From Cameroon and Zimbabwe, an Appreciation of a Dream

By CQ Staff | January 20, 2009 4:26 PM | | Comments (0)

CQ Photo
Nyasha Pasipanodya and Tah Tange (Drew Armstrong/CQ)

Tah Tange came to Washington for Tuesday's inauguration directly from Philadelphia. Before that he traveled much farther than most attendees. Born in Cameroon, on the west African coast, he moved to the United States with his family when he was 16. "I'm an immigrant," he says. "We were coming to pursue the American dream."

Now 28, Tange is a graduate student at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he studies politics. "I think I'm a fan of the U.S. Constitution, and I believe in the doctrine of progress. I felt like I had to be here," he said of Obama's swearing-in.

Tange attended the festivities with Nyasha Pasipanodya, a friend from New York studying law at New York University. Laughing, the two were just ready to acknowledge a romance. "We met through a mutual friend," Pasipanodya explained, then confiding, "I'm missing class for this."

For Pasipanodya, it also was a serious moment, especially because she came to the United States in 2003 from Zimbabwe for her studies. "It's a huge event" for her, she said, "given Zimbabwe and its non-democratic system of government." President Robert Mugabe was re-elected last year among widespread accusations of election fraud.

But more mundane issues presented themselves Tuesday as well. Pasipanodya was suffering from the cold so Tange knelt down with her as she took off her boots, then grabbed her feet and hid them under his shirt to help warm her toes. Shivering, the two laughed. Soon, some strangers saw their predicament and offered chemical foot warmers for her socks, and Tange helped her put them on. "It's cold, but it's a warming event," he said. "We're all in a warming spirit."

-- By Drew Armstrong

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