Upon reaching the College Ave Student Center on Friday September 26 for the noon lecture, the second floor was flooded with animated bodies, clumped into murmuring groups along the corridor. The president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, was coming to Rutgers to give a public lecture on the importance of bridging academic partnerships. I didn’t know what to expect. I was eager to listen to what the president had to say.
The lecture began at about half past noon, with a few professors and the vice president of Rutgers giving opening remarks. Finally, the president came up to the stage, ready to give his address. For those who hadn’t attended the lecture, I’ll briefly recount the main points addressed. According to the president, his government strongly encourages university research initiatives and greater access to education. He pontificated to the audience the necessity of bridging global, academic partnerships as a means to improving research in higher education in Tanzania. Lack of resources arose every now and then. And apparently, one of the biggest health issues women in Tanzania face is cervical and breast cancer. He then proceeded to talk about the IMF, the UN, and all of the important initiatives these global institutions have created.
Let me clarify that last tidbit of info: not just talk, but glorify these institutions. As a matter of fact, it felt like the speech was spoon-fed to the president, as though ordered to abide word-for-word the sentences printed on the cheaply manufactured, flimsy manual which one was forcibly handed.
What I found most interesting throughout the lecture was the language and topics with which Kikwete addressed his western audience. At one point, he paralleled the relevance of bridging global partnerships to the ISIS Crisis. He explained that the aforementioned crisis is not one that affects the Middle East alone. That there are English citizens, Swedish citizens and other Europeans involved with ISIS and is therefore a global situation. Consequently, England alone cannot fix the situation; neither can Sweden for that fact, nor Syria, nor Iraq. Collaboration is thus the end-result, the solution.
Well, yes, indeed, that is correct. But…
…of all the examples to use, why choose that of ISIS? One possible reason is that is what the US 
media is reporting 24/7. His talk evolved to praising the wonderful work of the UN and the IMF. Now, don’t get me wrong, these organizations have done excellent philanthropic work. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize and address the pitfalls present within these western organizations. The
hierarchy drenched within these post-world war systems is problematic (about which I could drone on and on for eons, so I will refrain from writing further and have some reading recommendations if you wish to explore*) and perpetuates a first-world, third-world dichotomy that has become ingrained within our society. There are systemic issues at hand, and to listen to the president merely praise such organizations rather than address the very reason his county is lacking in certain resources to begin with… infuriated me.
I’ve noticed that the foundation of a liberal arts education partially consists of colonial and post-colonial studies. Academia has without a doubt initiated quite a large discourse around post-colonial and colonial theory. However, outside the perfectly contained bubble of academia, post-colonial relations and colonial history are topics that are practically avoided. Towards the tail-end of his lecture, Kikwete briefly noted the lack of educational resources prevalent in this day and age is a result of British colonialism in the African region. Nonetheless, it must be noted that the Germans did colonise Tanzania before the British from roughly 1886-1916. In fact, once the British colonial oppressor (he did not address the British as colonial oppressors – these are my words) occupied German East Africa it did not fund any educational initiatives or schools throughout Tanzania. There had been, during the time the British colonized the country (1919-1962), only two schools for non-Brits to attend.
Let that sink in: two schools, one country.
And this fact was briefly mentioned, practically skimmed over. The role of colonialism is critical as it explains one of the main reasons the country is categorized as “third-world” and “developing” in today’s dominant, euro-western economic paradigm. Our current world economic system, specifically referring to the IMF, perpetuates the “first-world” and “third-world” dichotomy. A subsistence-type economy is created, as a result, forcing “developing” countries to cede economic autonomy to Western, European powers. Although colonialism has practically disappeared, its effects continue to shape our experience on a macro-level whether or not we are conscious of it.
At the same time, one can only discuss so much within an hour.
Olympia Christofinis