When Masisi Came To Visit

His Excellency Dr. Mokgweetsi E. Masisi, the President of Botswana, was recently in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of his working trip to the United States. I had the distinct honor of meeting him on both days that he was in the area. The first was at the Meet & Greet he hosted in San Francisco to interact with Batswana in the area and the second was at Stanford during his visit at the invitation of Stanford SEED. In a thank-you letter I wrote to him, I likened his visit to the return of a parent from a farm during the harvest season. This was not just to butter him up because that letter also contained an ask, but because the updates he brought were as sweet as the watermelons and sweet reed a parent would bring from a farm during the harvest season. His visit has provided me with the opportunity to reflect on my evolving sense of patriotism. Having lived outside Botswana for 6 years in 3 countries (Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, and California), I have started to see myself as something of a global citizen. Yet everyone who has ever met me knows that I have aspirations to contribute to my country's development, even to the extent of proclaiming that I want to be president of Botswana someday. So how does President Masisi's visit help me resolve the internal tension between my patriotism and global citizenship?

In his remarks at the Meet & Greet, the president gave some updates on some of the things his administration is working on. My favorite was their efforts on simplifying and streamlining the change of land use process. This was music to my ears because one of my aspirations is to develop real estate in Botswana and partake in the promising tourism sector. This update means my next land purchase will be a farm with plans to convert it to mixed use. The president also talked of plans to introduce a Blue Card, a policy that allows people who for whatever reason have had to abandon their Botswana Citizenship to have some permanent residence in Botswana since they are finding it difficult to allow for dual citizenship. While I presently have no intentions of abandoning my Botswana Citizenship - because to be president you have to be a citizen- it is pleasing to know if in the unlikely turn of events I am forced by my global citizenship needs to abandon my Botswana citizenship, I can stay connected to my roots through this proposed Blue Card. This encourages me to continue with my plans of long-term investments in the country. Thirdly, I was pleased to learn that His Excellency sees investment in innovation, academia, technology, and entrepreneurship as essential to his vision for transitioning the nation towards a knowledge-based economy. I am fascinated by innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa because I see them as tools I can use to advance my purpose of helping enable the creation and sharing of African Stories. I am not naive to believe everything political leaders say, but this gives me hope that around the time I plan to return to the continent (~2024), Botswana might have joined Rwanda and Kenya as potential destinations.

Beyond just the president and his remarks, meeting Bay Area based Batswana who have been here for decades, was also inspiring. Some have been here for over 30 years and are married with kids. They still visit home as often as they can and they own property there. While I do not think I can happily reside in the US in the long term, their stories provided examples of how one can live outside Botswana and remain connected. The president's visit provided the opportunity to speak in Setswana and demonstrate respect to my elders the Tswana way, and this made me realize that wherever I end up living in the long term, my roots will always be in the land of the blue, black, and white. I will always remain connected and while I am increasingly doubtful I still want to be president someday, I hope our leaders will continue to work to create an enabling environment for us to contribute to the development efforts in our country. His Excellency and the First Lady both called me by name twice, I hope they remember that name because the name Tumisang Ramarea is not to be forgotten. World, wait and watch!