Participants: Jim Ayer
Series Code: MW
Program Code: MW000062
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00:01 The routes of the slave trade, it all began here,
00:04 stay tune for the rest of the story. 00:40 There is an old saying that goes variety is the spice of life, 00:43 but here in Zanzibar the saying goes 00:45 that life is the variety of spice. 00:51 Think of Zanzibar and images of romantic dhows 00:54 with curved white sails, veiled women, 00:57 ancient ruins and exotic spices float before your eyes. 01:04 Zanzibar is known throughout the world 01:06 as the jewel of the Indian Ocean and has a romantic, 01:09 colorful history of seafarers and explorers, 01:12 of riches and tragedy and the dark stain of slavery. 01:17 Zanzibar is an island nestled in the 01:19 turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, 01:21 around 40 kilometers of the coast of Tanzania, East Africa. 01:27 The first recorded visit to this area was 01:30 by a Greek merchant from Alexandria in 60 AD. 01:35 Now, certainly a lot of things have changed, 01:37 but let me tell you the place is still very, very old. 01:41 Oh they've added wiring they've had different things, 01:43 but architecture buildings seem ancient 01:45 according to my standards anyway. 01:49 This island is one of Africa's most evocative locations, 01:53 with a mesmerizing mix of influences 01:55 from the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula, 01:59 the African mainland and Europe. 02:02 Stone Town is the soul of Zanzibar 02:05 with a magical jumble of alleyways 02:07 where it is easy to spend days wandering around. 02:10 Each twist and turn of the narrow streets 02:13 brings something new. 02:16 If these ancient streets could tell their tales, 02:19 what would they be? I'm sure intrigued, 02:21 well who knows what? 02:35 Many of the houses here are more than 02:36 one hundred and fifty years old 02:38 and are constructed from the island's coral stone. 02:41 Build by Arab and Indian merchants in the 19th century. 02:45 The Arab influence on Zanzibar and Pemba Islands 02:47 is evident in the people, who are a mix of Shirazia 02:50 from Persia, Arabs, Comorians, 02:53 from the Comoros Islands and Bantu from the mainland. 02:57 Though the latter predominate. 03:04 97% of Zanzibar's population practices the Islamic faith; 03:09 almost every street corner in Stone Town 03:12 has a small family mosque. 03:14 The Islamic influence is seen in the architecture 03:16 and in the address of the people. 03:19 Amos and AWR listener had been a Muslim 03:22 until he had heard of the forgiveness, 03:24 sacrifice and power of Jesus Christ. 03:28 Amos, it's a privilege to meet with you today. 03:31 Thank you. You were baptized about a year ago? 03:36 Two years ago. Two years ago. 03:37 and that came because you were listening to the radio. 03:41 Yes, that is true. Tell me a little bit about the process, 03:44 how that all this happen? 03:49 When I first tune in today AWR morning star FM radio, 03:54 the presenter shared our first dealing 03:56 exposition of the word of God. 03:58 I was moved by the program and because of it, 04:01 I know much more about the Bible. 04:05 So, you were always a Christian? 04:07 No I was a Muslim. So, you were a Muslim. 04:11 Now, tell me about your life, what, 04:15 you've been a Muslim all your life? 04:19 I had a shallow understanding in the religious 04:21 at first and even my knowledge of God was very poor. 04:25 I didn't know who Christ was and why He was my Savior. 04:29 But by listening to the Christian radio 04:31 my knowledge and spiritual efforts has gone. 04:35 How old are you? I'm 37 years of age. 04:40 What did you do in the first 37 years of your life 04:43 tell me some of that if you would? 04:46 I was simply an ordinary person. 04:50 I think an ordinary person is someone 04:53 who cares only for his physical life, 04:55 and he's not very serious about his relationship with God. 05:00 Did you grow up having a job, 05:01 did you grow up worshiping in someway or? 05:09 I was not going to a mosque; I was not even worshiping that. 05:16 Men, women, boys and girls, 05:17 everyone's listening to Adventist World Radio 05:19 from Cairo and the great pyramids, 05:25 to the barren lands of Ethiopia. 05:30 From the vast plains of Kenya 05:32 and the Maasai lands of the Serengeti, 05:36 to the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. 05:40 All the way here to the exotic shores of Zanzibar and beyond. 05:46 As you can see AWR is frontline mission radio. 05:50 Our first priority is to travel where missionaries cannot go. 05:55 We broadcast thousands of hours each day 05:57 in seventy major languages of the world. 06:01 AWR has the capability and capacity of blanketing 06:04 almost 80 percent of the world's population. 06:07 Not only do we broadcast via shortwave radio, 06:10 but our signal is on over 1000 FM 06:12 and AM stations around the world as well. 06:16 Our podcast subscribers, Internet users, 06:19 satellite downlinks are growing rapidly, 06:21 evidenced by the hundred thousand plus e-mails, 06:24 letters and phone calls we receive each and every year. 06:28 Yes, AWR is your mission radio. No walls and no borders. 06:33 For AWR that means changed lives 06:35 and changed hearts around the world, 06:37 because God is using the airways of AWR 06:40 to reach people everywhere. 06:50 Are these ripe? 06:55 Well, lets see here. 06:59 There is a luscious fruit inside. 07:03 And at first it almost tastes like a grape. 07:05 There is a seed inside that you really don't want to eat, 07:08 but the nectar is, it's bitter 07:11 and it's sweet at the same time or sour. 07:13 But it's, it's wonderful, you get addicted. 07:17 The Stone Town market is a 07:18 colorful sight of bustling people, 07:20 all buying or selling exotic fruits and vegetables. 07:24 In an array of spices that excite the senses. 07:28 And I take a big smell of that, I wish you could smell it, 07:30 because we're in the spice market and it smells wonderful, 07:33 now you move from the fish and meat into good old spices. 07:40 Do you grow your vanilla here? 07:42 Yes, not in Madagascar? No. Foreign Language . 07:46 This from Zanzibar, yeah. 07:51 This is the real saffron not the imitation, it's real. 07:59 Traders in wooden dhows from Indonesia were among 08:02 the first to arrive on the shore of this beautiful island, 08:05 laden with plants, spices and exotic fruits 08:07 such as coconuts and bananas. 08:09 While spices no longer dominate 08:11 Zanzibar's economy as they once did, 08:14 plantation still dot the center of the island. 08:17 The popular spice tours involves a walk in the western 08:20 and central regions of the island through plantations, 08:23 private gardens, and forests. 08:34 This is a spicy tree and always this is the tree 08:37 we call Queen of the Spice, 08:38 because we don't waste anything out from this. 08:41 We eat the leaf, bark, root and stem. 08:44 And if one to bark here you have to come 08:47 with this knife then you peel like this. 08:55 After peeling the bark like this, 08:57 the plant never die aftertime it regenerates. It recover. 09:01 Oh! That's beautiful, what this tree called? 09:04 Cinnamon, oh! This is cinnamon? Yeah, this is cinnamon. 09:06 No wonder it smells awesome. So, the cinnamon sticks that 09:10 we buy in the super market they are actually bark, 09:12 dried and rolled, after dry this, 09:14 it roll and becomes normal stick. 09:27 all this digging you're looking for a root 09:29 and what do you with the roots? Roots are medicine, 09:37 wow that is a strong smell, it smells like a medicine. 09:40 Because we believe all spices are medicine. 09:44 Not like, we get medicine in lemongrass, 09:48 we get medicine in black pepper, 09:50 I get medicine in cinnamon, we get medicine in cardamom. 09:52 All spice, we use as a spice 09:54 and also we can use as a medicine. 09:56 Now, it's interesting because the Bible talks about cinnamon 09:59 as one of the spices that God directed Moses 10:02 to use in his sanctuary. So that, you know it's 10:04 such a sweet smelling spice, now I can see why? 10:09 There are more than 50 spices and fruits, 10:11 including cinnamon, pepper, pimentos, ginger, 10:15 tamarind, coffee and sugar cane. 10:19 Coconuts are another main product of the islands. 10:22 Coconut palms grow wild along the coastline, 10:25 and they are cultivated in plantation 10:27 scattered throughout the islands. 10:29 After cloves, coconuts are the second most important crop 10:32 and harvested throughout the year by men 10:35 who scale the long trunks using a short loop of rope. 10:43 The tough hairy brown shells of the bright coconuts 10:46 have split open and the kernel is pounded 10:48 and mixed with water to make coconut milk. 10:52 The kernel is also processed in oil, used in foods 10:55 and in the production of soaps, candles and hair tonics. 10:59 The white moist flesh of the coconut is used as a 11:02 cooking ingredient in almost every island dish. 11:05 Veiled women, ancient ruins 11:07 and exotic spices float before your eyes. 11:10 Located about 2 kilometers 11:12 north of Stone Town along the Bububu road. 11:14 Livingstone's House was built around 1860 11:17 and was used as a base by many European missionaries 11:20 and explorers, before they started 11:22 their journeys to the mainland. 11:25 During his travels, David Livingstone, 11:26 he was tormented by the ravages 11:28 of the slave trade that surrounded him. 11:30 Amos tripped back to Europe, 11:32 he spoken and wrote tirelessly against it, 11:34 in an effort to expose its horrors 11:36 and injustices to the rest of the world. 11:39 British attempts to halt the trade were mobilized 11:41 and it finally ground to a halt in the early 20th century. 11:46 According to our listener, he had once been 11:48 chained to the way of life that offered him little peace, 11:51 but once he accepted Christ all of that changed. 11:58 My family had many economic challenges, 12:01 so my parents could not afford to send me to high school. 12:04 Did you grow up in the city or in the country? 12:07 I grew up in a rural area. 12:09 And what did you do in the rural area for the family? 12:14 My business was very simple, 12:17 I will sell fruit and the money I would made, 12:20 I would share with my family. 12:22 So, did you continue to live with the family 12:24 or did you move away at some point? 12:28 I left my family and moved to another region 12:32 where I tried to make a living. 12:34 What caused you to leave the family, 12:36 why did you leave, there wasn't enough money 12:39 there to help support you or why did you leave? 12:43 I had to leave home because 12:45 my family economic situation was not very good. 12:49 I had to look for ways to sustain my own life 12:52 while also supporting my family. 12:54 Did it work for you, you moved away from the family, 12:56 where you able then to make a living and if so, how? 13:01 No, unfortunately I was not the 13:04 very successful supporting my family. 13:08 My financial state is really no concern to me, 13:12 what I care most about now is my relationship with God. 13:16 God has given me something even greater than money 13:19 and that is the meaning of life. 13:22 Did you have God at that time? 13:26 No, my understanding of God was different 13:29 before I heard the radio programs. 13:32 Explain that difference to me? 13:36 Three years ago, I heard a Christian radio 13:39 and since then my life has continued to change. 13:43 I now have hope in Christ, because I was lost, 13:47 but now I have received direction from God. 13:49 So, I'm very grateful for the radio, 13:53 what is that sense of direction you've talked about? 14:02 I thank God everyday for his radio program, 14:05 because they are so different from other stations. 14:08 The Christian program are very effective 14:10 and their teaching of the word of God. 14:12 They relieved the many truth of the only scriptures, 14:16 I'm now very different from when I was a Muslim. 14:19 And I want to thank God for this change in my life. 14:23 So, are you saying now that you have a real peace 14:26 in your life that you didn't have before? 14:29 That is true and even right now 14:32 I have a float of peace in my heart. 14:38 Every alleyway, every street and every nook, 14:41 every cranny I'm told everything leads to one place, 14:44 you can get lost in old Stone Town. 14:47 They either lead to the ocean or they lead to the old river, 14:50 which is now a roadway. But wherever it is, 14:53 it is all pretty incredible, 14:55 pretty amazing to see the architecture, 14:58 the old and the newer blend, 15:00 but not much of it is actually new. 15:03 Between the 12th and the 15th centuries, 15:06 the archipelago came into its own as trade with Arabia 15:09 and the Persian Gulf blossomed. 15:11 With trade from the East also came Islam 15:14 and the Arabic architecture 15:15 that still characterizes the archipelago today. 15:21 Did you know that even a door can tell a story 15:24 about the person who resides inside. 15:26 In this case, a person of wealth, 15:28 of power, of prestige. 15:30 The more ornate, the more massive, 15:32 the more wealth the person inside had. 15:36 Every door a particular and unique story. 15:41 The most famous feature of Zanzibar architecture 15:43 is the carved wooden doors. 15:46 There are more than five hundred 15:47 remaining today in Stone Town. 15:49 Many of which are older than the houses 15:51 in which they are set. 15:53 While older Arabic doors have a square frame 15:55 with geometrical shape, newer doors, 15:58 many of which were built towards the end of the 19th century 16:01 and incorporate Indian influences, 16:04 often have semicircular tops 16:06 and intricate floral decorations. 16:08 Some doors have large brass spikes, 16:11 which are a tradition from India, 16:13 where spikes protected doors 16:14 from being battered down by elephants. 16:20 Well this is the house of the infamous slave trader. 16:24 I can only imagine what he paid for 16:26 all these ornate decoration with, 16:29 the blood, sweat, tears and lives of slaves. 16:43 This is the oldest Christian Church in East Africa, 16:46 constructed in the 1870's 16:48 by the universities mission to central Africa. 16:51 The Anglican Cathedral was the first Anglican Church, 16:54 it was built on the site of the old slave market 16:56 alongside Creek Rd. Although nothing remains 16:59 of the slave market today, other than some holding cells, 17:03 the site remains a sobering reminder 17:06 of the not so distant past. 17:11 AWR is frontline mission radio. 17:14 Our first priority is to travel where missionaries cannot go. 17:18 We broadcast thousands of hours each day 17:20 in seventy major languages of the world. 17:23 AWR has the capability and capacity of blanketing 17:26 almost 80 percent of the world's population. 17:30 Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, animists or no belief at all. 17:34 God is using the radio waves of AWR to successfully call 17:38 and prepare a people for his soon return. 17:40 But the work is not finished your help is needed, 17:44 there are still so many 17:46 who must hear this precious message of hope. 17:49 Please partner with us today, 17:50 so others can hear and rejoice in the hope of Jesus Christ. 17:54 The hope that you and I have already found, 17:57 your gift of love will mean so much to so many. 18:00 If you would like to financially partner with us 18:03 or would like additional information. 18:05 Our toll free number is 1-866-503-3531. 18:12 Men, women, boys and girls, everyone's listening to 18:15 Adventist World Radio from Cairo and the great pyramids, 18:21 to the barren lands of Ethiopia. 18:26 From the vast plains of Kenya 18:28 and the Maasai lands of the Serengeti, 18:32 to the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. 18:36 All the way here to the exotic shores of Zanzibar and beyond. 18:42 Through the radio waves of AWR 18:44 God is reaching people around the world. 18:48 We'd like to offer you an edition of Making Waves. 18:50 It's four of our episodes 18:52 brought to you from around the world. 18:54 God speaking to hearts, 18:56 the hearts of the listeners of AWR, exciting stories. 18:59 We hope that you'll share those with friends 19:00 and neighbors, acquaintances, 19:02 anyone you come in contact with. 19:04 Join us to Make Waves. It's completely free, 19:07 right now the information is on your screen. 19:10 For your free no obligation DVD write to 19:14 Adventist World Radio, 12501, 19:17 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904. 19:22 Or call 1-866-503-3531 or log on to www.awr.org/MWDVD. 19:34 Be sure to request offer number 10, 19:36 that number again is 1-866-503-3531. 19:45 He maybe the only one who really knows about 19:47 true slavery and what really happens in suffering 19:52 and what happened to the suffering and the people here. 19:54 This was the center of the Slave market; 19:57 the whipping post was right in this area. 20:00 I've gonna ask myself, 20:01 why did they even need a whipping post? 20:03 These people were already beaten and chained 20:05 in submission, they were starved. 20:07 But here in the center of the market 20:09 they would whip them and beat them 20:10 and then they would auction them off to the highest bidder. 20:13 But ten years after slavery was banned, 20:15 they built this edifice to commemorate 20:19 all the lives that were lost here. 20:26 Slavery has been practiced in Africa 20:28 throughout recorded history, but its greatest expansion 20:31 in East Africa came with the rise of Islam, 20:34 which prohibited enslavement of Muslims. 20:37 Demands of European plantation holders on the islands 20:40 of Reunion and Mauritius were another major catalyst, 20:43 particularly during the second half of the 18th century. 20:47 At the outset, slaves were taken from 20:49 coastal regions and shipped to Arabia, 20:51 Persian and the Indian Ocean islands. 20:56 Well, right now we're going down the slave chambers, 20:58 where they used to keep hundreds of slaves in an area 21:01 you probably can't see it here because it's too dark, 21:03 but an area that is so tiny and would be so vile 21:06 and so filthy, it's beyond imagination. 21:13 This is where they brought them from the mainland, 21:15 to be chained down here, 21:16 hundreds at a time in these tiny cells, 21:19 waiting for the slave ships to come. 21:22 What awaited them on their journey? 21:24 Pain, torture, sickness, death, for the fortunate few, 21:27 if we can called them fortunate? 21:29 To finally make it to the mainland, 21:31 to a place where they're going to be whipped 21:33 and sold into slavery for the rest of their lives. 21:36 It's beyond the imagination for us to even think about it. 21:42 By the 19th century, 21:43 with the rise of the Omani Arabs, 21:45 Zanzibar had eclipsed Kisiwani 21:47 as East Africa's major slave-trading depot. 21:51 According to some estimates, 21:52 by the 1860s some 10,000 to as many as 50,000 21:57 slaves were passing through Zanzibar's market each year. 22:02 Overall, close to 600,000 slaves were sold 22:05 through Zanzibar between 1830 and 1873, 22:10 when a treaty with Britain 22:11 finally ended the regional trade. 22:20 Slavery is so evil, so vile, so hideous, 22:24 it's hard to imagine, and it goes on 22:27 in some places in the world today. 22:29 But you know, it goes on more than 22:32 we think because everyone of us are enslaved somehow, 22:34 at some point in our lives by the devil. 22:38 We're chained to every evil vice 22:40 that the devil sets in front of us, 22:42 but praise God, ministries like 22:44 AWR are putting the gospel message 22:46 on there to set people free. 22:48 Can lives are being changed, hearts are being 22:51 given to Jesus Christ and in Jesus we are set free. 22:57 What do you think would have happened in your life 23:00 had you never turned on that radio dial? 23:06 I wanted to really know who God is, 23:09 if God hadn't use the radio presenter to bring the light 23:12 of Jesus Christ to the people through 23:14 the radio I would still be lost. 23:17 But because I've heard the message 23:19 I thank God in special way. And it is my prayer 23:22 that this Christian radio ministry 23:24 continue to broadcast to the people. 23:27 Why did you listen that first day, 23:29 what got you to tune the radio to the program 23:31 on that very first day you heard? 23:36 The first time I heard the radio program 23:38 he was answering question on Bible efforts, 23:41 I was very moved by the answers 23:43 that were provided by the presenters. 23:46 The radio showed people that didn't have a deep 23:48 understanding of the word of God, 23:50 this made me want to know more. 23:52 After the program I was over realized 23:54 that this radio program was such a necessity for people. 23:58 And many would have been enlightened 23:59 on spiritual and Biblical efforts. 24:02 I was so moved by the program that I continue to listen 24:05 and I haven't stopped listening since. 24:09 Do you tell other people to listen to the radio now? 24:15 I tuned into the radio program and I increased the volume, 24:18 so it is loud enough for my neighbor to hear. 24:23 I'm very happy to shared that my neighbors 24:25 were touched by the Christian music 24:27 and they came closer to listen, 24:29 so this is one of the ways I'm sharing what I heard. 24:33 So, other hearts are changing because you turned 24:35 the radio up loud enough for everybody to hear. 24:41 I do believe this has influenced the people living around me. 24:45 Because when I'm at home, I heard them tuning 24:48 into the Christian radio programs on their own 24:51 and I think this is also attracting others to listen. 24:54 Has it made a difference for your family, 24:56 the rest of your family? 25:01 In fact something has actually happened within my family, 25:04 many of my relative and family members 25:06 are now tuning to the radio programs. 25:09 This makes my witnessing to my family easier 25:12 because the radio program answers 25:15 many question about God that I can't. 25:18 I already know the answer to this 25:19 I think but I wanna ask you 25:20 anyway because I like your smile, 25:22 do you believe that the Lord is coming soon 25:24 and are you looking forward to his coming? 25:29 Yes, I'm really looking forward to the coming of Jesus. 25:32 His arrival is my greatest expectation. 25:36 I'm looking forward to being there 25:37 with you brother, thank you so much. 25:41 Amos in our story today was very nominal 25:44 in the religion that he grew up with. 25:47 He told us that he was only interested 25:49 in the physical things of life. Where he would get his food 25:52 and the things that he could surround himself with. 25:56 He was not very successful financially, 25:59 but then he began listening to morning star radio. 26:03 The local FM station in Dar es salaam in Tanzania, 26:07 a station that AWR helped to establish. 26:11 After he began listening he said 26:13 I began to get a sense of direction. 26:16 He also found Jesus Christ by listening to those programs. 26:21 And I just love the statement that he made. 26:24 I have a flood of peace that came into my heart as a result. 26:30 It reminds me of that text in the book of 26:32 Isaiah chapter 26 and verse 3 speaking of God: 26:37 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 26:41 whose mind is stayed upon thee: 26:45 when we think about God, God brings peace into our lives. 26:49 You too can have a sense of direction 26:52 and peace of mind in your life. 26:55 Come to Jesus accept Him 26:57 and your life can be flooded with peace. 27:01 Amos, for Amos listening to the radio 27:03 was the start of a new life, 27:06 AWR often hears from listeners about the peace 27:10 that comes into their lives 27:12 when they listen to our programming. 27:14 So, why don't you partner with us, 27:17 so that we can continue to spread peace 27:21 in people's lives around the world? 27:24 AWR is helping to break the chains of the devil, 27:28 if you'd like to help in that process 27:29 of setting people free in Jesus Christ. 27:31 Give us a call today 1-866-503-3531 27:37 or you can write us at 12501, Old Columbia Pike, 27:40 Silver Spring, MD 20904 or log on to www.awr.org 27:48 and thank you for watching and please join us 27:50 again for another exciting gospel adventure 27:52 because around the world AWR is Making Waves. |
Revised 2014-12-17