Shimbo Pastory
This article was published in The Citizen Newspaper, Tanzania on 9th December, 2021
Towards the peak of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Independence of Mainland Tanzania on 9th December 2021, the High Commission of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Kingdom and Ireland joined other Tanzanians spread all over the world in celebrating and commemorating this august occasion.
A modest reception was held in the afternoon of 4th December 2021, at the premises of the Chancery, fairly anticipating the due date of the event. The High Commissioner, Her Excellency Dr. Asha Rose Migiro hosted the event. Despite COVID-19-related restrictions regarding social gatherings, the event was graced by hundreds of young and old patriotic Tanzanians who had migrated to the United Kingdom as far back as the mid-1960s.
The gathering occasioned the guests the rare opportunity to reminisce about the path that Mainland Tanzania has trod from colonial occupation to Independence; and also availed an opportunity to celebrate the many achievements and challenges overcome in every sphere of development.
Special mention was made of transformation in trade and commerce, immigration and border control, and cooperation in maintaining peace and internal security.
It was a time of remembering Mainland Tanzania’s path from a protectorate of the United Nations and appreciating her strides towards participating and having an indelible impact in international fora and a pivotal role in international organizations at large.
The transformation in gender roles and positions in the past 60 years was one of the High Commissioner’s highlights. She spoke of the vital role played by women since Independence with a special mention of the role of Bibi Titi Mohammed in the liberation movement and the continued vitality of women in the continued development of the then-young nation of Tanzania.
The High Commissioner seized the opportunity to remind the younger generation that the onus for taking Tanzania firmly towards greater social and economic heights remained solely in their hands.
She accentuated that in 60 years to come the future generations would hold them accountable for where Tanzania would be then.
High Commissioner Migiro added that the duty and obligation to work, bleed and sweat to realize the dreams and aspirations that brought UHURU to our nation and wherever possible surpass the vision of those who came before us, remains on the shoulders of the present young and millennial generations.
Together with that, Tanzania enjoys fruitful collaboration with the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the High Commission has plans to ensure that the ties benefit both nations and the Tanzanian Diaspora community.
