| There are no hotels or lodges in the Southern | | | | of William - she gave me a parcel and dispatched |
| Paré of East Africa therefore it is difficult to | | | | me to the Hospital. The Pastor and I met in the |
| reach this part of Tanzania, that is, difficult for a | | | | hospital mortuary, we chose a nice coffin for |
| tourist. This area does not cater for westerners, | | | | William. We opened the brown paper parcel. |
| except for those willing to spend time traveling to | | | | William's mother had given me his suit. The suit |
| find these hidden jewels. I have worked on | | | | William had never worn, the suit for the wedding |
| Serengeti safaris, climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and | | | | just a few days before. The Pastor left to pay |
| traveled several times to Zanzibar. All this was a | | | | the medical bills and thereby release the body. I |
| fantastic adventure but I was not quite satisfied. I | | | | watched over the body of William as the |
| wanted to experience Africa proper, to | | | | mortuary assistant dressed him and used super |
| experience as much of Tanzania as I could. It was | | | | glue to glue his eye lids closed and then his lips. |
| time to visit somewhere where there were few, | | | | William's parents asked me to accompany them |
| or better still, no tourists, where I would | | | | to the funeral; William would not be buried in |
| experience the real culture of Africa. When my | | | | Arusha Town but taken "home" to the Paré |
| chance came it was, unfortunately, under tragic | | | | Mountains. We left in a couple of battered 25 |
| circumstances. Now I was finally to journey deep | | | | seater buses, especially hired for this trip. The |
| into the Southern Pare Mountains. I wished that | | | | coffin was in the isle of the bus, and young |
| this journey had never presented itself. The | | | | William's body had begun to smell. We left in the |
| circumstances of this journey began as I lived in | | | | evening at 10 pm. About thirty of us squeezed |
| Arusha, Northern Tanzania. The village where I | | | | onto each bus. We raced and rattled through the |
| stayed was called Ngulelo just south of Arusha on | | | | darkness, out of Arusha, then through Moshi |
| the misty slopes of Mount Meru. My near | | | | town, when, after passing Kilimanjaro to our left, |
| neighbors had befriended me, along with their | | | | we turned south toward the Pare. After about |
| eight-year-old son, William. My Christian name was | | | | four hours of travel, we entered into a very small |
| unpronounceable for many Tanzanian's and as my | | | | town named, Somé. Here we left the |
| surname was Williamson I became known in the | | | | comfort of the tarmac and traveled for another |
| village as William. This sharing of a name with | | | | hour, maybe two, along deep sandy roads, lit |
| young William forged a bond between the two of | | | | thankfully by a full moon, shining down from clear |
| us. Williams Mother and Father had never been | | | | skies. Eventually we arrived at the base of the |
| able to afford a marriage certificate but his | | | | mountain range. It was still dark and therefore |
| business had looked up and William's father had | | | | impossible to negotiate the narrow rocky roads |
| decided he would marry the mother of his child. | | | | up the side of the mountains. We parked in a one |
| The date of the wedding was set. The morning | | | | street town. It was so quiet, I didn't know it was |
| of the wedding William was bitten on his face by | | | | possible to experience such stillness and quiet. As |
| a dog. He almost lost his eye - he did miss the | | | | we stretched our legs our voices echoed and |
| wedding. Weddings in Tanzania normally take the | | | | ricocheted about the place and we wakened the |
| whole afternoon and evening. Usually, on these | | | | locals. A few roadside stalls opened to sell |
| and other community events, William would sit | | | | toothbrushes and hot tea and we brushed our |
| next to me and we would talk and meet people, | | | | teeth out in the open, spiting into the sand. Then |
| laughing and crying with the community. William | | | | sitting on the stone steps of the old buildings |
| would share the adventures he had experienced | | | | drinking black sweet spicy tea, we waited for the |
| since the last community event - that is, since the | | | | light of morning. William's father and mother never |
| last time we had spent time together. I missed | | | | left the Bus. They waited in silence At 6.00am we |
| William at his parents wedding. I sat alone and the | | | | were off again, this time a steep assent, up and |
| empty seat I kept for William remained vacant as | | | | up and up. The mountains here are breathtakingly |
| his wounds were tendered to at the hospital. The | | | | beautiful, rolling into the distance, with trees, birds |
| following day some of the elders thought the dog | | | | and water everywhere. We took a further ninety |
| might have rabbis but others said categorically | | | | minutes to get to the home where were to burry |
| that it did not have rabbis. William's father was | | | | William. The land was terraced and we sat outside |
| asked to take William for shots just in case the | | | | a small house under a tree. The whole community |
| dog was infected. William did not go for the shots | | | | had come for the burial. The views were |
| as the cost was deemed not worth the hassle | | | | breathtakingly beautiful. We were so high, looking |
| and the money, offered by the elders for the | | | | down onto the tops of lesser mountains covered |
| medication, was refused. William died very quickly. | | | | in thick forests and early morning mist. The |
| I was not present at his death, so quickly did it | | | | people were warm and welcoming, plying us with |
| occur. Early one morning I met Mama Gifti the | | | | more spiced tea. The buses had arrived with not |
| wife of the Pastor. It was unusual for her to be | | | | only the body but sacks of rice and supplies to |
| out so early. She stopped me and asked if I | | | | cook to supply the masses with food after we |
| heard that William had been admitted with rabbis | | | | had buried William. The women became busy |
| into hospital the night before. I had not. I then hit | | | | preparing the food, the men sat around in silence, |
| me that Mama Gifti was in tradition dress, a | | | | broken now and then with murmurs of |
| Kanga. The Kanga is two matching pieces of | | | | conversation. This trip was full of sadness and |
| fabric, one tied around the waist, the other used | | | | regret about the young boy. We were all feeling |
| as a shawl and instead of the normally colorful | | | | we had not done enough to save him. The grave |
| print, the kanga was plain white. This traditional | | | | was on a steep incline close to the house. As the |
| piece of attire was not usually worn by Mama | | | | long funeral dew to a close I stood next to the |
| Gifti. This could only mean one thing. The Kanga is | | | | grave and said my goodbyes to a very brave |
| worn by all women at funerals. White is also the | | | | little friend whom I shall never forget. At this point |
| color of death. William was dead. The men had | | | | the Pastor paused and asked that the only |
| split into two parties. The Pastor and some of the | | | | non-African at the funeral say a few words about |
| men had gone to pay the hospital bill and make | | | | William. I started to speak of our friendship but |
| arrangements to pick up the body. Others had | | | | my voice broke and I wept, I could not continue. |
| gone in search of William's father who had gone | | | | Every time I speak of this, tears are not far |
| missing, distraught that William had died. Blaming | | | | away. Even now, as I write about this event, my |
| himself, he had fled from home to be alone for a | | | | eyes fill with tears and my lip it trembles. One day |
| few hours. Mama Gifti told me that as William lay | | | | I plan to return to the Pare Mountains to explore |
| on the hospital bed the night, before his mother | | | | them for myself. To take some time and drink in |
| wept. William comforted his mother telling her | | | | Africa - away from tourist and phony or |
| pleases not to cry. 'Yes', he told her, 'soon I will | | | | over-organized cultural visits. I will take some |
| die but I go to a better place'. William died soon | | | | flowers and visit the grave of William and even |
| after these words. The day he died was his | | | | though it is only a grave I will talk to him of all my |
| eighth birthday. I went straight to see the mother | | | | adventures since our last meeting. |