HAKI SASA 1.0

First Encounters: Reflections from Tanzania

October/November 2024

Our first journey to Tanzania offered a profound engagement with its history and colonial scars. In Bagamoyo, 200 kilometers south of our partner city Tanga, we encountered a landscape deeply inscribed with memory. Its name, Bwaga-Moyo — “Lay down your heart” — evokes the despair of captives during the East African slave trade.

Bagamoyo became part of former German East Africa in the late 19th century. Surviving administrative buildings and the Hanging Tree stand as reminders of resistance and repression. The Maji Maji War (1905–1907) resonates here as a symbol of defiance and the ongoing struggle for freedom.

Through workshops, tours and dialogue, we explored how these histories continue to shape the present, connecting themes of memory, cultural restitution, climate justice and global inequality in line with SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. 

At the Mangi Meli Memorial in Old Moshi, remembrance assumed a tangible form. Having seen The Empty Grave (2024), a Berlinale-screened film on the return of human remains, we were reminded of the responsibility involved in restoring dignity to those affected by colonial violence.

In Stone Town, Zanzibar, the Slave Market Memorial and Exhibition Museum confronted us with the immense suffering endured by enslaved people and its lasting impact on collective memory and identity.

The story of Mangi Meli and all who resisted colonial oppression underscores the importance of acknowledgment, narrative, belonging, and a shared commitment to restorative action. 

Reciprocal Exchange: Exploring Germany's Capital

June/July 2025

In Berlin, our exchange deepened around questions of colonial history, decolonisation, and the shaping of sustainable urban futures. Through city tours, workshops, and discussions, participants reflected on shared histories and contemporary responsibilities.

In the conceptual project Berlanga, we collaboratively imagined an inclusive city linking Berlin and Tanga, founded on principles of equity, cultural exchange, and environmental consciousness, embodying the spirit of SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

A decolonial city tour led by Tanzanian activist Mnyaka Sururu Mboro of Decolonize Berlin e.V. shed light on the city’s colonial traces, including the renaming of Petersallee, once an inappropriate homage to colonial administrator Carl Peters, now Maji-Maji-Allee, commemorating the anti-colonial rebellion. Having engaged with this history in Tanzania prior, the visit offered a sense of continuity and reflection while revealing colonial imprints still present in Berlin’s landscape.

At Galerie Wedding, the exhibitions Paths of Remembrance on the Berlin Africa Conference and KaKaKaTi Nno Munange (“It’s really too much now, my friend”) by an Ugandan artist deepened our engagement with questions of memory, identity and representation.

A workshop with 7xJung - Der Lernort von Gesicht Zeigen! and a visit to the FHXB Museum addressed racism and discrimination in Germany, linking structural inequality to lived experience.

Our sustainability exploration included SirPlus shopping, a vegan rally, and a rooftop waste collection at the Staaken Center. A theatre piece on climate change, developed with theatre coach Serkan Öz and presented at Theater Sommer Gatow 2025, further reflected our commitment to SDG 13: Climate Action.