Getting off of the fear is the greatest of all independence. As Botswana ranks top among African countries in peace, it was obvious. Here, I mean, fear of being insecure. After entering the African Continent, I felt it for the first time in Botswana. While the whole Africa is infamous for insecurity, Botswana was an exception. It was a pleasure to getting acquainted with warmhearted Botswan and spend some good time.

Bot swana literally mean “place of Tswana” in the dominant national language ( Set swana), and the citizen are called Bat swana, or Tswana people. The term Batswana, however, bears a double meaning. In government rhetoric, it refers to all citizens of Botswana. But the word also refers to ethnically “Tswana” people, as distinct from the other ethnic groups present in the country. This double meaning allows for both the expression of strong civic national sentiments and debate about the dominance of Tswana people and ideology over the broader population.

On 12th February I arrived late to the capital city Gaborone. I stayed in a backpacker and took rest. Next day, I went to Hindu Society about which I have cited in the previous story.

14th went pretty interesting. Early in the morning, I interviewed the newspaper and left for Mayor’s office to drop my letter to express my willingness to meet the Mayor to share the message of sustainable peace and environmental protection and request to promote eco-friendly ways of living among the Batswan in Gaborone.

Room number 54 (the mayor’s office) was closed and I came outside to seek someone’s assistance. I met a tall and lanky man to whom I said my purpose and we had a nice conversation. Later, he took me to the mayor’s office. After entering Room number 54, to my surprise, he introduced himself as the mayor and requested me to be at the office the day after. I left. On 15th, extirpating eagerness, I was happy to see the man I met before on the mayor’s table. I conferred my message and had a wonderful time with the benevolent young man.

On 14th, I also got to meet Dinesh Kumar and Moosa Angamia who helped me to get my bicycle repaired. Their assistance made my travel very smooth. I am writing about them soon.

After a charming visit to the mayor, I had some good time with Dr. Ravi Shrestha. Later that day, I went to a the place with historic importance- The Three Dikgosi Monument. It is a bronze sculpture 18 feet long located in the Central Business District of Gaborone, Botswana. The statues depict three tribal chiefs who in 1895 succeded in getting the British government to protect Botswana from the threat of apartheid. Situated at the middle of the city, the monument enhances magnificence of the city.The statue in the middle of the state is left open with no strict security and , I felt that it would have been better if it could be properly fenced to protect and strengthen the victory of history.

Like every part of the world, every ethnic group and tribe in Botswana has their own distinct culture.There are similarities, overlaps and dis-similarities between the individual Botswana tribal culture. The similarities and overlaps in the cultures create a sense of a homogeneous national culture, but the existing dis-similarities reminds that the considered ‘national culture’ is a beautiful patch-work of different cultures.

With some encounter with warm hearted Batswan, I got to know that Botswana is rich in its cultural background and Kalazezur, Bakalaka and Jajuro were the names of tribes I heard about, though I am unaware about their details. I was amazed to know that half of the households are headed by women and yet, Botswana is the country with considerable number of violence against women.

Surprisingly I found that the definition of marriage times ago in Botswana were similar to concepts the ways of present modern society. a girl’s first marriage would be arranged by her family, and marriages involved bride-wealth or bride-service. Tswana marriages in the past were best described as a process, attaining the full definition of marriage often only after many years; steps in the process included requesting marriage and preliminary exchanges, sexual relations but not cohabitation, children, a public celebration, the establishment of a household within the man’s compound, and bride-wealth.

Botswana is rich with its natural resource. Diamond have been important to enhance the standard of life. It is essential to have a strong economy exploiting resources, yet I would like to request all Batswan to use those resources responsibly considering environmentally balanced future.

Peace and Harmony,

Furtemba Sherpa