There’s definitely a sense of “the other” on Zanzibar. I experienced some of the same on the mainland. For the most part, locals live in poverty. Tourists stream into the island, obviously here for vacation. The whole situation breeds resentment amongst the natives, because what they don’t and can’t have is flaunted before their eyes, on a daily basis.

Economics seems to be the large unspoken barrier in a lot of these types of situations, much larger than any cultural or language ones. The invisible hand and market dynamics control our system, but there is no control when people of vastly different circumstances move across the globe and are juxtaposed against each other. It’s hard to defeat that. I have no answers.

Except that we can remember we’re all people, living on the same planet. If we do what we can to help and serve others, and just be kind to one another, perchance we break through that economic barrier, and any others we may face. If we build such a sentiment, a global consciousness, we will overcome and prosper.