Political Significance
Arusha, a city of approximately 400,000 people, is the gateway to the popular Northern Safari Circuit. It sits at the base of Mount Meru and serves as a landing point for tourists heading to Mount Kilimanjaro. Due to these appeals, Arusha receives an estimated 800,000 tourists yearly.
As these tourists visit and pass through Arusha, the Arusha Declaration Monument stands as a very prominent monument.
The Arusha Declaration Monument represents Tanzania's history of socialism
This is not hidden or tried to be kept as a secret in any way--evidenced by the museum next to the monument detailing Tanzania and the Declaration's history
The original building that the museum in which the museum was situated was a social welfare hall, demonstrating the legacy of socialism in Tanzania
As a tourist town, the monument signals to the international community that Tanzania was not founded on democratic ideals and is set apart from many other states in the international system
Additionally, it shows the international community that Tanzania still respects those socialist ideals, even if their government is not structured as such today
The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the ruling party in Tanzania, unveiled this monument in 1977. The CCM is still in power today, and this monument helps to place the CCM at the forefront of people's minds and exerts the CCM's influence in a subtle way.
Cultural Significance
Ultimately, the Arusha Declaration monument represents all that it means to be truly Tanzanian, underscoring values of simplicity, participation, and nationalism.
Ujamaa:
Ujamaa ("familyhood" in Swahili) seeks to return to the traditional and egalitarian African society of the pre-colonial period, founded on the ideas of communitarianism and participation. This ideology formed the underpinning of the Arusha Declaration which focused on Tanzanian autonomy from foreign aid.
Ujamaa is also associated with the villagization. This is reflected in the murals on the sides of the monument, which show village life, harkening back to a simpler society.
While the monument itself is modern in appearance, on some level, the Declaration it represents, rejected modernization and cultural change which threatened the Tanzanian identity.
National Symbol:
Much like the Eiffel Tower or the London Bridge, the monument represents that which is inherently Tanzanian.
The central location in a roundabout further emphasizes the centrality of this monument and the Declaration itself to Tanzanian culture. The monument also stands taller than all its counterparts, underscoring its importance.
The 2015 vandalism of the monument presented a threat to the Tanzanian nation, which was widely reported on and criticized.
