Tanzania Border Control
Arriving and Leaving in 1973 - those regulations........
WAITING OUTSIDE TANZANIAN EMBASSY FOR NEW VISAS - LUSAKA It was 1973 and I was on an Overland trip from Johannesburg to London. We arrived at the Tanzania border with the appropriate visas having been newly acquired the day before in Lusaka, Zambia.
TIDY UP FOR TANZANIA BORDER CROSSING
At this time Tanzania had some new laws requiring everyone...... locals and tourists alike, to wear clothes that covered their arms and necks. No denims, no bell bottom trousers.............. as was the fashion in western countries. No long hair for men! I set up an outdoor salon and spent an evening cutting all the guy’s hair.They trimmed their beards,and had a general spruce up.
They had a Youth Corps who went around policing these edicts. Much of it was anti western morals...........or lack of them as they saw it!
Arriving at the Tanzania border we were told our visas were not acceptable and to come back when we had some new ones. No reasons, no compromise.............. the Tanzania border officials were absolutely not open to negotiation................... leaving us no choice but to return to Lusaka.
A few days later with new visas in hand, we tried again.
Once again getting into the long Tanzania border queue....... the drivers went in to the building to see what the story was today. They returned to inform us, girls must all wear long skirts and blouses covering our arms and necks.
The Tanzania Border again......in they went
......three by three!
The guys required long trousers.........and they must be able to drop a bottle from the top to the bottom ( I assume this ensured the trousers were not too tight fitting.)They had three pairs that filled the bill between the fifteen or so of them. So in they went in threes, getting their passports stamped, and returning to hand over the trousers to the next lot. Most of we females had suitable clothing.
APPROPRIATE DRESS FOR TANZANIA
The drivers had a discussion with the border police and asked that we be allowed to wear shorts when we were in the trucks in more remote areas, as long skirts would be dangerous getting in and out. They agreed to this.
The regulations were strict.......the day we arrived in Dar es Salaam 450 locals had been arrested for not wearing suitable clothing. The Youth Corp took their job seriously,rounding up those who disobeyed. I was chased and severely reprimanded for wearing GREEN denims. Denim was bad!
CELBRATING OUR ARRIVAL IN TANZANIA - DAR-ES-SALAAM
Want to leave?........Fix that typewriter!
The Tanzania border we were to leave by was a fairly remote, far from any town .This being the case we were all happily wearing our shorts and sleeveless tops in the searing heat.
Arriving at the border, the patrols were horrified at our shorts. They told us we were not allowed to leave as we were not properly dressed! We had not anticipated being stopped from leaving, thinking they would be glad to see us depart their country.
HAND MADE SKIRT FOR TANZANIA REGULATIONS The drivers were going to have to do some strong negotiating and fast talking. The guards were clearly not prepared to accept we had been given permission to wear such clothing away from the towns. After a tense wait......... Ray, our leader, came and asked who might be able to fix a typewriter. They had decided that they would let us cross the border if we could fix their typewriter that had been given to them...............probably as a bribe! Reluctantly one of the Swiss girls, a secretary in her other life, was persuaded to have a look. It did not help that she was assured that if she did not manage to fix it... we were in big trouble. Tentatively, she had a look......................... worried sick she might break or damage something beyond repair. It was a huge relief when she finally managed to get it working.............. we all silently cheered. It appeared the ribbon was the problem. We were on our way! Well.................not quite! Now she was to teach them how to use it. She gave them a simple lesson on how to feed the paper, use the various knobs and levers, and how to type. Having managed to produce a few letters, they were happy with their new toy and keen to use it. They duly stamped our passports and let us go. Several hours later.................. we were finally on our way! Crossing any Tanzania border was fraught with problems!
CLICK THESE LINKS for MORE SNIPPETS FROM MY OVERLAND AFRICA DIARY
Africa
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
Travel through Rwanda
Christmas in the Sahara
Tanzania Border to Fascinating Travel Destinations - Home
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