost fainted. The deteriorating situation was rescued by the arrival of my friend, who told them that I was a Tanzanian visiting New York.

Since my friend, who for obvious reasons I will not name him, was a heavy boozer whose reputation was well known by the pub staff, the issue was amicably solved. Actually, the management went on offering some more complimentary beers for us. At the end of the day, as the British would wont to say, we were tired and emotional, meaning dead drunk.

But the incident remained in my mind because it reminded me that drinking habits of Tanzanians, or East and Central Africans for that matter were very different from those of typical Americans.

This again reminds me of a group of Swedish friends who were in Tanzania for almost a year on some project. They told me that in the first few weeks they were very shocked to see that vehicles congregated at the many pubs around Tanzanian towns, where their drivers were busy boozing without any worry.

This shock soon eased and they also joined the many Tanzanians in these pubs, by driving there and drinking. It was only when they flew back to Sweden that they realized their folly. Almost all of them were pulled down by the police for driving under the influence of alcohol. They wrote back complaining of the bad habit of drink and driving which they acquired in Tanzania as having contributed to their folly.

Another friend of mine, a writer who drove from North Africa, through Tanzania, to South Africa, was very alarmed by the many pubs which straddle the Tanzanian roads. This, he said, indicated that Tanzanians like drinking and driving. Otherwise why the many pubs along the highways.

It is a pity that this situation is allowed to go on by the authorities. Nobody seems to get concerned by the many deaths caused by drink and driving. I wonder how long this will continue. Poor us!

lutengano@hotmail.com

Last modified: August 29, 2003.
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