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When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.

Swahili proverb

PhilosophyProverbs

The story behind the card

This East African proverb is best known in Swahili, 'Wapiganapo tembo nyasi huumia', and similar versions exist in Gikuyu and other languages of Kenya and Tanzania. Tanzania's first president, Julius Nyerere, used it to describe the Cold War, when rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union was fought out at Africa's expense. It is still quoted whenever powerful sides clash, because those caught in the middle, not the fighters, usually pay the price.

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Svahili atasözü

Bu Doğu Afrika atasözü en çok Svahili dilindeki hâliyle bilinir: “Wapiganapo tembo nyasi huumia.” Kenya ve Tanzanya'da konuşulan Kikuyuca gibi başka dillerde de benzerleri vardır. Tanzanya'nın ilk devlet başkanı Julius Nyerere, ABD ile Sovyetler Birliği arasındaki rekabetin faturasını Afrika'nın ödediği Soğuk Savaş yıllarını anlatmak için bu sözü kullandı. Söz, güçlüler çatıştığında bedeli çoğu zaman aradakilerin ödediğini anlatır. Türkçede de aynı fikri anlatan çok tanıdık bir söz vardır: “Atlar tepişir, arada eşekler ezilir.”

Sources and further reading

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