Ade's review

By Ade Towry-Coker, Dar es Salaam

It was not in my programme for this week to see a film – but quite chance I met a filmmaker who with a special dedication put together this well-crafted short that should be seen by as many people as possible in Africa and everywhere else where the AIDS pandemic is recognized for the social devastation that it causes.

Set in the ‘Uswahiilini’ – our downtown areas of Dar-es-Salaam it pulls no punches in telling the heartbreaking story of a dire coming of age for a young girl who – coming from a village in Iringa, southern Tanzania - at the age of 14 is exposed to the ravages of the life in the urban environment of a African city.

Talking dispassionately – she relates a tale of drugs, the sex trade, brothels, prison life, deaths from HIV and abortions and the harsh exploitation metered out to young people brought to the city as housegirls then abused by their employers and then sold into prostitution. A similar tale to the girls who are ‘bought’ from the northern regions of Thailand and trafficked for sex across south east Asia. Our ‘daughter of Tanzania’ emerges on the other side of such an experience, nine years later at the age of 23 as a compassionate survivor with an ability to forgive and still want to build a life for herself.

African cities have been described as ‘centres of despair’ Uwanja ya Fisi is one such place. It is a journey into the hidden underbelly of Dar-es-Salaam. Housegirls –domestic servants – are the nearest thing to slavery in Tanzanian society - without rights and unorganized as a group of workers they are subject to sexual and physical abuse without recourse and then left to survive on the streets.

This film was made with painstaking care and attention to detail when relating the lives of the urban poor. It can do more for AIDS awareness – than all the workshops and seminars.

Definitely – not for the fainthearted but if you get a chance – go and see Hyena Square…

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