The eastern African country of Tanzania is marking its 50th anniversary Saturday. On April 26, 1964, shortly after gaining independence from Britain, two countries in the Great Lakes region, coastal Tanganyika and archipelago Zanzibar, merged to form one nation.  Later that same year, the two combined their names into a new one: Tanzania, with "Tan" from Tanganyika and "Zan" from Zanzibar. 

Pristine waters and fine sand beaches attract tourists from around the world to Zanzibar island, but some come to learn about the dark part of its history.  Zanzibar was one of the world's last open slave trade markets.

"People used to make a lot of money through slave trade, and people became really wealthy.  And slaves used to work very hard in the spice plantation, until 1873, when the trade was abolished," explains tour guide Abdullah Suleiman Abdullah.

Today, gold production and tourism form the backbone of Tanzania's economy, but the country is working to diversify.  This past week, the capital, Dar es Salam, hosted an information and communications technology summit.  The minister of communication, Makame Mbarawa, said regional government and industry representatives gathered to discuss opportunities the field has to offer for their people.

"ICT is very important in development and social development of our people," he said.  "You know everything has changed now.  Everything if you want to do, you have to do with ICT.  ICT is not just a tool, ICT itself is a very important tool for social and economic development."

But as the weak government struggles to pull the nation out of poverty, growing incidences of violence from radical Islamists may discourage tourists from visiting Tanzania's great national parks or its attractive coast.  Once an island of religious tolerance, Zanzibar has seen a spate of church burnings and violent attacks in recent months. During his regular morning run, moderate Muslim cleric Sheikh Fadhil Soraga was attacked by an unidentified assailant with acid.

"When I was coming across him, he threw me an acid, on my face," he said.  "He targeted the eyes.  Of course, he got them.  And the acid fell straight from the eyes, and down the neck, burning the chest.  It was a very, very serious attack on me."

As they celebrate their country's anniversary, some Tanzanians worry about the future of their country.

Analysts say that radical Islam has not taken hold in Tanzania, but warn that an unstable government, poverty and unemployment could turn many young people to extremism. [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: Economy and Finance