STORY: TAZARA cemetery keepers guard memory of China-Tanzania solidarity
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 12, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 19, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:36
LOCATION: DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of TAZARA cemetery
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): MSAFIRI OMARY, Worker at the cemetery
3. various of TAZARA cemetery
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Swahili): MSAFIRI OMARY, Worker at the cemetery
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Swahili): SAIDI MPAUKA, Worker at the cemetery

STORYLINE:

Every morning, Msafiri Omary and his colleague Saidi Mpauka start their day as cemetery keepers at Gongo la Mboto cemetery in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

They work here to guard the memory of Chinese engineers and workers who lost their lives when aiding local development.

In the past five decades, 70 Chinese engineers, technicians, and workers sacrificed their lives when constructing the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway and assisting in Tanzania's development.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): MSAFIRI OMARY, Worker at the cemetery
"I started working at the cemetery in 2008. This job seemed initially challenging for me, but I became interested in it after learning that these Chinese experts had helped Tanzania build the TAZARA railway. Those who built the TAZARA railway are true heroes."

The cemetery keepers said they felt honored to oversee the cemetery's preservation.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Swahili): MSAFIRI OMARY, Worker at the cemetery
"What touched me the most was that these Chinese experts contributed significantly to both Tanzania and Zambia because they helped us build the infrastructure. These experts have given their sweat, blood, and lives wholeheartedly, all of these, so that they can provide us with good infrastructure."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Swahili): SAIDI MPAUKA, Worker at the cemetery
"I am proud that I work for the Chinese experts who made the TAZARA rail for us, which attracted me to work here.
The cooperation between Tanzania and China has grown like that of brothers, and China has been helping us in many ways."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
(XHTV)