One Square Mile: Zanzibar

Zanzibar is about the size of London, for BBC World News Zeinab Badawi explores just one square mile.

There’s evidence of 2000 years of contact with the African mainland, the Gulf and India. It was the centre of the East African slave trade, ended by the British when they colonized the place at the end of the 19th century.

Zanzibar has seen its fair share of troubles – most recently, a bloody revolution in 1964 that saw Zanzibar make a union with mainland Tanzania.

But despite a turbulent past, this autonomous Tanzanian island now appears to be an oasis of peace and stability in a part of the world no stranger to strife.

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Zanzibar: Too much work, too little school

STONETOWN, 7 April 2010 (IRIN) - Malindi fish market in Zanzibar's Stonetown is a bustle of economic activity, but the prospect of a quick buck attracts too many children who should be in school, say activists.

"The children want to go to school but they have to [work to] support their parents," Mubarak Maman, Zanzibar Programme Manager for Save the Children, told IRIN.

In the market, they are mostly seen serving tea or selling snacks in the morning and early afternoon when the fishermen arrive with the day's catch.

The situation is replicated across East Africa's spice islands. Despite a global reputation as a major tourist destination, the semi-autonomous Zanzibar islands are poor - fuelling child labour and exploitation.

"When you go to Pemba [one of Zanzibar's constituent islands], there is a large number of children involved in fishing and rock-breaking for gravel," Maman said. "The parents say they cannot afford to send the children to school."

However, according to a 2001 assessment by the International Labour Organization (ILO), children in Zanzibar face a tougher time working in clove plantations and seaweed farms, as well as in the hotel and tourism sector. Many are also engaged in child prostitution.

More than 100,000 children between the ages of five and 17 are employed in Zanzibar, according to a 2006 government survey.

Hamza, 15, a juice seller for a year, said he works six hours daily, earning about 7,000 Tanzanian shillings (US$5), most of which goes to his older brother. The remainder is sent off to his parents on the mainland.

"My parents are poor, they could not afford to keep me in school," he said, adding that he would like to return to school. "I am afraid that if I ask my brother to take me back to school he may send me back home to my parents."

Education

Basic education in Zanzibar is compulsory for 12 years – eight years of primary and four of secondary school - but there are no legal provisions for enforcement. There are also other costs, such as uniforms, which lock out the poor.

The perception of low returns on education means parents and children value short-term gains from child labour at the expense of education, according to Zanzibar’s 2009-2015 National Action Plan (NAP) for the elimination of child labour.

"For the majority of children who do not go beyond Basic Education, the prospects for gainful employment are minimal," it stated. This contributes to low demand for schooling and high drop-out rates.

Maman of Save the Children said it was not easy to draw a line between working children and domestic labour. "This is because some of the children work and then go to school; others are not working but are in exploitative situations," he explained.

Some residents also consider it a form of training for the children to take on future roles, such as fishing.

Raising awareness

Fatma Rashid, a liaison officer with ILO in Zanzibar, told IRIN that while child labour was a big problem, community awareness about its effects was low.

"We use mass media for awareness, conduct seminars... we invite parents and shehas [community leaders] to go back and educate others," said Rashid.

ILO is developing a school curriculum so that children in schools are aware of the issues, she said.

According to the NAP, weak implementation capacity and lack of coordination among agencies, together with poor awareness of child rights and weak enforcement of laws and regulations, need to be addressed.

The application of labour laws mainly in the formal sectors has left informal and traditional sectors - the main employers of children - unregulated.

The NAP expects to address these issues and undertake a review of the school curriculum to enhance relevance in addressing local community needs with a view to improving enrolment and retention.

A child labour steering committee, comprising officials from relevant agencies, will provide implementation guidance.

"The child protection issue is overlapping; it is the responsibility of many departments. There is a need for national coordination among the various actors as well as awareness-raising to encourage people to report cases of child abuse," said Maman.

"There should be a legal framework to make it mandatory to report for whoever comes across such a case."

Asha Aboud Mzee of the NGO, Catalyst Organization for Women Progress in Zanzibar, said women should be involved. "If something happens, they [the women] do not know where to report," she said.


Source: IRIN Africa

Karume Day: What Nkrumah advised Mzee Karume in 1958

President Amani Abeid Karume's unity government idea is being viewed in some quarters as being ultimate fulfillment of his late father's dream. The first President of Zanzibar, the late Abeid Amani Karume, believed in unity government but died before forming one, it has been said.

It was Kwame Nkrumah in 1958 who first advised the late Abeid Amani Karume, the leader of the then Afro Shiraz Party (ASP), and Ali Mukhsin Barwani of the Zanzibar National Party (ZNP) to work together, win elections together and win independence together, revealed Mr Salum Rashid Maulid.

Apparently, the late Ghana president was audacious enough to make such a suggestion as he was the leader of the only free African country then. Karume accepted the idea and started advocating for unity government as proper mode of governance.

Mr Maulid, who was the first Secretary to the Revolutionary Council and a graduate the prestigious London School of Economics and a prominent member of the UMMA party, told this paper recently that he was deeply involved at the time before independence and worked closely with Karume in an effort to form a coalition government.

Mzee Maulid, who is now retired from the civil service and politics, said the urge to form a coalition government was very strong after 1963 elections, which did not give any party the required majority to form government.

“We tried to talk to some MPs from ZNP after the election and we succeeded in convincing three of them. I can remember names of only two , Mohamed Mshangama and Balaal and a third gentlemen was from Pemba,” says Mr Maulid who later went on to serve as deputy finance minister in the Union Government.

He told The Citizen in an exclusive interview at his residence in Zanzibar last week that even before independence, the late Karume was very anxious to form a coalition government. Late Karume expressed his disire for a unity government in 1962, at the Constitutional Conference in London.

He suggested that a coalition government for Zanzibar, according to Mr Maulid, would eliminate the political differences. His dream failed could not come true although attempts were made during the first Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar to institute a coalition government.

This is reminiscent of what is happening in Zanzibar today, where political rivals have come together and agreed in principle to work together. Coincidentally, it is late karume’s son, President Amani Abeid Karume, who has succeeded in bringing the adamant Civic United Front (CUF) to agree to the idea of forming an inclusive government.

It was in November last year when President Karume and CUF Secretary General Seif Sharrif Hamad met , in a surprising and unexpected move, announcing they were ready to burry hatchets and work together.

Just as advocated by late Karume during his time, the recent move was also described by both parties as geared towards promoting peace, stability and unity in the isles.

Following the meeting, Mr Hamad went ahead and announced in two public rallies held in Unguja and Pemba that the party had decided to recognise Mr Karume as the legitimate President of Zanzibar, which was a departure from their earlier stand after the 2000 and 2005 General Elections. In response, President Amani Karume also held a rally in Unguja, praising Mr Hamad for his courageous and bold move.

A private motion seeking the formation of the government of national unity was subsequently introduced in parliament by the leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives, Mr Abubakar Khamis Bakary.

When launching a peaceful march to mark the commemoration of his father’s death 38 years ago in Zanzibar last week, President Karume said policy on peace and unity was introduced in Zanzibar by the late Mzee Karume.

He said the 1964 Revolution was aimed at uniting Africans from different political parties so as to build a strong community.

Mr Karume emphasized that Zanzibar can develop as a country only if it cherishes peace and unity, urging his people to support him.

Mr Hassan Nassor Moyo, a trade unionist, first President of the Afro Shiraz Party Youth legue and one of the first ministers in the first Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar told this paper that during the 1963 elections, ASP won 13 seats which did not give the party the mandate to form the government.

“ZNP won 12 seats and ZPPP 6, Mzee Karume approached Mohamed Shamte, the leader of ZPPP and asked him to form a coalition government of the oppressed, Shamte refused and opted to go with the predominantly Arab party ZNP,” Said Mzee Moyo.

According to him, the move by the late Shamte denied Zanzibar the opportunity to form a coalition government. Mr Moyo says the late Karume’s intention was to bring unity and understanding amongst Zanzibaris that is why he brought into the first Revolutionary Government three Arabs from the opposition UMMA party.

“The concept of unity was initiated by our father of the nation Mzee Karume, what you see today is not new, Karume’s dream was unity and not divisionism amongst Zanzibaris,” he said.

Mr Mohamed Aboud, Deputy Minister for East African Corporation, who served in the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar in the past, said during the last election before the Revolution, ASP had 87,402 votes equivalent to 53.1 percent while ZNP/ZPPP had 73,553 votes equivalent to 44.6 percent.

“This division led to about half of the Zanzibaris to accept the British independence of December 10, 1963 just like the way the other half rejected the January 12, 1964 Revolution,” said Aboud.

He told the Citizen that a fifty-fifty political divide amongst Zanzibaris have remained like that for the last 50 years until the dispensation by President Karume and Maalim Seif brought it to an end.

He said as a result of the dispensation, Zanzibar is today enjoying unity and peace that has never been experienced in Zanzibar for the last fifty years, a sure platform for a better future.

Source: The Citizen

Kissing UK couple lose Dubai jail appeal

Katika Zanzibar hairuhusiwi kupiga au kupigwa busu ama kupigana busu. Iwapo utashikwa, Unaweza kuhukumiwa kwenda jela kwa miezi mitatu, ama kulipa faini isiyo zidi shilingi laki mbili na elfu hamsini au kutumikia adhabu zote mbili kwa pamoja(jela na kulipa faini)

Cha kujiuliza nini faida ya sheria kama hizi?

Dubai's appeals court has upheld a one-month prison sentence against a British couple for kissing in public in the Muslim emirate, their lawyer said.

"The court has upheld the verdict" of the court of first instance, the lawyer, Khalaf al-Hosani, told AFP.

The Britons had been on bail since their arrest in November last year, when an Emirati woman accused them of kissing in a restaurant in the trendy Jumeirah Beach Residence neighbourhood.

The pair have been named in the British press as Ayman Najafi, 24, a British expat, and tourist Charlotte Adams, 25, whose surname was previously reported as Lewis.

They said they only kissed on the cheek, but pleaded guilty to charges of consuming alcohol.

The two are entitled to challenge the sentence in the cassation court, the highest court which can review cases in the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf state made up of seven members including Dubai.

They were convicted in January and sentenced to one month in prison, but were released on bail with their passports held by the authorities, Hosani said.

The lawyer said he would discuss with the defendants whether they wish to take the case to the cassation court, but he said "the hope is dim" of overturning the verdict.

Hosani had told court last month that the only witness, a 38-year-old Emirati woman, had presented different statements.

"She told the police that she saw them kissing, while she told the prosecution that her children saw them," he said, adding the defence is arguing that the couple only kissed on the cheek "as a greeting" which is allowed.

Dubai, which despite its pro-Western outlook still adheres to certain strict Islamic rules and bans sex out of wedlock, is a popular destination for British tourists.

Around 1.1 million Britons visited the United Arab Emirates in 2009, and more than 100,000 British nationals live in the country.

In 2008, a British couple, Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer, were convicted of having sex on the beach in Dubai but an appeals court suspended their three-month jail term.

Acors and Palmer, both their thirties, were expelled from the Gulf Arab country, however, and fined 1,000 dirhams ($A294) for drinking alcohol.

A mother-of-two and her alleged lover, a fellow Briton, were convicted of adultery and jailed for two months in June 2009 after her estranged British husband tipped off police who caught the couple leaving a Dubai hotel at 2:30am.

The British Foreign Office warns Britons travelling to the UAE that the Muslim country has strict rules on public displays of affection and points out women should dress modestly in public.

"Proportionally, Britons are most likely to be arrested in the UAE than any other country in the world," says the travel advice, also highlighting the UAE authorities' zero tolerance of possession of drugs.