‘After Lives’ by Abdulkazak Gurnah    (2020) – 309 pages

‘After Lives’ begins early in the 20^th century. The European countries (Great Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy) had Africa divvied up among themselves. ‘After Lives’ takes place in what was then Deutsch-Ostafrika (German East Africa). Most of this area is now Tanzania.

Although all of these European countries were pretty terrible at running or ruining their colonies, the Germans were probably the worst. “There is no one as stern as a German.”

“In the thirty years or so that they have occupied this land, the Germans have killed so many people that the country is littered with skulls and bones and the earth is soggy with blood. I’m not exaggerating.”

Hundreds of thousands of Africans were murdered by the German empire’s use of starvation as a technique to quell uprisings in “their” territories.

When World War I started, Germany and Great Britain took their war into German East Africa. As the two countries were fighting, they would shell the African cities indiscriminately, not caring at all about the devastating impact their bombs had on the African people living there.

Great Britain won the war in Africa and took over East Africa from the Germans after World War I. This was a relief for the people living there.

“The (British) administration was also expanding its activities in agriculture, public works, and health care. If nothing else, it would show the Germans how to run a colony properly.”

Although the British were far, far from blameless in their African colonization (For the full story read ‘Imperial Reckoning’ by Caroline Elkin), they were a drastic improvement over the Germans.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

‘After Lives’ tells the story of several African people who had to cope and recover from all this European mischief in Africa. One of the main characters is Hamza who was treated well by a German missionary during his childhood and thus volunteered for the askari, the African unit of fighters who fought on the German side. Here is a description of the Feldwebel, Hamza’s commanding German officer, during the African fighting against the British which was part of World WAR I:

“His temper was so out of control that he frequently hit askari and porters with whatever was at hand: a cane, a whip, or a piece of firewood. He was even more vicious than he used to be in his hatred and contempt for the local people whose land they plundered. To him they were savages and he spoke about them with greater ferocity than he showed toward the British enemy.”

This Feldwebel nearly killed Hamza when Hamza said he was leaving the askari. After a lengthy recovery Hamza finds work in a port city in Tanzania which is now under control of the British. There, left in peace, Hamza finds redemption, and finds a wife and raises a family.

We have had a lot of literature about Africa written by Europeans where it is depicted as dark, cruel, and savage. But what if it were the Europeans who were the actual savages? Abdulkazak Gurnah is one voice who stands up for his African people.

Grade:    B+