if you don't trust people

This week will mark our 6 month anniversary in Tanzania. Some things are getting easier. Like yesterday when the power went out for hours and we (almost) hardly batted an eyelash. 

There are many things we still struggle to understand.  In fact, it's safe to say that if nothing else, our experiences over the past 6 months have made us extremely wary of jumping into debates about poverty, aid to Africa and "what works" when it comes ending poverty and the effectiveness of aid to Africa. 

It was very interesting to read a recent David Brooks' Op-Ed on Haiti in the New York Times.  Especially the part about Haiti's "progress-resistant cultural influences" since much the same could be said about Tanzania: 

"Haiti, like most of the world’s poorest nations, suffers from a complex web of progress-resistant cultural influences. There is the influence of the voodoo religion, which spreads the message that life is capricious and planning futile. There are high levels of social mistrust. Responsibility is often not internalized. Child-rearing practices often involve neglect in the early years and harsh retribution when kids hit 9 or 10. We’re all supposed to politely respect each other’s cultures. But some cultures are more progress-resistant than others, and a horrible tragedy was just exacerbated by one of them." Read it here: David Brooks on Haiti

We've definitely observed at least some levels of "social mistrust" in our brief time here.  And it's perplexing. Why don't people trust one another?  Why does there seem to be little appreciation for, and lack of willingness to sacrifice for the "common good"?  

Leonard Wantchekon, a professor of economics at NYU argues that the lack of trust is a result of the slave trade; low levels of trust are observed most widely in areas where slave traders were most active.

We're not sure how well this argument applies to Tanzania and East Africa, but you can watch him in action here: On Lack of Intra-Community Trust.