They said “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land.” Tutu is saying that the white men tricked the Africans to gain the land; in the blink of an eye, the Europeans had the land with barely the slightest resistance. The Europeans even converted many of the Africans to Christianity even if it required force. Tutu calls the white people missionaries because they natives to Africa thought they came to help them and trade; the Africans did not expect the Europeans to stay and colonize Africa for their own