TANZANIA should embrace the culture of documenting and displaying important events in its museums to help the young generation learn and cherish their past.
Chinese Deputy Ambassador to Tanzania,
Mr Guo Haodong, made the...
call in Dar es Salaam recently at a painting
exhibition on the Tanzania Zambia Railway line (TAZARA): The long-sealed
memory was hosted by the Confucius Institute and the Department of
Creative Art of the University of Dar es Salaam.
Mr Haodong observed that the TAZARA Railway reiterates the priceless legacy and heritage between Tanzania, Zambia and China.
“I have been to the museum in Tanzania
and China, but none of them has something on TAZARA Railway, considering
its remarkable history and the memory it holds between the people of
the three countries,” said Mr Haodong.
He stressed on the importance of merging
the younger generation with the past for them to treasure the future.
The railway line was previously known as the Uhuru Railway, but
currently it’s the railway for development and prosperity.
“There are plans to modernise the
railway line, but we thought before transforming it we should unravel
the long sealed memory for the current generation to know what had
transpired,” noted the Deputy Ambassador. He further pointed out that
the plan is to host similar exhibitions on TAZARA in China and then
Tanzania again by involving artists from both countries.
The Director of the Academy of Fine
Arts, Zhejiang Normal University, Prof Qiu Xingxiong, noted that the
exhibition involved eight artists from China. “To unveil the long-sealed
memories, China’s arts group used a short period of four days to tour
and experience Tazara and made the sketches which are being displayed
here today,” said Prof Xingxiong.
Narrating the story of how TAZARA came
to be, Prof Xingxiong said since 1965, China dispatched survey and
design team to Tanzania and Zambia to carry out the whole line of
reconnaissance. In December 1969, they completed the detailed survey
report.
“In October, 1970, China sent more than
50,000 railway builders to construct the railway between Tanzania and
Zambia. Enduring harsh environment and the threat of diseases, they
finally finished the remarkable railway in six years, to build this
railway, 65 Chinese experts sacrificed their precious lives,” he noted.
On his part, the Head of the Department
of Creative Arts, Dr Kedmon Mapana, was quick to note that arts are
powerful in conveying messages.
“The education that people get through
arts lasts forever in people’s minds. The Chinese have posed a
challenge, that even important matters such as that of the government,
if demonstrated in the form of arts, can be understood easily by the
people,” noted Dr Mapana.
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