Characters

Hashim is the father of his three children (Amina, Rajab, and Zulfiqar) and husband of Zainat. He immigrated to the states because he wanted a better job and to shop at thrift stores. He occasionally gets annoyed when family members back home disturb him for money or products from America. Heʼs pretty cheap, but he likes to keep a “tight budget”. Hashim at times can get quickly tempered when his children donʼt listen to his advice. He tries to keep traditional cultural values in his house. His hobby is watching soccer with his other Tanzanian friends around town, funny videos, and plunging the toilet. His favorite food is sambusa.

Zainat is the mother of her three children Amina, Rajab, and Zulfiqar) and wife of Hashim. She immigrated to the states with her daughter, Amina (toddler), after Hashim came over. Zainat enjoys talking on the phone, especially with her best friend Fatima, gossiping about the various people in their community. Zainat is extremely overprotective towards most everyone in her family, and sometimes her compassion can be turned against her. Unlike her husband, she really loves helping her relatives anyway she can, although they take advantage of her kindness. Her pet peeve is someone trying to interrupt her when sheʼs on the phone or watching Tanzanian & Nigerian movies on the internet.

Amina is the eldest of her two other siblings. She came to the States with her Mother when she was an infant. Amina is extremely conscious, for the things that donʼt really need any deeper understanding. She questions a lot about the behaviors in her family and other people around her. Occasionally, she enjoys eavesdropping when her Mother is gossiping. Amina is a straight A student, ambitious, and wants to start a revolution against old white people for no actual reason. Amina works at ABC Halal Fried Chicken, but tries to hide away from free looting family-friends. She is a junior in high school.

Rajab Matumbila is the middle child in his family. He was the first to be born in the States. Rajab is a huge music fan, notoriously a big fan of Lil Lil Ung Ung (low-level famous rapper on SoundCloud). He likes to push around his younger brother (Zulfiqar) at times, although he is shorter than him. At school, heʼs not much of a great student, barley average. His biggest pet peeve is not eating dinner. Although Rajab rebels at times, he has a good moral structure that doesnʼt make him jump off the cliff. He looks over it, and walks back.

Zulfiqar is a sixth grader and the youngest member in his family. Heʼs a very innocent character who really doesnʼt see the main issues when it comes to problems that he faces. His timidness can sometimes get the best of him. He questions a lot about his Tanzanian background since heʼs born in America. Zulfiqar also has a hard time being openly straight forward when heʼs annoyed or disturbed. He enjoys tv and is scared of shoki-shoki.