What do Ugandans think of us?

One of the first things I noticed about Ugandans is that you must not take them at face value. And I mean this in the literal sense: when you make eye contact with a Ugandan they often look quite angry, their face rigid and stern, yet as soon as you greet them they beam back at you smiling widely, with every crevice and crease in their face changing shape.

This description could give the impression that all Ugandans are overjoyed with the presence of whites - or ‘Muzungus’ - in their country. This is not always true. In fact, the extent to which Ugandans like or dislike whites is hard to determine. The British – along with all non-nationals – are a symbol of wealth in Uganda; we spend money and often lots of it. I wonder sometimes whether Ugandans’ overt friendliness is simply a means to appease us, rather than an expression of genuine affection. This is perhaps a cynical view – one that I’m not holding myself to – but it’s a possibility.

A conversation I had with a Ugandan back in September offers an interesting angle on their feelings towards the British. I was trekking through a forest at the base of the Rwenzori mountains with just myself and a local guide. We started talking about the political set up of Uganda now and previously. Colonization came into conversation and I asked him how Ugandans feel about the British now. He told me that to his knowledge no one feels any animosity, but then he also mentioned that independence came to Uganda nearly 50 years ago and there are very few people still alive who experienced colonial times. 50 years doesn’t seem like a long time to people in the West, however, to put it in perspective, the life expectancy in Uganda today is only 50 years. Are Ugandans indifferent to colonization? And if so, is this because, in Ugandan terms, it’s now history with no one left to tell the tale?

Another factor is that Uganda has suffered at the hands of several autocratic dictators and has experienced a brutal long-lasting civil war. The effect colonization had may well seem trivial in comparison.

A friend told me recently, and this is partly what spurred this blog, that a friend of hers opened her car door and a Ugandan driver smashed deliberately into it. The Ugandan then yelled ‘filthy pig’ to her. Apparently Ugandans think that white people look like pigs. I personally find this hilarious and not offensive, but maybe I’m on my own there! Regardless though, this act obviously shows that some Ugandans aren't whites' biggest fans.

I do wonder how Ugandans see us. For instance, we barter over a few pence with boda boda drivers (a boda boda is a motorbike with a driver - a very common form of transport here) when they try to take advantage, but they know we can afford it and that comparatively all ex-pats are filthy rich. We come here to ‘work’, which maybe they don’t mind, but they don’t particularly care either. Maybe they find white people working for NGOs hugely patronising - maybe they don't. We – me, Lorna, Adam, Hannah, and Emily – live in what we call the ‘Myenga Mansion’, where we have a maid that works six days and week and a guard that works the same. We live like kings and queens by night and try and help vulnerable people by day – it all feels quite wrong. And if we feel that way, then I’m sure many Ugandans think far worse of us.

Uganda in context: a very brief history

Welcome all to my blog, “Jess in Uganda”. Not the most original title I know, but it is hard to premeditate a trip and the summary of its parts before you’ve got going. A simple and inclusive title will, I hope, allow for all experiences whatever they may be.

My aim is for this to be an observational blog: less about me and more about Uganda, the organisation I work for – the Lutheran World Federation - and the people I’ll meet along the way. Over the next six months I hope to document all that I see, taste, touch and discuss that is remotely interesting and within the Ugandan context.

To begin to understand Uganda at all you have to know its history. No doubt everyone has heard of Idi Amin’s brutal dictatorship from 1971-79. He destroyed the country’s chance of economic growth by exiling the entire Asian community within his first week. The Asians had established successful enterprises with good export links, however their banishment saw the end to this and signaled the beginning of gross economic mismanagement and decline. Amin’s presidency is more known for the human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings and corruption that ensued. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is estimated by international observers and human rights groups to range from 100,000 to 500,000.

Amin’s rule is not new information to many, however the civil war that has tormented northern Uganda for the past 20 + years is less known about. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is a rebel group that formed around the time that the current president – Yoweri Kaguta Museveni – came into power (1986). The group, like so many rebel groups, started out as having a justifiable cause. The government in Uganda, since Independence in 1962, has not served its people particularly fairly or justly; this rebel group wanted to bring about change to create a better society for the everyday Ugandan. The leader of the group – Joseph Kony – declared his intentions for the country to be ruled by the Ten Commandments. This is quite ironic – in a disgustingly perverse way – when one learns about the atrocities he committed upon Ugandans that do not in any way reflect these well-meaning religious laws. A civil war quickly broke out in northern Uganda between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the LRA, which lasted – largely uninterrupted – until 2006 when the LRA left Uganda and moved north into Sudan.

I cannot pretend to know the extent of the damage caused by the LRA, but there are a few facts I can divulge: nearly two million Ugandans were forced to leave their homes for refugee camps; this population has become know as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). After four years of peace there are only approximately 300,000 left in the camps, but some are still too terrified to return home.

It is estimated that over 300,000 Ugandans were murdered during the war – many of them children.

The LRA’s method of recruitment was extremely clever, but also unfathomable: most of their recruits are children, abducted from their villages to become child soldiers, often forced into sexual servitude. They had many methods of recruitment – all are horrific to the point of making you cry – but there is one that I read about recently that has stuck with me. The LRA would go to schools and set them on fire. The few surviving male children that stumbled out would then be given a choice: join them or be shot dead. Rereading that sentence, I don’t see how that was a choice. The children that inevitably chose the former were taken back to their villages to ‘prove themselves’. This involved several options: the least horrific would be for a child to rape an old woman as a sign of manliness and power. Other times children would have to shoot their whole families dead – I’m not sure what this was supposed to prove. The loss of families and innocence were just two of many things ripped away from these children.

I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph that the LRA’s recruitment process is clever – it really is. Most of the LRA are children; innocent children forced and tortured against their will, so frightened that they’ll point a gun at anyone. Can the GoU justify storming in and killing a mass of innocent children?

There are rumored to be between 500-3000 armed persons in the LRA. At the end of 2006, when Kony refused to sign the Peace Agreement, the GoU, the Sudanese government and the Congolese government joined forces to eradicate the LRA. They weren’t successful. There is little information that’s been given, but three governments were unable to wipe out this small group of barely resourced soldiers. Was it because they were children? Or was it because Kony is so clever and elusive that they are too spread out and too hard to find? Or, option three, is this whole thing a massive corrupt cover up?

So what with Amin and the LRA, the country has experienced so many atrocities it's not surprising Uganda is a struggling African country. When you add to the mix HIV and aids, malaria, and the continual droughts and floods brought about by climate change, a not-too-pretty picture starts to form.