Acholi Land and Chile

Kop ango!

“I am back in Uganda. After a month long stay in Kigali, Rwanda my group and I have made it to Gulu. The differences between Rwanda and Uganda on a visual level are incredibly interesting. Over the course of three days we were able to observe Rwanda and almost the entire length of Uganda out of the windows of a bus. Geographically, Rwanda is, as its nickname mille collines suggest, a land of many hills. Uganda is much more diverse and as our drive progressed we moved from hills to plains and jungle.

In Rwanda, almost every inch of land and every hill is covered in terracing and set aside for agriculture. As a smaller nation, they have a much higher population density than Uganda and therefore have to use all the land that is available to them. In Uganda, there is much more open land that has yet to be touched by agriculture.

The roads too changed from country to country. Rwanda for the past sixteen years has been in the process of rebuilding. A large portion of their domestic policy relates to strengthening the nations infrastructure and its road system reflects it. Every road between towns was paved and in surprisingly good condition. In Kigali, almost everyday my matatu route was changed due to road upkeep and construction. The government is on top of its internal infrastructure and it maintains a very transparent economic system. Uganda on the other hand is rife with corruption. Money meant for one project is very easily funneled into the pockets of politicians and infrastructure is easily overlooked. The road to Gulu from Mbarara was not in nearly as good a shape as the roads in Rwanda. The numerous potholes and road problems slowed our trip considerably.

           

Cleanliness is another visual clue that can tell a lot about a nation. Rwanda is all about superficial appearances. If the outside community thinks everything looks good on the surface then they will question reports that suggest otherwise. In Rwanda the streets are impeccably clean. Every household is well kept and there is a certain pride in keeping it that way. Everywhere you see people sweeping dust off of their porches and steps and government employees sweeping the streets. Trashcans dot the streets and trash is not an issue. Uganda on the other hand is really dirty in certain places. The drainage ditches alongside the road in Gulu are choked with garbage. There are piles of trash on the side of the streets. Public cleanliness and appearances are obviously not considered as highly as they are in Rwanda.

Finally, as this program is about Post-Conflict Transformation, I think it is important to note the importance of each conflict in the respective cultures although not necessarily visual I think it is important nonetheless. In Rwanda the genocide occurred sixteen years ago but every day in the paper it is mentioned a number of times. The country is still in the process of rebuilding and it is an event that affects literally the entire country. The conflict here in Gulu ended a mere three years ago. Wounds are still incredibly fresh but they are much less publicized. I have been told that people are very open about their experiences with the LRA War where in Rwanda to took people lots of time to be comfortable enough to talk about what they went through to me.”

That past section was a small excerpt from my reflection journal I have to keep for my program. I though it was semi-pertinent to the blog and helps to highlight some of the changes I have experienced from Rwanda to Uganda.

But back to the normal bloggy stuff.

ACHOLI LAND

I love Gulu. There, I said it. I have only been here a few days but life is extremely good here. Kigali was magnificent but the pace of life is much slower in Gulu. Who knows how long I will enjoy that part of Gulu but as of now I am perfectly content. Our stay at the Elephant Graceland Hotel has been great as well. It helped me learn that hot water and electricity are things I once considered necessities but now see as things that can be lived without. Sporadic power is enough to charge laptops and phones. And a cold-water bucket shower, as miserable as that sounds, is actually not that bad, refreshing even. Gulu itself is quite a small town. It is the economic center of Northern Uganda and it has a population of around 300,000 but it still feels quaint and uncrowded. Everyone here is incredibly friendly too. In Kigali people were friendly if you said hi to them and were very helpful if you had a question or needed directions but kept to themselves more. In Uganda though everyone is all smiles and is always ready with a smile even before you address them.

ACHOLI LANGUAGE

While we have been here we have switched the Kinyarwanda we struggled so hard to learn for Acholi (Lwo), the language of the North. Our teacher is an incredibly eccentric man who couldn’t be more excited to tell us all about the vowels in Acholi (a,e,i,o,u Sound familiar?) or to encourage us to ask people in the street the word for breasts and other assorted private parts (yeah, didn’t do that one). Regardless he makes class engaging for the hour and a half we have it each day. The word for “Fish” has to be my favorite in both Kinyarwanda and Acholi. From an English language point of view, they have either hit the nail on the head or simply have a very negative view of the food. In Kinyarwanda the word is “Ifi”, pronounced “Iffy”, like I wouldn’t eat that, and in Acholi it is “Rec,” pronounced, “Retch.”

Acholi is a tonal language so similar to Chinese (I think) if you put the wrong emphasis on different parts of the same word it means something entirely different. For example “too” can either mean “death” or “fox.” And “unu” can either mean “rope” or “abuse,” better be careful what you are asking for when you just want some rope for your clothesline.

Acholi Cultural Institution

Our first fieldtrip of sorts was to the Acholi Cultural Institution right in Gulu. The Acholi people have a fascinating culture that they can trace back to the Lwo tribe in southern Sudan. They migrated down to Northern Uganda in the 14^th century. Cool Fact: Barack Hussein Obama, our president, traces his heritage back to this same Lwo tribe.

Have you ever seen the documentary War Dance? If not you should pick it up or watch it on Netflix (it’s on the instant view section). It is about a Ugandan wide tribal dance competition and it focuses on the northern tribe, Acholi key amongst them, as using dance to overcome the trauma and pain from the LRA war. The competition ends in Kampala at the national theatre where I was about a month ago, but some of it is filmed in Gulu at the cultural institute. Who knew that a year ago when I watched War Dance in my government class that I would be visiting the sites where it was filmed?!

We had a long conversation with two Acholi chiefs from two of the fifty-something clans. They told us about the dances, songs, food, and history of the Acholi people. We learned that in the Northern Culture, men with multiple wives were not uncommon. One chief told us he only had one wife, but the other one piped up quickly to proudly claim he had three wives, and then the man working the projector added that he too had two wives. The room we were in was filled with bicycles which turns out were meant for the first wives of the chief of each Acholi tribe that had been donated by the Ugandan government. Interesting how these different cultures work.

After the conversation we went outside and were treated to a dance performance by a bunch of the local youth. After a few minutes we were invited to join, needless to say, Muzungus don’t quite have the rhythm and tribal dance skills that most Ugandan school children have. Embarrassing to say the least but still a good time. We then heard a musical performance by another crew of students who put on an epic and sweeping song about the coming of peace in Northern Uganda. And then, our visit was over.

Chilean Miners

Not-so-random-side-note. I don’t know if you have been following the recent rescue of the Chilean Miners but it is nothing short of miraculous. A few short years ago I was in Copiapo, the town where all of this is happening, so I have been following the saga as it unfolded as much as possible while I have been here. I was able to catch a lot of the rescuer footage in the hotel bar and it was really interesting to see how excited the Ugandans here were for the miners. They all knew exactly how many had been rescued and followed the events with extreme attention. It was nice to see a little solidarity in the world. And since everyone got out all right I think it is ok to make light of the situation some of the miners are now in. Can you imagine being trapped underground for more than two months surrounded by 32 men to discover that while you were below both your wife and your mistress came to wait for you and discovered one another? This is the situation a few of these Chileans found themselves in. Ouch, how many do you think asked to head right back down into the mine? Only kidding.

Homestay

The best thing about Gulu is that I get to go into another homestay! After a truly amazing experience in Kigali, I eagerly awaited this homestay and it is finally here. My host mother, Jackie, is currently in Nairobi, Kenya for a conference but gets in on Sunday. My aunt picked me up and we headed to my home for the next few weeks. Upon entering through a metal gate into a dirt yard I was met by a number of old women, who laughed and embraced me, some small children and lots of puppies. All of these beings are to be my neighbors. I can’t wait! Most of them lived in round one-room concrete huts with thatched roofs. My house is more modern looking with a living room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. I talked to my mother on the phone once I got there and she welcomed me from afar. She seems incredibly interesting and I can’t wait to meet her. She works for War Child Holland, and NGO that helps children deal with psychological problems associated with the LRA war.

Dinner was fried chicken. Southern food has been one thing I have been missing here in Africa and this fried chicken was heaven sent. Deep-fried, home made and delectable. The power went out due to heavy rain so dinner was emergency lamp lit, romantic. My aunt and I were joined by Jeffery, an uncle, and Carolyn (I think) who is also and aunt. Both were extremely friendly and I can’t wait to get to know them further.

CLOSING NOTE: DOGS

            I love dogs. My mother Jackie has a boisterous dog that is right now barking outside my window. Dogs abound here in Gulu, a huge change from Kigali. I think I saw one dog in Kigali, and my academic director, Stephanie, owned this dog. Dogs are generally despised in Rwanda in the post-genocide era. Apparently before the genocide dogs were considered great pets, this changed during the genocide. With so many bodies in the streets and no people to feed them the dogs turned to eating human corpses to survive. Survivors saw them defiling their relative’s remains and grew to hate the creatures. So today dogs are hardly seen, understandable, but I couldn’t be happier that Uganda is different.

Sorry for ending again on a semi-morbid, sad note. Gulu is great. I hope all is well with you and I thank you for taking to the time to read this blog!

Cheers,

Muzungu currently in Gulu, Uganda

p.s. In addition to Muzungu, we are also called Mono (pronounced Moh-noh) here. It’s nice to get a little variety.