Volunteers arrested and other such adventures.....

I'm sorry it has taken me a few days to get up information. It has been a little crazy here (maybe as you can guess from the entry title). The safari was amazing! Though there were tons of people all the time (the perils of the norther safari route) the scenery and the wildlife was spectacular. I swear I will put up pictures really soon...when things calm down here a little.

Some of the highlights include: a adult male lion taking a nap in the shade of our car (but not before giving us a frightening glimpse of his teeth), a cheetah killing and eating an impala (a little gruesome sounding, I know, but it really was an amazing sight), almost getting charged by an adult elephant protecting its newborn baby elephant and driving through a sea of zebras and wildebeest. If you can stand the large amount of tourists, a northern safari is definitely worth every penny paid. Just make sure you are a conscious tourist.....

Yes, so volunteers have been arrested and all volunteer work with the organization I am here with has stopped. At the end of the safari, Yotam (the country coordinator) met us at the Arusha hostel with the news. Apparently, immigration is getting stricter with the visas and arresting people who they find to be in violation of their visas. Since IFRE said to purchase a tourist visa, that is what I did, even though it clearly states on the visa that all work, either for pay or volunteering, is strictly prohibited. I was nervous about this before I left, but after talking to the US coordinators I felt assured that it was not actually a big deal and that nothing would happen. I was wrong. Immigration agents have visited most of the organizations that IFRE (and other volunteer organizations working in Tanzania) works with, including Malaika, questioning, detaining and sometimes arresting the volunteers that are working their. To work in Tanzania it is necessary to have a residents visa. However, the reason volunteer agencies recommend getting the tourist visa is that residents visas are very difficult and costly to get. But now, volunteers are having to pay a fine and get a new residents visa, so ultimately it is costing us more money. I'm unsure if I want to go through the expense as I leave next Friday- I think I might just risk it and continue working.

Yotam has been in Arusha sorting out the mess up there (there are many more volunteers in the Arusha area than in the Dar es Salaam area) and so I am in a holding pattern until he comes down here, either tonight or tomorrow. He has told me not to go into work until he comes and talks to me and we sort things out and it is so frustrating. I had already been away from the kids for 5 days because of Safari and now I am going to be gone for (probably) the entire week. I might go in tomorrow around lunch time for an hour or two just to visit them (and maybe bring them some caki to apologize for my long absence).

I can understand why immigration is being more stringent- I am taking away a job from a Tanzanian citizen who could potentially be teaching English and providing care to the children. It is the same argument that is used in the United States with illegal immigrants (or at least part of the argument) and it is interesting being on the "illegal" side.

The whole mess is just causing me (and all of the volunteers who have had to return to Dar es Salaam because their projects have temporarily stopped) a lot of heartache and trouble. But, I will try and be optimistic and hope that it will all be sorted out quickly (no hakuna matata right now please, Tanzania government.....)

I will keep you all updated on the saga.....


Namaste!