A Guide to the Turist of Tomorrow

If it were not for the heat and the mosquitoes and the lack of good harbors, Europeans would have invaded Africa a long time ago. And most probably there wouldn't be an Eritrea or a Kenya as we know them now.

Besides, the would-be explorers who returned to Europe after a thrilling expedition in Africa, told tall stories about man-eating tribes, head hunters, fearful hominoids, oversized gorillas, flying snakes, etc. Consequently, they let the continent in peace for sometime until the discovery of America which was followed by mass immigration, feverish grabbing of land and sporadic settlement.

In the 16th century, gold mining plus heat plus docile Indians in Latin America led to the cruelest exploitation of man by man. The gold and copper mines were the Auschwitzs and Dachaus of those infamous days when the Red Indian had to find gold or else. But many, unaccustomed to such kind of harsh life, simply perished by the thousands.

Well, the conquerors had to think fast. Eureka! Why not try with the African Negro, thought a certain Spanish friar. After all, the sun baked Negro is more muscular and can sustain more hardship than the drug addicted and indolent Indian. Bring them here fast and by all means! So the enterprising but insensitive souls amongst them sailed to Africa and loaded their ships with human cargoes to be dumped in America.   

It was in the later decades of the 19th century that Europe began to get the notion that Africa was after all rich in natural beauty, fauna and flora and most of all, in minerals. This led to colonization and the subsequent scramble for Africa.

After thus taming Africa, it was safe for people of milder mould to visit the so called dark continent from Victorian England and Napoleonic France. At first they came for big game hunting with their guns and pith helmets. They didn't call themselves tourists. No, they were diplomats, businessmen, prospectors, anthropologists, etc.

With the passage of time, the camera-slinging tourist arrived. This was the time that many African countries appreciated the value of tourism. A poor continent with nothing but its natural beauty to offer, built all the needed infrastructure in order to attract visitors and earn the much wanted foreign currency. The sun-worshipping tourists from the northern climes arrived en mass competing with the migratory birds in speed and enthusiasm.

The tourists loved Africa for its exotic animals and plants, its mighty rivers, its innocent and hospitable people, its inexpensive hotels and entertaining places.

They came to enjoy its pristine lakes and beaches, its historical and archaeological sites and open grasslands. They visited its market places, watched its people dancing and listened to its soul stirring songs and music.

They were programmed to look at lofty mountains, big rivers, lakes, mighty man-made structures, and wondered at traditional dresses and rhythmic dances.

But they missed the true African spirit. They couldn't see the trees for the forest. And then gradually, they lost contact with reality and their baser instincts got the better of them.

Gradually they became fed up with big buildings, historical sites, exotic animals etc, Too much money and boredom with life changed their attitude towards their surroundings. They reached a point where historical places were not only to be seen but if possible to be robbed as well. Culture is not to be appreciated but also to be commercialized.

Cultural artifacts got pilfered everywhere. Intellectual property got violated. The shy tourist of yesteryear was replaced by the boisterous backpacker and wealthy pervert of the 21st century.

Women were not only to be admired but also to be sexually exploited. Behold! Sexual tourism was on the rise. The pedophile, the homosexuals, the sugar daddies of this world walked the streets by night in search of their preys. You may find them in Asmara or in Bangkok. You can meet them in the back alleys of Dakar or Kinshasa.

Nowadays, there are all types of tourism such as leisure tourism, historical tourism, adventure tourism, intellectual tourism, etc. except virtuous tourism, i.e tourism aimed at appreciating the good qualities or virtues of the country and its people.

But, you as a tourist, have you ever tried to appreciate the kindness, honesty, simplicity, uprightness, courage and faithfulness of the people whose country you have visited? Have you tried to learn goodness from the people you consider primitive?

Why don't people from the north go to places to acquire virtues now extinct in their own countries? 

For example, by visiting Eritrea, a tourist can, on top of cultural and historical facts, learn a lot about the people's simplicity, honesty and love of country.

Where else can you find a people who invite you to their house and offer you all they have for your comfort and happiness, for free? Where else can you find people who consider guests as their brothers whether they meet them in bars or in the streets of their towns?

I can say that I have learned a lot from my own people in the past few years. Maybe I was blind all my life  but now I see.

One cold evening last week I was hurrying to reach home, when a little girl aged ten or twelve came running to me. It was eight in the evening.

"Take this eight Nakfa and buy me half a packet of cigarettes from that shop around the corner" she ordered.

"What?" I said astonished by her incivility.

"Count the money first. I will wait for you here," she continued.

Anyway, I took the money, counted it, went to the shop, bought half a packet of cigarettes and handed it over to the girl. She took the packet and smiled by way of saying thank you. That was all.

This girl was a street vendor. I had to do the buying for her since the shopkeeper wouldn't sell to street vendors more than once.

But what surprised me most was the girl's complete trust of strangers. I could have made off with the money and she wouldn't have known about me. What could have prompted her to trust me?

This is nothing compared with other acts of faith and detachment of biblical dimension. You meet small children hawking their merchandize in the streets of Asmara and you buy a stick of chewing gum worth 25 cents and you give them one Nakfa note. They leave the whole box of merchandize with you (for safe custody) and dart off to get small change. What is this? A Kingdom of heaven on earth?

I would travel on foot to the far reaches of this earth to witness one single act of kindness and trustworthiness than tour by jet planes to look at Pyramids and Tour Eiffels surrounded by indifferent and money gobbling people.

This is therefore one of Eritrea's tourist attractions: honesty and trustworthiness. Come and see it for yourself.

But some foreigners residing in Eritrea have the tendency to conclude that any African is prone to lie or steal given the chance. I have many times been given to understand that I lied when I said this or that. Insinuations that I wanted to steal this or that had on many occasions caused my blood to boil. Old habits die hard. In this case the old habits are the biased mentality toward Africans that some foreigners harbor in their hearts.

The African knew nothing about lying or stealing until the advent of colonizers. They came to grab his land and lied when they made promises and signed treaties that went down the drain.

I still maintain the fact that in this world darkened with the cloud of materialism and the smoke of greed, one can learn a lot from visiting Africans in their simple villages and humble dwellings.

Virtuous tourism should be the trend for this century. And the place to visit is Africa.

But you should start by planning for a long visit to Eritrea.  You can learn a lot about patriotism, self-sacrifice, detachment and altruism while there.

Society & Culture No.2 

Where else can you find a people who invite you to their house and offer you all they have for your comfort and happiness, for free? Where else can you find people who consider guests as their brothers whether they meet them in bars or in the streets of their towns?