Le 18 janvier Walking down the road (especially being muzungu) of any part of Rwanda, you will find people selling airtime (to make calls), mangos, potatoes, newspapers – you name it, they’ll try to sell it to you. And it’s not just a person standing on the side of the road where you can readily see the merchandise and decide for yourself if you want to make a purchase. Oh no – you will be approached and nagged. [I once had a man try to sell me a bag of mangos while in Kigali. I was just on my way back to Gisenyi – a 4 hour bus ride – and they’re quite a messy fruit, not bus-ready. He kept telling me how great a bargain he was giving me so I had to tell him “if I wanted mangoes that would be one thing, but I don’t want to buy any mangoes.”]
I’m not quite sure where this practice originated or who decided this was okay, but I’m not a fan. I suppose you might find similar tactics in busy city streets at home, but never with quite as much forwardness. Maybe that’s because in developed countries we find this rude. That being said, something switches in me when I’m approached that makes me dismiss whatever it is the person is selling even before I know what it is. The thought doesn’t even enter my mind.
Even if I left the house specifically to buy airtime, I will flat out turn down someone that comes to pester me and will seek out someone else on my own. Maybe that’s not the right way to be going about the situation, but assimilating to a culture doesn’t mean you have to accept every practice that happens there. I think I have every right to turn them down. Accepting what they have to offer would only condone their behavior and for me, it’s quite gratifying to say “no” and keep walking. It’s a personal victory.
I’m not quite sure where this practice originated or who decided this was okay, but I’m not a fan. I suppose you might find similar tactics in busy city streets at home, but never with quite as much forwardness. Maybe that’s because in developed countries we find this rude. That being said, something switches in me when I’m approached that makes me dismiss whatever it is the person is selling even before I know what it is. The thought doesn’t even enter my mind.
Even if I left the house specifically to buy airtime, I will flat out turn down someone that comes to pester me and will seek out someone else on my own. Maybe that’s not the right way to be going about the situation, but assimilating to a culture doesn’t mean you have to accept every practice that happens there. I think I have every right to turn them down. Accepting what they have to offer would only condone their behavior and for me, it’s quite gratifying to say “no” and keep walking. It’s a personal victory.
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