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Write to: The Editor, Arusha Times, P.O. Box 212, Arusha. E-mail: arushatimes@habari.co.tz
From Simeon to EAC: This is a display of ignoranceDear Editor: It is disappointing reading the news online (Arusha Times Issue 311) about the changing of Simeon Road to "Barabara ya Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki," (EAC Road). I positively agree with comments from other Arusha residents expressing their complaints about the change of the road's name. Note that the EAC has been around after our honored elders have changed our history. I'm not intending to disagree naming roads after EAC but it sounds like an ignorant treatment to remove the previous popular name and replace with another name which I think is less popular among the Waarusha community. We all know that Simeon was a great leader in the Waarusha community and probably for the whole of Arusha region during and after colonial era. Now it is amazing how the society is trying to forget and disregard the history of the community by wiping out the honor of the leader who changed our history. However, as other citizens suggested, it will be unjust if the Arusha authority seeks to ignore our history for good. I strongly propose to rename another more popular road after Simeon.
Dumping of Simeon is barbaricDear Editor It was just like going to visit your grand father’s grave, and when you are close to the graveyard you hear people cheering and clapping their hands. You decide to stop and try to figure out what is going on at the graveyard. After looking carefully you notice familiar faces of your elder brothers and some strangers, all of them with wide smiles. These smiles and cheers make you jump into conclusion that your grand father has arose from the dead. Hallelujah! You hurry up to the site to share such a happy moment with your brothers, but alas as you reach the place you realize that the grave is fresh! What’s up? No one to reply and the cheering goes on. You look for the name on the headstone but you come across the new signpost with a new name initialled EAC, not your grand father’s Christian name Simeon Laizer. Try to remember this new name and after few seconds you come to remember of someone who died some years ago and was reborn later with same initials. Questions still flowing in your head: Why did my brothers decided to remove our grand father remains here? In African culture transferring of graves/remains is done after preparing the new grave for the old remains, but what you’ve done is quite barbaric, not African way of doing things especially to such historical names. Okay, we aren’t against your decision to make happy our reborn baby (EAC), but the way you did makes us sick. Dear brothers, please for the sake of African dignity and history itself, find one of the streets in our town to name after our hero. I hope you will make us know when and where the service will be held so that we will attend the re-burying of the remains of our hero Simeon Ole Laiseri.
Change of street name: shock, disgust and disbeliefDear Editor, I am in total shock, disgust and disbelief at the lack of appreciation for our culture and history that some of our leaders have shown. The East African Community is certainly an important institution for all of us East Africans. It, by all means, deserves to have a street named after it especially here in Arusha, since it calls Arusha home. This does NOT mean however that the respect and honour that we give to our forefathers should now be given to the EAC. The EAC should be named after a different street, and we have plenty of those to give. I disagree with the Hon Mayor's position that Mzee Simeon will be given another street. Why? We seem willing to forego our past and literally 'sell' our ancestors just for the sake of having our names in the limelight. I hope our Arusha leaders won't let us down. Restore Mzee Simeon's road to him and give the EAC another worthy roadd/street.
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