Lindi, located on the southern coast of Tanzania, has a long history, as do its neighbouring cities Kilwa and Mikindani. It was an important hub in the Swahili trading network, where ivory, spices and enslaved people were traded. At the end of the 19th century, the region was colonised and served as an export port for sisal, rubber and copra for the Germans. Lindi was also the starting point for the famous Tendaguru expedition, during which German palaeontologists recovered dinosaur fossils and brought them to Berlin – an example of colonial appropriation of scientific resources. Today, there are a few buildings from the colonial era in the city, but they have rarely been restored.

There are no public memorials, but the city’s colonial past is still palpable, not least in intergenerational memories and stories passed down orally.

Nancy Rushohora, lecturer in archaeology and monument preservation at the University of Dar es Salaam, also explains (in this article: German Colonialism in Southern Tanzania) that southern Tanzania has experienced socio-economic trauma, partly as a result of German colonial policy. The region’s ongoing poverty and economic marginalisation are a colonial legacy.

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