A First-hand Report on a New U.S. Experiment -Life's Meaning May Be Discovered From a Strange Force-Here's a t e eee j Chaima Peace Corps in Tanganyika: By DAVID GILTROW AS COLLEGES and universities close out their first term, the first Peace Corps volunteers are scraping their chairs over a concrete classroom floor in Tanganyika, finishing the last phase of their training program. This last step consists primarily of Swahili language study and practical orientation to Tanganyikan life; con- ducted by the Tanganyikan government at, the Tengeru Natural Resource School in the northern province. Their schedule and that of many stu- dents in America is much the same- classes begin at 8:30 in the morning and end at 4 in the afternoon. The nights are filled with study, letter writing and the promise to themselves to get more sleep the next night. An hour exam every Sat- urday morning is preceded by Friday night cramming and followed by the usual excuses from those who were the low scorers. This routine will continue for seven weeks, after which the Peace Corps members will pick up transits, slide rules and mapping devices, and head for all parts of this eastern African "Cinderella" country. The Tanganyikan training site is as different from -their American training location as Texas (where they spent the summer) is different from the Catskills, in terms of physical geography. They are training in the most desirable living part of Tanganyika. Situated at about the same altitude as Denver, the Tengeru school looks up to 15.000-feet, one-time volcano Mt. Meru to the north, and to the east Mt. Kilimanjaro's glacier-covered Kibo peak is visible on clear days some 50 miles distant. The Tengeru school is a 1,000-acre ex- perimental farm which is designed to turn out much needed agricultural officers by teaching the basics of scientific, farming, livestock care, insect and plant disease control. It also houses the training facili- ties for prospective community develop- ment personnel. The Peace Corps training at Tengeru falls within the scope of the last category. The rolling countryside is lush with tropical flowers, exotic trees, birds splashed with bright colors and terraces of Tanganyika's third largest export, cof- fee beans, which are shaded by tall pa- paya and banana trees. Because of vol- canic influences in the. area, the dark, fertile soils support a variety of tropical foods, and the altitude helps keep the temperatures in reasonable check so that typical American garden produce is avail- able most of the year. The nights are cool and the rains usually fall at predictable times of the year, but few days lack sun- shine. Even though Tengeru is three degrees south of the equator, the Southern Hemis- phere's winter months make wool blankets and sweaters necessary during the evening and early morning hours. Peace Corps members are not subjected to tempera- tures above 90 degrees as they -were at their El Paso training area. This is not the normal pattern throughout .Tanganyika, for it packs as much weather variety in its 362,000 square miles (equal to Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas combined) as does the whole United States. x * THE NEAREST TOWN to the Peace Corps installation is Arusha, some nine miles to the west. This is a center for game safaries and is one of the most mod- ern towns in eastern Africa. Movie houses, drug stores, camera shops, auto agencies, an amateur theatre, rugby and cricket matches on Saturday afternoons blend with the age-old African market and . banana thatch huts on the town's out- skirts to bring the contrast of 1961 Africa into a remarkable capsule. A town of some 10,000 people, it is roughly 20 per cent European (British, Swiss, Greek, Scandinavian, German and Polish, to name a few of the nationalities), 50 per cent Asian (mostly Indians who comprise the town's mercantile class) and 30 per cent African (almost entirely one tribe, the Warusha). This division in itself Is unique, since only four per cent of the The Peace Corps' lodging at Tengeru 110,000'people in Tanganyika's largest city and capital, Dar es Salaam, are European. Still, the bustling little town of Arusha is reminiscent of American Midwestern towns in the early 1900's, if pictures and descriptions of that era are accurate. Earlier in the year, in fact, the town's population twittered with the excitement of an eight-month visit by a Hollywood motion picture location crew which was filming a John Wayne thriller entitled "Hatari" (Swahili for "danger") in its streets. Raw, half-constructed buildings blend with the newly-completed, ultra- modern glassy ones to give the town a frontier feeling which is supplemented by the few paved streets and skimpy traffic controls. But the town may be expected to outgrow its frontier stage. In the words of its own town clerk (comparable to an American city manager), "Arusha will triple its population in the next few years." But with this energetic atmosphere around them, the Peace Corps volunteers have to be reminded that their location is unlike 90 per cent of the country, and that what is true for the rich northern prov- ince may be the reverse for the other areas where they will eventually be posted. The reasons are plain: the bulk of tech- nological development has centered in areas most similar to temperate zone con- ditions, where diseases such as sleeping sickness and malaria can be controlled most easily and where communication has been simplest to establish. These con- ditions are present most fully in the northern province. As a result, the volun- teers have hot and cold running water, electricity, daily mail deliveries and a half-hour morning tea break (British in- fluence is strongly felt in Tanganyika, which was a British-administered United Nations trust territory until granted its independence Dec. 9). Nevertheless, the Peace Corps is taking several precautions which are foreign to most Americans. All drinking water is boiled; malaria prevention pills and mos- quito nets become habitual; rigid sched- ules of innoculations and booster innocu- lations against cholera, yellow fever, typhus and tetanus must be followed. Dysentary of one sort or another is a foregone conclusion for both those who are traveling a great deal in the bush and those who have a permanent location. Parasites abound and wait for the careless person who walks barefoot or neglects to iron his clothes to kill the mango flies (which collect on drying clothes and lay eggs under the skin of the unsuspecting wearer). Yet again the broad contrast in today's Africa comes to mind when one hears or reads about complicated medical opera- tions performed in African hospitals which compare favorably with many in the United States. THE DAILY SCHEDULE of Peace Corps volunteers begins by walking a mile and a quarter for breakfastking asmall, white-washed mudbrick, banana-thatched restaurant on the shores of a small crater lake, appropriately dubbed the "Lake Duluti Tea Room." The road to the tea room winds through the living area for unskilled workers who are employed on the school's labor lines, between cornfields and coffee "shambas" (orchards) and along the shore of the tree-linedlake which looks like any lake in the Waterloo State Recreation Area west of Ann Arbor (before the advent of speed, boats, beer cans and cottages). Large water birds soar leisurely over the surface of the water haphazardly looking for fish, or rest sleepily on limbs of fallen trees near the shore. As the afternoon sun warms the Ten- geru classrooms, the student's mind drifts to this little lake, -so inviting for a swim. The lake, like much of the great Nile River to the north, however, is infected with a debilitating, dysenteric disease- producing parasite, the schistosoma which is commonly called "bilharzia." Steps are being taken to rid this pleasant little lake-which had hippopotamuses in it until a few years ago-of the disease and provide facilities for bathing, picnics and Sunday afternoon outings for the "Aru- sha" (non-Africans). This walk to the little tea room is not. without the flavor of truly African Africa,. however, for the road serves as a cattle patch for people who keep their cattle within their family yard at night and graze the animals elsewhere during the day. The passing scene includes little boys herding the cattle, barely able to see over the beasts' backs; a butcher slaughtering his daily meat supply on a concrete slab; women carrying anything - five-gallon cans of water, large bundles of roof thatch, firewood-invariably with a small child strapped behind their backs. Both Americans and Africans smile, exchange "Jambo!" with each other, and the friend- ly attitude of the Tanganyikans easily shows through any curiosity they may have for the foreigners. The meals at the tea room are a sharp contrast to most dormitory meals or other institutional food which Peace Corps volunteers might have expected. Conti- nental in both setting and flavor, the meals teach them how to use the utensils of a nine-piece table setting, how to ea4 meals of several courses served on white table cloths and how to remove excess soup with white table napkins. They can practice their rudimentary Swahili on the African waiters, who patiently reply in Swahili while knowing that an English answer would speed up the conversation greatly. THE PEACE CORPS orientation pro- gram includes not only language training, but also visits to various govern- ment and private programs for improving the living standards and' agricultural level of the Tanganyikans. Since between 80 and 90 per cent of the people are farmers, the government recognizes that it must give them a great deal of farming help while at the same time attempting to diversify the economy with industry, tourism and commerce. The field trips are supplemented by talks with government officials, educational officers and experts on Tanganyikan anthropology and poli- tics. The pressing study, however, is langu- age. Even though English is taught in the schools beginning at the third-grade level, Swahili forms the backbone of inter-tribal communication and is the principal ton- gue of the country. Spoken by almost all of the Tanganyikans, Swahili is a must for anyone working outside the towns or dealing with villagers. Comparatively easy to learn, Swahili is more regular than English, has a smaller vocabulary and possesses a simple sen- tence structure. Because of these proper- ties and the excellent instruction of the course's leader, James Lewton-Brain, the volunteers can read and write simple sentences by the time they take the first test-five days after the first class. An average of three hours a day is spent on language study. The tape-recorded conversations are employed and students are encouraged to use their developing skill on the African students at the Tengeru school. The morning tea break is one time available for this, and it is the only time during the day that the volunteers have direct con- tact with Africans, who in this case are fluent speakers of English as well as Swahili. The course will close with a three-hour written examination. Serving as a skeleton course for future growth, the emphasis of the language course is on written work and the individual is ex- pected to increase his skill in Swahili- especially the spoken word-on his own after the completion of formal classes. One o fthe few Europeans who speak Swahili as well as most educated Africans, Lewton-Brain has been in Tanganyika for 10 years as a field officer with the British Agriculture Department and late- ly with the Community Development De- partment of the Ministry of Local Govern- ment. His knowledge of origins of words and idiomatic usage, as well as tribal customs and taboos, has won him the respect of both his students and his Afri- can associates. He is currently the ex- aminer for the Higher Swahili Language Examination which is required of all Europeans and Africans seeking to ad- vance in the civil service ranks. A slight, wiry man in his late 30's, he combines the intensity of a man working for a cause (the improvement of the Tangan- yikan peasant's life) with the informality of a man wh would climb rugged Mt. Meru on a day's notice (the trip takes 15 hours). * * * BUT SEVERAL basic questions have not yet been discussed. What is the Peace Corps doing in Tanganyika, and can they be expected to fulfill the hypothetical and working goals of the Kennedy ad- ministration's experiment with young American technical personnel? How close- ly will the Tanganyikan unit follow the Tf-F AICI-G4AN DAILY MAGAZINE We may still feel a fear of "Asians," be- leader as long as the leader shows the cause our ancestors were chased by the quality and excitement which is evidence Huns 20 centuries ago. We certainly may of the charismatic force. The leader is feel a cry of liberty that is 200 years old. therefore constantly called upon to give It is no wonder that we should still such evidence. Here we find the ancient feel the force of irrationality that dom- belief in the test of strength and the mated .the whole life of our early an- miracle. cestors. Looking into the eyes of the charis- When we go to the opera and hear "Das matic leader we can usually prove the Rheingold" we feel a force that is ori- existence of the charismatic force. But, ented against' rational things; a force most importantly the fire in the leader's that shows us life in an irrational way, eyes is merely the fire of our own charis- through symbolism and myth. This force matic force, the fire of our own irra- is the charisma we have received from tional desires. our ancestors. If man has such a great love for the We have seen that charisma is resident irrational, why has there been a ten- in.us. We must now look to see how it dency to rationalize the world? Why did evidences itself in the real world. To do man ever create bureaucracies and eco- this we look to the charismatic leader. nomic systems when he truly desires to worship charismatic gods and drink the THE CHARISMATIC leader is the elixir of the irrational? prophet. His word is believed without question. His word is beyond rational in- PURE CHARISMA, as has here been terpretation. It is the charismatic leader described. exists only for a short pe- that states, -It is written, but I tell you rind of time. The charismatic leader can otherwise. The leader is the athority n t ontiniie to nrove his strength or per- without precedent; He is the God. His form his miracles for anv substantial character is magnetic. All those that see Irnoth of time. People cannot continue him feel the charisma emanating from their charismatic exerience without a Christ were charismatic leaders. To see svetom which maintains the original im- hris to see the irrational forces of pnke" that.lead them to break away from God Hearisng stheratamiskinded ratinajty. Suh systems come under the God. Hearing them, a fiame is kindled hr , 5of r elion, myth. nationalistic which starts a fire within the indwidual sta'des and war. We come to a rationaliza- and completely possesses him. He is r, a ndrIr ma l shaken. Looking into the eyes of a char- _ ismatic leader he knows he will follow his The charismatic leader is turned into every command. the sorcerer, the medicine man, the priest However, this charismaticymeader is no or the warrior. He transmits the char- more than a projection of one's own isma to the people. If the original charis- charismatic feelings. His soul becomes matic imulse was received after an at- ours. He is what we want him to be. A god tack by the Huns, the rationalized char- or a tyrannical, murderous madman ap- ismatic leader constantly reminds his proaches the personality of the charis- followers of the evil time when the Huns matic leader. For this is what we may attacked. To facilitate continued remem- want him to be. For a leader is merely a brance of the charismatic impulse, these mirror of the group that follows him. He leaders set up an hierarchy which uses is merely a symbol to assure us that we symbos or gods (as in myths) to create all believe in the same thing. The essence of charisma can be seen in the charis- r> matic leader, the leader who is merely symbol, the "fuehrer" image, the image of God, the mirror of the people. Why, then, is there -a complete trust in a charismatic leader? What is the na- ture of the charismatic bond that once it is created is not broken? Why does man seek such a leader? For the answer to these questions we must go back to the rational world. A MAN has a chance to utilize his char- isma only when the order of society is shattered-in times of depression and suffering. It is here, when irrational thoughts such as revolt and hate and war are not scorned (due to the weakness of the rational elements in society), that a man gets a chance to bring forth his charismatic feelings. The charismatic leader is merely the first person who cries out in pain, or the first person who screams of hatred. He immediately is joined by all the oppressed people near him. From then on, he is 'a leader of a growing movement. Each man in the movement has discovered the irra- tional. Life has some meaning to these men for whom a war is a much more ex- citing and living thing than life 'in a boring peacetime grind. Once the charis- ' ma is brought out in the open in the form of a charismatic leader, the people who experience its effects dare not do any- thing to upset the new situation for fear of losing the feeling of being free from the bonds of a rational world. The trust between the charismatic lead- er and his follower is absolute, because the follower feels that the charismatic situation is the first time he has ever seen any meaning in life. He dares not break the bond of trust which would lose forever the most important and mean. ingful moment of his lifetime. It is, therefore, the irrational and the exciting that man really wants. He wants his life to have meaning. He does not want to be a birth and death statistic. Man wants the irrational. He will continue to follow the charissmat ' Works of SUNDAY. JANUARY 14. 1962. an artificial, yet valid, charismatic ex- perience. The warriors set up a ruling caste which eventually becomes a government. This government creates war or Instills the people with hate in order to recall the original charismatic experience. We have therefore gone full turn. Charisma evidences itself in a revolt against rationality. This charismatic spir- it is transmuted into a system which en- deavors to retain the original feeling. Pi- nally the organization whose purpose it is to continue the charismatic spirit be- comes a rational heirarchal organization such as the church or the state, the very same rational institutions that the pure charismatic forces rebelled against in the first place. * * THE CHARISMATIC force is often transmitted by appeal to the past. Each of us has within us a remnant of charismatic experiences which toolC place many years ago. If a charismatic leader refers to a past charismatic ex- perience he may evoke the same feeling in the present. Hitler tried to create a society patterned after ancient Sparta. To maintain the charismatic spirit the Nazi movement established a virtual state of war (first internally and then exter- nally). This charismatic state was main- tained because the people wanted it as such. The war society was more alive than a bureaucratic democracy. It is here that we can find a reason for institutionalized terror. The irrational purges in Nazi Germany are examples where terror of irrational forces was twisted and perverted to serve the convictions of a madman. Perhaps Hitler used the charismatic fear of ani- mals to have Jews killed like beasts and maintain his image on the time-tested principle of evoking charisma through institutionalized terror. National a symbols are 1 the charisma and all its se another exar charisma. W rationalizatior gone in an i' amount of and systems For instanc impulse exper tians in Chri rationalized i served. It seen wish to demor strength of 1 jects of art (such as refe: and their cat flowering of unless we rec( measure of ral WTE CANNO " cycle of Plishment fro er, it must be rharismn froi forms. that i tionalized fe remnants of war and peac results of eac ing in his life The search nurtures chai the trust in the man who It is in the can see ours rational syste charismatic 1 charisma. We to our existe life. This under charisma. Nearbylake.