Banage! (Expression of exasperation)

Hello Everyone,

I feel it is necessary to update my blog considering recent events. Just in case this blog is your only way of keeping up with me, I am safe. Just in case you haven't been keeping up with world news and are wondering why I need to update my safety status, the capital city of Uganda, Kampala, was attacked by suicide bombers on Sunday night. They attacked public venues , such as bars and restaurants, where people had gathered to watch the World Cup Final to, sadistically, kill as many people as possible. I have heard various reports, but there were two or three bombers. The two locations that I have heard of were an Ethiopian restaurants in the Kampala neighborhood of Kabalagala that Robbie, some other volunteers, and I had eaten at two years ago, and another social hotspot called the Rugby Club. The last report I've heard of, 74 people were killed, but somewhere around the same number have been injured.

As for those behind this disgusting attack, it is being speculated that they are Somalians. The member countries of the African Union are currently occupying Somalia and if it weren't for their presence, the capital of Mogadishu would be overtaken by the radical group Al Shabab. The group has threatened to resort to terroristic attacks if the AU does not withdraw its troops. They have already attacked and killed countless aid workers and waged war on the United Nations and Non-Governmental Organizations in Somalia, as well as threatened and carried out attacks in other African nations. They have been threatening Uganda for a long time, so this type of attack was not wholey unexpected.

Basically, I plan to stay out of the capital to the largest extent possible. Luckily, I had visited Kampala on Saturday to do some needed shopping and work for my research, so I don't need to immediately go back. I live in Lugazi, which is 30 miles to the east of Kampala. With road conditions here and the slow state of transport, this seemingly short trip actually takes about two hours, so that means I might as well be 140 miles from there. If you consider that I do work in villages that are further out then that distance grows. In so many words, I am safe--just as safe as if I were in Falmouth, or Lexington, or Caen, or Nottingham, so please do not worry at all about me. Please keep all of the people affected in your hearts, minds, and prayers. President Yoweri Museveni has declared seven days of mourning, but as most of us know from our own experiences with these types of events in our own countries, everyone will be feeling the reverberations for a long time to come.

On other subjects, although maybe not happier ones:

I was sick this past week. My first two and half month trip in Uganda left me with no illnesses, but this time I wasn't so lucky. I had been feeling tired that day and so after lunch I took a short nap [yes, you know me ; ) I like naps!]. I woke up with a sore throat, but I thought that I was maybe catching the cold that has been going around. That evening I was reading in bed and I started to get a really bad case of heart burn. I have rarely ever had heartburn, and it has never been bad, so I thought that maybe my malaria medication had gotten stuck in my throat because it is known to erode the lining in your esophogous (spelling?). When I finally layed down, the feeling sank down into my upper stomach and I was soon have painful cramps. The cramps spread all over my abdomen. Soon, I was having chills. I couldn't sleep from the symptoms and at 2:30 I started getting really hot and sweaty and I went to the bathroom to be sick. This process continued all night and I went from cold to hot, from stomach cramps to vomiting and a running stomach. I felt weak over the next day and because I hadn't slept, I slept most of the day. I didn't have an appetite for a few days, but now I think I have fully recovered. I'm not sure what it was, and it would be hard to know without a blood test, but thankfully it wasn't something serious!

Also, the other volunteer, Angie from Denmark, that is living with me and our Ugandan family, went traveling not this past weekend, but the weekend before. On her way back, she had a 10 hour bus ride, on which she was mostly alone as other volunteers got dropped off at their placement hours before her. When they got off, these men started harrassing her: asking her name, her number, asking her to marry them, etc. She ignored them and made her point clear by taking out her I-pod, putting in her earphones, and turning to stare out the window. We think it was at this point that these men saw in her bag, which contained her I-pod, cell phone, camera, money (about$150 worth), and her passport. When she made it to the capital, she really needed a toilet after 10 hours without one and she still had another 2-3 hours before she would get home, so she got off the bus, walked down the street and asked a nice looking older man if he could help her find one. He took her off the main street, down a side street, and back an alley where there was a trench with a drain and garbage inside where he said she could go. He then left her. We think he was an honest man that had nothing to do with what happened next. As she started to walk out of the alley, three men blocked her in and started pointing to her bag with all of her stuff in it. She asked what they wanted, but they didn't speak English and just pointed to the bag. She kept asking them to tell her what they wanted, but then two of them showed her that they had machetes and so she just gave them her bag and they left. She was so shocked that she didn't go after them and yell "thief" or anything. Because she was in the crowded city, people would have come to her help. Here in Uganda, there is what you call mob justice: if the masses catch you stealing, murdering, or some other major crime, you better hope that the police get to you before they do or else they will often beat you, at a minimum, or even stone you to death or burn you alive. We think they were opportunists from the bus who saw her things and followed her to take them. The fact that they had machetes is actually not very surprising, as a large number of men carry them around as they are all purpose tools for farming, cutting pineapples and other foods, building, hammering, etc.

She made it to the public transport taxis and she told the driver and conductor that she had been robbed and they were very apologetic. They took her all the way to Lugazi for free. She came in shaken, but very strong. To cut a long story short, she visited her embassy in Kampala and they issued her an emergency passport so that she can leave the country when her time comes, which is this week. As for the other things, she will get reimbursed through her traveller's insurance. A very bad experience, but at least she was not hurt and she will get her things taken care of (except of course for her pictures, which is always a bummer).

Overall, this post has been pretty depressing, but I assure you that I have many positive stories to tell and I will hopefully post again within the next few days.

Peace,
Courtney

"Man has burdens, but also shoulders." -Unknown