FYI
Abdoulaye
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Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Ngugi Wa Thiongo--emotional violence
From: "Toyin Falola" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, November 16, 2006 1:37 pm
To: [log in to unmask]
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The Incident at Hotel Vitale, San Francisco, Friday, November 10, 2006
Hotel Vitale/eight mission street/ San Franscisco CA 94105/ 415-278-3700
by Ngugi Wa Thiongo
I checked into Hotel Vitale on Thursday, 9th November in room 640. The
following morning,
Friday 10th, I went for a brunch and a walk at the water front and then
came back into the hotel, at around 1pm, lunch time, took a newspaper,
San Francisco Chronicle, at Concierge's desk and went into a nice porch
in the Americano, the hotel's restraunt, where I sat and read while also
enjoying a nice view of the ferry and waterfront from the window. I was
all alone in the porch. A white man, about 5' 4", dressed in a gray suit
stood in front of me.
"This place is for guests of the hotel. You have to leave, " he said. At
first I was intrigued by
his words: how did he arrive at the conclusion that I was Not a
guest of the hotel? So I asked him:
"How do you know that I am not a guest of the hotel?
"You have to leave. This is for guests of the hotel."
"But how do you know that I am not a guest?" I asked him again.
"You have to leave."
"But you have not even asked me if I am staying in the hotel"
'Okay. Are you staying at the hotel?'
The tone and demeanor was of a man who had made up his mind that I could
not have been
a guest.
"Let's us go to the reception desk," I told him.
"It is not necessary," he said. "Just leave."
"Who are you? What is your name?" I now asked remembering that the man
had not even
identified himself.
"It is not necessary," He replied curtly. "Just leave."
"This is sheer harassment. You find me reading a newspaper
peacefully. You don't identify
yourself. You don't ask if I am a guest. And you refuse to identify
yourself. And now you afraid of going to the Reception desk?
Why?
After a few more exchanges, repeating the things, he says:
"Okay, let's go."
By this time, I am fuming with rage, The man strides towards the
reception desk. I also get
there and ask the staff to check whether or not I was the occupant of
room 640. Even before any of the aghast staff had said anything, the man
had started apologizing. But I kept on asking him: How could he do what
he did? Find me reading a newspaper that the Concierge had given men, and
proceed with such emotional violence on my person? The lobby manager, a
David (?) recognized me as the Random House
guest, and started apologizing for the behaviour of the man, whom I
assumed by now to be the Restaurant Manager, and who by then had had
left
the scene. No explanation about his conduct. The Lobby manager went to
get the Hotel
Manager who came down and apologized for what he termed as some
misundertanding.
"But it was not a misunderstanding," I said. "I was quietly reading a
newspaper when he
accosted me."
"Okay, for his behaviour. David will get you a room,"
"But I have got a room. Room 640. I checked in last night."
"Oh! I am sorry! Is there anything we can do to make up?"
"You need to talk to your man, not me."
"Yes, I shall, but are you sure there is nothing we can do to make up? A
massage? A whiskey?"
It was clear to me that even the Hotel Manager did not understand the
depth of the
emotional violence on me by a member of his staff.
I went back to my room called Katherine Freeman and asked to change the
hotel. I moved to
St Francis Westin.
Words alone cannot describe the horror of the occasion, the emotional
violation I
experienced but time will heal it.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7224
512 475 7222 (fax)
www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
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