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Write to: The Editor, Arusha Times, P.O. Box 212, Arusha.
E-mail:
arushatimes@habari.co.tzmailbag1
Say it loud: "Jesus is Lord, Alleluia"
I had a nice piece of land in a residential area of Arusha. I
built a costly house on it, planted trees, dug a borehole. Then I rented it to a
UN employee and this assured me of a good monthly income. I still have the house
but the income is gone. I cannot find anybody to stay in it any more. Do not
believe I did not care for it and I let it get dilapidated. Not at all. It is
still in pristine condition, fit for the most demanding customer.
What happened then, to transform apiece of prime real estate into a useless
piece of junk? When I bought the plot, I was careful to check the names of the
neighbours as I did not want to be disturbed by unruly noisemakers. They looked
all right, two normal Tanzanian citizens, one called Abdul and the other one
Mwakasomething. Someone from the south, I thought. Little did I know about them!
They started constructionat about the same time and their buildings looked a bit
strange, not exactly the style of a quiet residential house. For sure, both were
building places of worship! And with that, peace vanished from our area. I have
nothing against religion and believe people should be left free to adore God in
the way they see fit but my two neighbours have funny ideas. They must believe
god is absolutely deaf for the hubbub they make whenever they worship!
Mwakasomething had powerful loudspeakers installed on the roof of his church and
during the weekend, we have non stop sessions of "Alleluias" and "Jesus is
Lord". Like it or not, wehaveright to their whole ceremony, homely included.
There is no chance you can escape,except by leaving the surroundings and going
to stay somewhere else, fairly far away. But that is not enough, they even have
night sessions. I wonder how they can believe they are actually praising god by
preventing their neighbours from having a good night sleep but that seems to be
the faith of Mwakasomething.
Abdul could not remain idle in front of such an assault of sound. He also
installed loudspeakers and now systematically destroys the peace of the Friday.
Same scenario: like it or not, you are going to listen to us, at least for a
couple of hours, with preaching included. He likes to wake people up at the very
time when sleep is sweetest, every day, shortly after 5.00 in the morning. The
end result: MyUN employee broke his contract and gave me back the keys of my
house.
Since then, I have tried to find another tenant but to no avail. When they see
the situation and the loudspeakers proudly planted on the roofs of adjacent
buildings, all prospective customers promise to come back the next day and never
reappear. My source of income has dried up and I am left with a beautiful but
absolutely useless house. No chance to sell it, no chance to rent it out. And
for the racket of the neighbours, no chance I would live in it myself!
I am calling on the leaders of Arusha municipality. Are there no laws about
noise making in residential areas? I have suffered a very serious financial
drawback but have nowhere to go and lodge complains. This is terrorism in the
name of religion. Religious teaching should not be forced upon unwilling
neighbours as is happening now all over Arusha. So, please, leaders, take some
steps to bring those noisy neighbours under some form of control. Take some
steps to restore the peace of residential areas,
Jemal Bin Morris
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