The Mzungu Syndrome

The Mzungu Syndrome is something that you notice right away but takes a while to really understand all of the ways it manifests itself in your daily life. There are privileges but also some downsides. The mzungu syndrome was told to me by a friend who was surprised at my response to his question of "how do you like Africa?"  I said, "Well, I don't know about Africa but Tanzania is pretty awesome."  He said, "ohh, you know the difference between Africa and Tanzania, you are smart." And I was a little offended by this.  I said you are surprised I know the difference between Africa and Tanzania even though I am interning at a human rights organization in Tanzania and I have a degree in political science? He responded by explaining that when he went to Europe people said that he was from Africa, not Tanzania.  He went on to say that he doesn't like the Mzungu Syndrome and when I asked what that was he said it is the belief that all Mzungus are rich and educated. I understand now that I shouldn't be offended and that he just didn't want to play into the misconception that all mzungus are rich and educated. Mzungu is the Swahili word for foreigner and can include anyone not from Tanzania and even some Tanzanians have told me they are questioned or suspected of being a mzungu.

It is hard to put your finger on sometimes but some African friends have pointed it out when my plate will have bigger portions or people will stop me on the street asking to be my friend who later talk to me about sponsoring businesses in Canada.  I myself am a recently graduated student burdened by student loans and lack of experience in my quest for a fulfilling career. I'm not as educated as I'd like to be and on a net scale I am not in the black as far as finances goes but the privilege/attention I receive here is at once hard to dismiss but also hard to understand the depth of.  I wonder how many locals are greeted as often as my roommate and I are or given the same type of service. Not by the way we dress or who we know but simply because people know we are wazungu.  This differential treatment is not without its downsides though. Blending in is extremely difficult and the anonymity that I had in Canada is non-existent here.  Attention, especially by boys and men, is hard to ignore and I did get assaulted in Kariakoo market.

Men had been grabbing my arm around the bicep all morning and I had had to peel their fingers off of me at least 4 times that day and I also had a very sweaty man come up and put his arm around me and, understandably, I was starting to get annoyed. By the last time (number 4 or 5 I can't remember) I was getting used to peeling fingers off my bicep and as I was doing so, the last man said, "no stay here" and re-gripped my arm. I said, "no thank you", pointed to my friend up ahead and peeled his fingers off again and turned to leave when he made the motion of a volleyball spike and hit me on the ass hard as I was walking away.  I turned around and yelled “Fuck you!” and pointed in his face when a man who had seen the whole thing got in between us and said something-something Tanzania and lead me away from him.  I doubt if the perpetator treats local Tanzanian women that way, at least in public. 

The Mzungu Syndrome also manifests itself in other ways as well.  Since my arrival, I've had at least four men tell me that they want a mzungu wife.  I consistently ask them why and some say they don't know why and others say something about how Tanzanian women change after marriage.  I hear the same thing about Canadian women from Canadian men. There is a perception here that mzungu women somehow do not turn into wives and stay girlfriends. Husbands in Canada can attest this is not the reality, people change all the time especially when their living conditions change like when they have a family to look after, etc. Still, being a mzungu and being a woman I've had certain privileges and disadvantages living in Tanzania. Generally people are very kind, like on the bus people will give me their seat when they leave but also not in some cases I feel it is pretty even in that regard. Some will  come out of their way and ask if I'm lost if they speak English well like the other day when I was waiting for a bus. Living in Tanzania is very interesting because unlike Canada there is not as much diversity and people immediately know that you are a 'foreigner' while in Canada it is very hard to tell. I will continue to try to understand and identify all the ways in which the Mzungu Syndrome reveals itself to me in an ongoing effort to understand my privilege and intersectionality with my identities such as being a woman, able-bodied, white and middle class.