This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Regina Beraldo Kihwele, a 25-year-old artist in Tanzania who, in 2015 and 2016, attended North Korea’s Songdowon International Children’s Camp, which some Russian children are set to attend this summer.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When I was 16, I attended the Laureate International School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where I followed the British curriculum.
I played sports, and my coach used to organize trips to North Korea.
I was 16 the first time I went in 2015, and 17 the second time I went in 2016.
The camp was very accommodating. All the time, we just felt special.
They were always on our case: “Do you guys need this? Do you guys need that?”
Also, as Africans, we usually tend to have very different traditions and cultural choices.
But out of all the countries that I’ve been to, North Korea is one of the few that actually has a linkage to our culture.
Linkage to Tanzania
I remember we spent two days in Pyongyang and went to the war museum and found out that our first president, Julius Nyerere, was actually friends with their first president.
It was a shocker to learn that because we live how we live, they live differently, like they are in their own world.
It was interesting to go there and hear about my country from their perspective because our ways of life were so different.
For example, North Korean kids didn’t have phones, and even we were not allowed to use phones in the camp.
There was no internet network, but they had service, so we could call through landlines. It was like taking a network break.
I felt like I was at home
When we came out of the camp for visits in Pyongyang, North Korean civilians came and talked to us.
That reminded me of home. If you come to Tanzania, people are going to come and talk to you. They’re going to want to get to know you.
In the camp, all the nationalities were kept apart, and we only mixed during activities that were arranged for all of us, like performances and competitions in cooking, swimming, marathons, and more. We also met during leisure activities such as swimming and games.
I competed in the cooking competition and won.
My little brother, who was also there, won the marathon and swimming competitions.
My favorite memory was performing in front of a thousand people. Both times I went to the camp, I had to represent my country as a singer.
Getting that exposure most definitely helped me build my confidence. It was a wake-up call.
The perfect hideout
Tanzanians complained a lot about not having internet on camp.
But that was just perfect for me because sometimes I try to look for the perfect hideout and don’t find it.
The scenery was beautiful, lively, and natural.
The camp was surrounded by the military. That was very grounding.
I remember the lights at the hotel where we stayed in Pyongyang for one night. It was so magical — the lights at night when it’s just so dark and quiet.
For me, that was the hideout. You just get all these things in one place.
Since there was no internet, nobody could call or text me, which I really enjoyed.
Life-long friends
I also really made long-term friends from the camp, especially with Russian kids.
I’m still in touch with them today. I wouldn’t have met them here. Most of them are from Moscow, Nakhodka and Vladivostok.
The only thing close to propaganda that I saw was that when we were at the airport, a friend of mine had some sort of film about the US president and the North Korean president on his laptop.
When we were passing through the last checkup at the airport, authorities somehow saw the clip and had him delete it.
But I didn’t feel scared anywhere in the country.
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