WINDOW SEAT Benjamin Branoff

WINDOW SEAT

Benjamin Branoff 

Focus

• Challenges of urbanization in developing countries

Key events

• Over loaded van (P 62)
• Inefficient public servants-The indifferent sentry (P 63)
• Poor dusty roads (P 63)
• Noise pollution (P 64)
• Poor waste management/disposal (P 66)
• Poverty/depravation of luxuries (P 66)
• Corruption/bribery (P 68)
• Crime/The lost wallet (P 69)

 

Synopsis

This short story captures the journey of a mzungu traveling in an African country. The author takes us on a bumpy ride through the roads of Dar es Salaam. Through the narrator’s eyes, we appreciate the challenges of urbanization in developing African countries.

The narrator has a window seat in an old Hyatt minivan commonly referred to as daladala. The van is overloaded; twenty four passengers are squeezed inside a van meant to carry about ten people. The conductor stands by the sliding door. During rush hours four more people would stand with the conductor. The old van old van build for ten could carry twenty eight people. The greedy owner of the van added more rows of seats not made with the van to accommodate more people

The narrator experience inefficient public service at the gate leaving Chuo. The indifferent sentry does a poor job of checking the van for something amiss. As the journey commences, the narrator notes, that the roads a dusty. One cannot, however, shut the window since they need fresh air.

At Mwenge, noise pollution is apparent. Horrible 80s music plays from a large stereo of a man selling CDs. Apart from that, conductor screams at the top of their voice trying to persuade people to board their daladalas.

As the mzungu heads toward the post buses after alighting from the old minivan, he notices that the town is crowded. There is high population. He fails to meet and greet a young French foreign exchange student called Monique (whom he fondly refers to as Le Fille). The bus has to maneuver through a sea of humans who walk dangerously close to it oblivious of the danger. This is probably due to poor infrastructure; lack of sidewalks or pavements.

We also notice dumping of waste and poor waste disposal; people burn rubbish and dead foliage on the roadside. The pollution is evident by the rancid smell of garbage and human filth and decomposition. The waste is pulled and left to rot or burnt by the road side.

After the next stop we meet a beautiful young woman the narrator refers to as Kanga. She looks healthy and beautiful but we can tell that she’s poor, deprived of luxuries and has to endure endless work in her lifetime. Kanga seems amiable or sincerely friendly.

The police in Dar es Salaam are corrupt and incompetent. They are not concerned with the safety of the passengers. To the dismay of impatient bus drivers and conductor, they forcefully squeeze a bribe out of them. The police man is indifferent about the overloading of the bus.

After the bumpy 45 minute ride, the narrator is shocked to find his wallet missing. In the crowded bus, anyone could have pinched it but all evidence points to Kanga. Developing African countries are riddled with crime and insecurity due to poverty.

SAMPLE ESSAY

Write a composition entitled: the challenges of urbanization in developing African countries, making reference to Benjamin Branoff’s “Window Seat”. 

NEXT: Read about  Folded Leaf by Segun Afolabi.

See analyses of all stories in Memories we Lost here.