I was told to follow a khaki-uniformed, armed guard through the prison door to speak to another guard, who would arrange the purchase. Naively, I did as I was told, leaving Andrew and the children under the heat of the sun, in the relaxed, pleasant prison grounds. I stepped through a heavy metal door, into the dark interior of Dodoma's "gereza" (prison) and found myself flanked by guards and out of my depth with all of the Swahili spoken around me. The atmosphere abruptly changed: it was tense and intimidating. A swift glance over my shoulder confirmed that the exterior door had been locked and bolted behind me. To my right, 2 fierce-looking guards were busy writing official details on a large ledger. A few steps ahead of me, metal bars revealed a courtyard full of male prisoners in their standard orange overalls, staring at this strange white lady who had appeared before them. As I took in the details of my surroundings, I felt suddenly fearful. Panic seeped through my mind: would they let me out?? what if I was locked up here?? what would Esther and Ben do if the prison guards decided to keep me inside?? I felt my legs shaking...
Then I was brought back to reality as a guard approached to ask me what I wanted. I managed to mumble something in Swahili about buying mats, small ones, that's all I wanted, just to buy a mat, please...To my relief, he nodded and told me to go outside and wait under the tree, where the goods would be brought to us. The door was unlocked and I was let out! Oh, the heady joy of freedom!!
Anyway, we now have 3 lovely doormats and an attractive woven basket! Apparently, most people visiting the prison just wait outside for their goods to be shown to them. Well, at least I had an adventure- and next time we need a mat, I'll know what to do!
As for the remainder of 2009, all passed peacefully and we slept our way into 2010.
We wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR from Dodoma!
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