Dark Skin and flat Noses

The skin of the artist we met had become lighter during the 30 years he had spent in London. When he returned to his native Zanzibar as an internationally recognized designer, his fellow Zanzibari told him not to go into the sun and to carry an umbrella when walking in the streets to continuously keep his skin light. There is a saying, that the darker your skin is, the more difficult it is to make a career in Tanzania. Not surprisingly, there are adverts for a cream that should make your skin lighter all over the place.
The same artist got arrested in the weeks before the 2005 elections in turbulent Zanzibar when during a curfew he wanted to bring some food to an elderly single lady. When police asked for his tribe, he answered to be an African. However, the policemen got pretty angry at him and told him that he could not be an African, as all Africans would have flat noses, and dark skin!
Descendants of Arabic origin, which traveled centuries ago in their boats along the East African cost, still live in Zanzibar, and have mixed with the local African population manifold. Many however fled during the revolution in 1963 when the Sultan was dethroned.