and violence in Kampala. Thought I'd ease your fears before they
arise, and share a little of what has happened recently. I'm fine and
perfectly safe - the peace corps cancelled training today and told us
to stay home, so I basically have the day off. I've been watching
live news on tv, and following twitter updates to see what's been
happening in Kampala and the surrounding regions.
Here's what I've been able to glean from news and reading my Uganda
history. During Idi Amin, he banned the cultural leadership of the
different Ugandan tribes, but the "kings" were reinstated by the
current president back in the 80's. The "kings" have no political
power, but are considered very important cultural leaders. Authority
and respect for position is profoundly important here, which explains
some of the reaction. Apparently, the king of the buganda people/
region wanted to travel to a contested region of his "realm". A local
leader there wanted the king to ask for permission to do so, which the
king didn't want to do. The government feared for the king's safety
or something like that, and prohibited his travel. Political
interference in the cultural kings is apparently a sensitive thing to
do, so that sparked violence in the capital yesterday, which appears
to have continued, if not escalated, today. I'm sorry if that's a
murky explanation, but my understanding is murky - it's harder to keep
up with the world when your internet is so slow!
Anyway, there are reports of military police in the streets of the
capital, rioters in certain areas, vehicles and car tires being burnt,
and some police stations attacked. The good news is that where I am
(I can't tell you exactly where, for security reasons) seems fairly
calm, but there's apparently some chance that rioting/violence could
spread. Even if that did happened, my house is a little outside of
town - well away from any possible danger, which hasn't even arisen.
Moreover, Peace Corps safety plans are unparalleled, so I have no
concerns or fears for my safety. Hopefully this will die down within a
couple days and we can return to training as normal.
It was interesting to watch breaking news on tv this morning. They
didn't have reporters or cameras on the ground, so they spent an hour
taking calls from people witnessing violence. Then they broke in with
a speech from the President. I'm used to seeing my President behind a
podium, with the seal of his office, presenting prepared remarks.
This morning, President Museveni was in an office chair at a table, in
front of a white wall, reading from written notes - and frequently
departing from them. He talked a lot about history, but took a long
time to come to the point - he kind of rambled, and seemed
unprepared. Didn't have the "stage presence" that Obama does.
Anyway, life does go on as usual. When I biked through town this
morning (before I got the text to stay home), kids were going to
school and shops were open. My host mom is cleaning the house and
feeding the chickens. I'll try to update what my last week was like
later today, since I've been suddenly blessed with an abundance of
free time.
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