Racist Babies

Babies are adorable.  No matter where you go, they’re just the cutest little things on earth.  Tanzania of course also has an incredible number of the adorable little balls of awesomeness.  Here, most mothers carry babies on their backs with a khanga tied in the front.  I’ve seen one baby backpack since arriving here, and openly stared at the mother and child when I did see it.  On buses, on the street, around the village or town, you can count on seeing a mother or a sibling with a little cutie-pie baby on their back.  There are lots and lots of babies around.  This is partially because of the fact that the birthrate is so high and because people have kids when they’re so young.  Many people are astonished to find out that I’m a whole 25 years-old and don’t have any kids. 

It’s also very common to see young children (I mean even 5 or 6) carrying their young siblings or neighbors.  It’s been my observation (I think it’s throughout Tanzania though of course I can only speak from my experience) that everyone in this country is used to being around children.  Men, women, young, old…kids aren’t scary to them.  Back in the U.S., one of my best friends, Emily, is terrified of children.  My sister Kaitlyn feels like she’ll break babies if she holds them.  My father used to feel that way as well, until he had some kids of his own.  Now he’s well known for loving babies and getting to hang out with kids.  Though many Americans are good with kids and love to be around them, there are also so many people who are scared of kids or are not used to being around them.  But here in Tanzania, I’ve seen some of my macho male students pick up little babies and smother them with kisses.  Older men on buses will smile and pick up a kid and play with them for the rest of the journey.  Everyone in the whole country seems not only accustomed to kids, but able to play with them and not be afraid of breaking them.  If a child falls or starts crying, it’s not the end of the world.  Mothers don’t panic that their son or daughter has been hurt a little bit, as it will only make them stronger.  I guess that helps contribute to making the kids the toughest I’ve ever been around.  Parents also aren’t afraid of a stranger holding their child.  On buses, if there’s no room for the parent to sit, strangers will often have a baby or small kid passed back and put on his or her lap for the trip.  I’m sure that there are some sick and perverted people in Tanzania who abuse children, but it’s not a crippling fear for parents the way it is for some people back in the U.S.  The first time a young kid (like 3) was passed back to sit on my lap, I was pretty stoked – cultural integration!

So overall I really want to be able to hold babies here and be a part of that aspect of the culture.  But no.  Babies look at me and start crying.  I can’t even count the number of babies and very, very young kids I’ve made cry.  They catch sight of me, their face starts to crumple into a wail, and then they scream.  I know it’s because I’m the first face they’ve seen that isn’t black, but it’s kinda disheartening when you can’t hold a single baby in the village because the kid will scream in fear.  Racist babies.  They’re such day ruiners.