Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Uganda's Golden Jubilee!

 Today is Uganda’s Golden Julibee!  50 years of independence or in the words of one of my more cynical Ugandan friends: 50 years of living in darkness...haha, funny right?  Maybe not, but there is a middle ground between this jubilation and cynicism and it’s the place I’ve been living for the last 2 and a half years. 

On this joyous occasion, I would like to invite you to join me for an insider’s look into Uganda after 50 years of, well, living outside of England’s rule. 

Here’s a brief outline:

·         The English appointed the king of the central tribe the ruler of Uganda

·         In 1966, the Prime Minister, Obote, committed a coup d’état when the king was out of the country. 

·         After a few years, the leader of Obote’s military, Idi Amin overthrew Obote.  Idi Amin had a lot of support when he came to power, although when a number of his enemies started to disappear mysteriously, all the Indians were forced out of Uganda causing an economic crisis, the Israeli captive situation in Entebbe, and well Amin declared war on Tanzania…things changed.  

·         Tanzania and some Ugandan exiles threw Amin out of power and then after a few interim governments, Obote (from before) was elected.  During this period, known as Obote (II), his rule was marked by a lot of violence, particularly in the SW region...


·         He was overthrown by an army led by Okello who then had a short but very violent reign.

·         Then in 1986, the leader of a guerilla army, Musevini came in from the West and overthrew Okello.  Musevini is still in power and well I won’t get into the politics that surround his rule being a PCV and by order, politically neutral.  During Musevini’s reign, however, the LRA ravaged the north in a 20 year war before being forced from Uganda in 2007. 

Do you see the darkness part?  Yep, it’s there, and unfortunately, it’s only these types of things that usually make the paper...   

I am reading a book on Africa meant for people who have never visited here.  The author is a British journalist who has worked throughout Africa for the last 40 years.  He describes a conversation he had with a young man who said that if the press would covered all the happy things about Africa, then the continent would be able to pull itself out of this constant cycle of war, coups, and corruption.  He answered that journalists rarely cover things like that anywhere, Europe, the Americas, and Asia included because it does not sell papers.  More people, however, visit Europe, the Americas, and Asia than Africa, providing an alternate source of information about these places.  Fewer people provide this for Africa. 

Maybe that’s why living in Africa is addictive for certain people.  It’s like being privy to a secret: that Africa is not all war and danger, but that there is another side that cannot travel the miles to other places as well as the other more depressing stories. 

I was talking with my friend and fellow PCV Steve the other day as we reflected on a recent trip through some local villages.  We concluded how wonderful it is that in Uganda you can act as if you are someone’s best friend immediately upon meeting them.  It’s kind of a fake it until you make it idea.  You take the first few sentences to greet and then, before you know it, you have inside jokes and although you may part ways a minute or two later, you part as if you’ve known each other for ages.  Such a phenomenon has little to do with hospitality and everything to do with the immediacy of the culture.  Everyone lives in the now (which is problematic for people trying to plan projects or budget).   All the tears you want to shed for someone must be shed the day of the funeral.  If you want to spend time with your family, you do it now, even if you are supposed to go to work instead.  There’s no holding back, no let’s wait until later.  If people do delay something until later, there’s a 50/50 percent chance it will happen at all.  Obviously, that something was not important enough to happen “now now” rather than “now” aka “later.”

So back to the inspiration of this blog: jubilation of the golden variety.  Today is about forgetting about the “darkness” of the past and the uncertainty of the future and celebrating what we have today: family, food, and sunshine.  So although most of you all are an ocean away from the joyous occasion, I hope you too will raise a glass in celebration of any and all happiness you feel in this moment and in the hope that the next 50 years will be brighter than the last.

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