Deutschland gehört zu den Ländern, die am Ersten und Zweiten Weltkrieg beteiligt waren. Am Verlust und der Zerstörung wichtiger Zentren, Kirchen und der Heimat auch von unschuldigen Menschen hat das Land gelitten. Auch wegen der tragischen Ereignisse des Zweiten Weltkriegs ist Deutschland heute Anziehungspunkt für viele Touristen aus aller Welt, die die Zeugnisse der Geschichte mit eigenen Augen sehen wollen.
Auch ich war gespannt, die historischen Orte kennenzulernen, über die ich bisher nur in Büchern gelesen oder von anderen gehört hatte. Ich danke dem Münchner Evangelischen Presseverband, dass er mir meine Reise nach Deutschland, vor allem durch Bayern, nach Berlin und ins Ruhrgebiet ermöglicht hat. Viele Dinge habe ich nun mit eigenen Augen gesehen.
Sehr fruchtbar waren für mich die drei Tage, in denen ich in Berlin war.
Zum ersten Mal habe ich die berühmte Berliner Mauer gesehen und mit eigenen Händen berührt, die dazu errichtet wurde Ost- von West-Berlin zu trennen und viele Jahre später zur Wiedervereinigung der beiden deutschen Staaten fiel.
Ich habe den Reichstag besucht und das Museum für Naturkunde, später auch den öffentlich-rechtlichen Sender rbb.
Ein positiver Eindruck, den ich von meiner Studienreise mitnehme, ist, dass die Regierung der Bundesrepublik die Verpflichtung sehr ernst nimmt, das historische Erbe für die kommende Generation zu bewahren und an die Geschichte zu erinnern. Auch das hat dazu beigetragen, dass Berlin zu den am meisten besuchten Städten Europas gehört. Während meiner Tour habe ich mit eigenen Augen gesehen, wie viele ausländische und inländische Touristen die Einrichtungen und Museen besuchen und wie gut diese organisiert sind.
Interessant ist, dass auch Einheimische die historischen Stätten oder Museen in ihrer unmittelbaren Umgebung gern besuchen. Das ist in Tansania anders, wo die Menschen - außer bei Gelegenheit außergewöhnlicher Ereignisse - an den historischen Stätten in ihrer unmittelbaren Umgebung weniger interessiert scheinen.
Ich denke, dass die tansanische Regierung in Zusammenarbeit mit Nichtregierungsorganisationen etwas unternehmen muss, um hier das Bewusstsein zu heben - das Bewusstsein, wie wichtig es ist, die Geschichte des eigenen Lands und bedeutende Orte zu kennen und wertzuschätzen.
Ich nehme wahr, dass Deutschland - als ein Land mit einer starken Wirtschaftsleistung - es geschafft hat, all die historischen Stätten zu bewahren trotz der immensen Zerstörungen durch die Bombardements des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Vielleicht versetzen gute Regierung und eine starke Wirtschaft das Land dazu. Tansania mit einer Bevölkerung von rund 55 Millionen Menschen ist noch immer ein Land in der Entwicklung. Seine Wirtschaftskraft ist geringer als die Deutschlands. Deswegen liegen die Proritäten in Tansania auf der Verbesserung des Sozialsystems - wie einem guten Gesundheitssystem, Bildung und Agrarsubventionen.
Obwohl es nur wenige Museen in staatlicher Verantwortung gibt, sind diese weniger attraktiv für viele Touristen, die eher wegen der Nationalparks kommen. Das bedeutet: Wenn es die tansanische Regierung richtig anpackt, hat sie gute Möglichkeiten ein noch besseres Paket zu schnüren - mit Attraktionen wie den Naturschätzen und der reichen afrikanischen Tierwelt, aber auch mit den historischen Stätten.
(...)
Große Herausforderungen hier in Deutschland waren für mich die Sprache und das Essen. Alle Durchsagen auf Bahnhöfen oder die Beschilderung ist auf Deutsch - das fand ich, als jemand, der die Sprache nicht spricht, sehr schwierig zu verstehen. Ansonsten sind die Deutschen bezaubernd.
Gott segne Deutschland, Gott segne Tansania.
Nachfolgend finden Sie den englischen Originaltext von Irene Mbakilwa:
Germany is among the countries that have been involved in the first and second World War. The loss of important centers, churches and homes of innocent people made the country suffer. Due to the tragical incidents in World War II, Germany nowadays finds itself a center of attractions to many tourists from all over the world who come to witness the historic events.
Myself, I was so anxious to see these historic centers which I had been reading about in school books or had heard from other people. I thank the EPV in Munich that facilitated my trip not only from Tanzania to Germany, but also from to several places in Bavaria, to Berlin and the Ruhr Area. So now I could see many things with my own eyes.
The three days I stayed in Berlin were so fruitful to me.
For the first time I saw and touched the famous Berlin wall which had been built to separate East Berlin and West Berlin and years later got down to unite the two Germanies.
I visited the Parliament house, the Museum of Natural History and later the rbb public broadcasting house.
The good lesson I got from this study tour is that the Government of Germany is committed to preserve its history for the coming generation at any costs. This plan has contributed a lot to make Berlin being among the most visited cities in Europe. During my tour I witnessed a good number of foreign and local tourists who come to visit the reserved centers and Museums which are well organized.
The other interesting thing is that even the local residents have the habit to visit the historic sites or the Museums which are located in their places. This is different from Tanzania because many local citizens do not have the tendency to visit their nearer historical sites unless there is an important event occurred in that area.
I think the Government of Tanzania in collaboration with non-governmental organizations have to do something like raising awareness to people so that they love to see the places and can know more about their country’s history.
I understand that Germany as a country with a strong economy in Europe, managed to maintain all the historical sites despite of the big destructions from the bombs of World War II. Maybe the good leadership of the country and the good economy enable the country to do what we see today. Tanzania with a population of more than 55 million people is still a developing country. Its economy is not as strong as the one of Germany. That is why the priority in Tanzania is improving social services like providing good health services, good education and subsidy to farmers.
Though there are few museums which are taken care by the government, they are not so attractive to many tourists who come to visit the national parks in the country. This means that if the Government will organize itself well, it will be in a good position to make a good package for a visitor to see all the attractions of natural resources like animals and the historical sites as well.
In the Ruhr Area I was so surprised to see the Coal mine of Essen which has been closed down several years ago. Now the buildings are used as museum. The most interesting part of it is that the plant which had employed thousands of people from all over Europe, paid all the benefits of the former employers who were solely depending on that Coal mine. This is a good example to the Tanzanian Government which is now undergoing some economy reform.
In order to be good to its people the Government should consider its people before the closure or privatizing the company.
In the Media the sector, I think Germany is doing well. There is much Freedom of Press in Germany and sources are willing to talk without many obstructions. A journalist of rbb public broadcasting in Berlin, Mr. Thomas, told me that it is normal for a journalist to contact with his sources through email and get the information he needs. This communication is regarded as informal communication in Tanzania. Sources of information never reply serious questions through emails. Tanzanian journalists normally phone to ask for an interview appointment or go to the office physically to be assured. Otherwise a journalist can wait several days before getting what he needs.
The rbb radio and TV station was so amazing. It has such big studios though the facilities looked the same as they do at my media company, the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation TBC. The difference is that rbb has more radio and TV studios for live shows and recording compared to the Tanzanian Media. The other important thing I observed in media industry is that social media is very useful to all media houses in Germany. Each newspaper, Radio or TV station must own a Webpage and social media platform like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This is good. In Tanzania we have them as well, but not very serious because many people still depend on traditional media for receiving news.
In religious issues I learnt a lot when I visited the Bavarian Lutheran Church. People are so committed to serve people.
Mr. Johannes, the Press Secretary of the Bishop, told me that they have a good number of priests who are found all over the Lutheran Dioceses. Almost all the school pupils are reached by these Priests. The situation is difficult in Tanzania because most Lutheran priests do not have transportation possibilities to reach remote areas where primary schools are scattered.
In general, my study tour in German was so much more successful than I had expected. I expanded my knowledge in various issues. From journalistic and political view, religious and socio-economic issues. I will never forget the amazing moment of climbing the Alps which reminded me of the highest mountain in Africa - the Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I realized that the good infrastructure of the Alps like cables and trains can be applied even in mountain Kilimanjaro and make the climbing process short.
And lastly, I managed to meet the Tanzanian Ambassador in Germany, Doctor Abdallah Possi, who commended the good relationship between the Government of Tanzania and German. The ambassador hopes that the good relationship will continue to bring more exchange programs in different sectors of development.
I think that this exchange program is very important for the relationship of the two countries. I hope the time of training will be extended so that the trainees will have ample time to visit many places and make many articles. Myself, I managed to write four stories for my media house in Tanzania. But I could have made more stories if I would have had enough time.
My big challenges were language and food. All announcement in public areas like at the train stations and on signboards are done in German so I found it very difficult to understand since I do not speak the language. Otherwise the people of Germany are charming. God Bless Germany, God Bless Tanzania.