African Insights Ezine – March 2004  

Meet Owuor from the movie "Nowhere in Africa  - German - Nirgendwo in Afrika."

I have had a DVD player for some time, but have rarely used it except for my MP3 music.  For my birthday I received the thoughtful gift of “Nowhere in Africa.”  I was delighted to see some of the places where I had been spent some time.  It was good to see something outside of the normal tourist stops and most of all, being presented with a different Africa that one normally gets from Hollywood.

Thinking about taking a trip (safari) to Africa?  There are the usual things I would recommend like immunizations, anti-malarial drugs, clothing appropriate for conditions you’ll find in Africa, and a camera (with film or high-tech digital.)  However, what will help you the most to enjoy your African journey is an open mind, a childlike spirit and an open, teachable heart.

Such an appealing combination of openness is found in the young daughter Regina from the Academy Award winning movie “Nowhere in Africa,” an adaptation of a real life Jewish family fleeing from Germany before the infamous Kristall Nacht to a remote cattle ranch in Kenya, East Africa.  Existence in the new and extremely different environment is not easy for the Redlich family, who were used to a privileged and comfortable life in Germany.  The father does his best to make the transition easier for the family, but he was a lawyer, not a hunter or farmer. The mother clings to her former ways bringing useless china instead of a refrigerator, which would have been more practical.  Then there is 6-year old Regina, who embraces Africa in all of its fullness with her childlike spirit and intelligence.  This spirit of being childlike or open is different from being childish, but instead seeks to learn, explore, discover, a thirst that even the tropical rains of Africa cannot quench.

I was deeply touched at that point in the movie when Regina and her mother, Jettel, arrive on the ranch where the father, Walter, has found employment from a grumpy, heartless British landowner. Father and mother embrace and greet one another, while Regina sits in the car.  That is, until my favorite character of the movie, Owour, the Luo cook, walks toward the car saying “Karibu Rongai!” (Welcome to Rongai) He picks up the child and embraces her. This is the first time the German child meets a person of color, a black man who speaks no German and Regina speaks no English or Kiswahili.  But, she is picked up, embraced and she responds immediately to Owour who is not only the cook, but also a human being (an African), a mzee (a man of wisdom).

I have seen many movies about Africa, from “Out of Africa” to “The Power of One.”  Most are Hollywood productions that perpetuate the colonial view of Africa, that take a patronizing, downward look at Africans.  Most Africans in such films are two dimensional, most often typified by the Masai warrior, a postcard African.  But “Nowhere in Africa” is quite different.  We are invited to know and love Owour, the cook, whose practical African wisdom is warm, whose quiet strength, compassion and understanding touch one’s soul.  He is not portrayed as a lesser person, but as the person who knows best about Africa. The part of Owour is played by Sidede Onyulu, who in real life is a sensitive, caring and deeply spiritual person. He is a person who went with his passion in life, instead of just making money. He trained to be a lawyer, but left that career to pursue his first love, acting.

Referring back to the idea of taking a trip to see the real Africa, you unquestionably want a guide, a person like Owour, a person who takes us to the heart of Africa, its people.  If one does not understand the time and place, the relationships between Africans and Europeans, one could almost see a bit of an Uncle Tom, but then I have listened to a lengthy interview of Sidede Onyulu and found that he saw himself in the role of connecting the Europeans to Africa and Africa to them and he was the way shower to them.

I encourage you to rent the movie “Nowhere in Africa” and allow it to touch your heart and enjoy Owour and his most wonderful ways that make Africa real.  Even though this film is in German with English sub-titles, it does not take away from the exchange of love, the compassion, the caring communication and understanding that takes place between open-hearted people from different backgrounds. Hopefully, you will enjoy it as much as I did …and no it is not perfect, there are some things that are left out, but then it is a movie…jon