Revolutionary Sparks In The Air Of Zanzibar
Book Review By Sarbjit Johal
19 February, 2014
Countercurrents.org
The threat of liberation – Imperialism and Revolution in Zanzibar written by Amrit Wilson is all about the people who dared to organise for an independent socialist Zanzibar, the conditions in which they struggled and about how that flame of resistance continued to burn and will never be extinguished. The party cadres tell us how the insurrection in January 1964 was transformed from an uprising into a revolution and we get a glimpse of what could have been… the author relates the experiences of the people who were involved and draws on WikiLeaks documents. From anti colonialism to anti imperialism, emerge the differences and similarities between the past and the present, revealing at the same time why ‘….Zanzibar is once again an important piece in the jigsaw of the United State's foreign and military policy in Africa', and how this is linked to the ‘war on terror.'
The book gives a vivid description of how Zanzibar's unique social structure developed and how these divided and separate identities were ‘humanely linked and united' by the anti-colonial struggle. As you learn about the Umma party and how for example it related to the people or how it saw the purpose of revolution, ‘not to kill, rape or steal but to change the country', you realise how wide the gap is between the right wing media constructions of the left and how things actually are. US and British strategies of getting informers, spreading lies, dividing people, manipulating leaders and destabilising progressive forces are all exposed with detailed clarity. As the story unfolds of the revolution and we see the setting up of the revolutionary government and the horrific ways in which the people were arrested, tortured and criminalised and then how the ‘United States and the United Kingdom finally succeeded in ‘neutralizing' Zanzibar and crushing its progressive potential by engineering the union of Zanzibar and Tanganyika to create a new country, Tanzania….' you understand the significance of the title this book.
The state brutality exposed through the interrogations, torture, trial, and the prison conditions faced by the party members are all reminders of how Muslim people today are treated and portrayed by the British and the US state. For example, the way in which Talha Ehsan, an innocent British poet was for over six years imprisoned without trial and charge in Britain and then extradited to the US and is now in solitary confinement in a high security prison, or the treatment of Shaker Aamer who is on hunger strike in Guantanamo, having endured 11 years without trial or charge. Abdul Rahman Mohamed Babu, the leader of the Umma party got through his time in prison by studying Marxist philosophy, reflecting on the ‘dualism of moral strength, weakness, happiness and sorrow, right and wrong, their relative interpretation and the system of justice based on promoting one and suppressing the other', as well as organising classes in Marxist theory and basic political economy for the other political prisoners. These would be useful tools for us today in crushing the ‘popular' neo liberal ideology which attempts to tell us ‘who is / is not good, respectable, acceptable' and which considers it almost ‘sinful' to replace the love of god with the love of self.
Babu talked about equality in plenty instead of equality in poverty, his humility and attentiveness won him love and admiration, he worked hard towards uniting the working classes and poor peasants, in a short space of time he placed the Umma party at the head of almost every militant opposition group, he set up the first youth organisation (‘reviewing that faith in themselves which colonialism seeks to deliberately erode, and making them aware that their own future and the future of their country was in their own hands')…..so why was he viewed by the British as ‘the most sinister man in Zanizibar…an evil genius', ‘a thorn in the flesh' of the government,'
The thread of humanity weaves throughout this book, from the beginning right to the end where the Umma Party Programme includes ‘insisting that members understand the people's needs and help them solve their own problems', it goes on to state the importance of ‘encouraging criticism for correcting mistakes and not exhibitionism' and also mentions strengthening ‘conscious discipline not mechanical discipline to promote the creative power of the party'. This not only reflects a strong relationship between the people and the Party but explains why the Umma party was so popular and powerful. Meanwhile the ‘value of labour' and the ‘exploitation of labour' frames each chapter. All this contributes to creating a powerful challenge to the ‘human rights, humanitarian aid, freedom and democracy' as promoted and claimed by the US and Britain.
Through an analysis of the declassified US cables and UK documents from the 1960s the writer identifies the continuities and differences. There is the ‘same intelligence gathering…., the same anxieties about the youth…., and the same fear of Zanzibar becoming part of a crucial network of US enemies. The bogeymen, however, are very different; whereas once they were communists, today they are ‘Islamic terrorists'.'
Who and where are these ‘terrorists'? the writers words slice away the foggy confusion created by the mainstream media and state clearly, ‘they could be ordinary people going about their business which happens to stand in the way of corporate loot, or they could be organisations that grow under the shadow of imperialism – generated by people's anger against its injustices or in some cases encouraged and created by imperialism itself, but always in regions rich in resources.'
It would have been interesting to know more about the Equality Reconciliation of Zanzibar Peoples Decree passed after the revolution.
The decree was supposed to break down racial and class barriers ‘by allowing those in love who faced unreasonable opposition from their families the possibility to get married by the state without the approval of the legal guardian (…in fact, it launched a) major racial strategy acted out on the bodies of women….(and became) an avenue through which older men….forcibly marrying women previously denied to them, especially Arab and Indian girls and some women from prominent Shirazi families.' (Maoulidi, 2011).
Some analysis of the media coverage of the revolution and after would also have been useful but maybe that would require another book.
The Threat of Liberation includes amazing black and white photos of Malcolm X, Che Guevara, including one with the heroes of the long march, Vice President Kawawa and Babu taken in January 1965. Even if you only have time to read the carefully thought out subtitles – ‘Revolutionary sparks in the air of Zanzibar', strategies of left in a reactionary climate, What makes someone Guilty of sedition? ‘the jewel in the crown of Tanzania',‘Building resources and sources', it will be worth the effort ….at least you will get a glimpse of the situation before, during and after the revolution and the reactions of the UK and US.
Amrit Wilson by writing this book has enabled us not only to hear the voices of all those across the world but also those not in this world but whose revolutionary spirit and spark continue to inspire us today. This book is a loud call to continue collectively challenging the present monster…
Author biodata:
I am an artist and activist and a school teacher. I have been an active member of the South Asia Solidarity Group a campaigning organisation based in London. I have worked with groups fighting Asian Women's oppression in Britain especially on the issue of Workers Rights, Immigration and State Repression. I have produced educational materials for schools on India's struggle against colonialism and Asian Workers in the Diaspora, challenging the dominant ‘nationalist' educational curriculum being taught in British schools
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