Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold

I think I will use this post to address some political issues in Uganda, which is what I've been studying most here. This semester is pretty freeing for me, since I am taking all classes that will transfer as electives at Eastern. I got to choose classes that are just interesting without any pressure, which means I get to fulfill my alter-ego as a Poly-Sci major for just one semester. I am taking East African Politics, Democracy and Human Rights, and Ugandan Politics right now. It is a really interesting perspective, coming as an American to the subject of democracy in a country where the democratic process is currently very fragile. As I mentioned before, their president has been in power for an extended amount of time, and recently "amended" the constitution to abolish term limits. Many people are skeptical about the outcome of the anticipated 2011 elections in Uganda.

A lot of people back home are at least vaguely aware of some of Uganda's history, especially Idi Amin. Just some quick background then: Uganda was a British colony, gained independence in 1962 with Obote as its first president. Idi Amin took power in 1970 in a military coup supported by the British, with the international community and most Ugandans excited about his charismatic promise as a revolutionary leader. He ended up killing over 300,000 Ugandans during his rule. We just watched the film The Last King of Scotland which depicts Amin coming into power up until the hostage situation at Entebbe airport (when everyone finally realized how crazy Amin actually was, leading to the decline in international support). It is actually a relatively accurate portrayal of Uganda then, even if the story about the Scottish doctor is fictional. A couple of the staff here at UCU are extras in the movie. Watching the movie here is really crazy, just seeing everything and recognizing places...this campus was even the site of a battle with Libyan forces under Amin. Anyway, after Amin, Obote came back to power (this term is usually called Obote II), and turned out to be even more violent, killing more Ugandans than even Amin. Then there was an interim of three short-term presidents until Museveni took power in a military coup (there's a lot of these here...This is Africa).

Museveni is a whole different blog post, but in short, he had a lot of promise in the beginning (like the others), but is currently showing some alarming tendencies, like getting really restrictive on the media. I read the Monitor, the local independent paper, at least a couple times a week. It tends to be really critical of the government, with some of its editors and journalists being arrested by the president at certain times. The government is actually trying to pass some media restriction legislation, and came out with a list of about 32 radio and tv stations that they are trying to close.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/opinions/Do_not_kill_the_messenger_79547.shtml

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Govt_to_close_32_radio_TV_stations_78914.shtml

I try to keep tabs on the New Vision newspaper too, which is government owned. [For Kevin: There actually isn't a lot of American media present here, maybe with the exception of movies aired on the local television stations once a month. The last time I saw any American news source was when NTV aired CNN for the inauguration. For the most part its these two local newspapers, and local stations. The only major western media source I've noticed is BBC News, but usually just people who've studied at university tend to use it. There definitely is not a lot of variety for information though, because its these two main newspapers (online news is way less used, because most don't have electricity, let alone computers or internet), and a couple of television stations. The major ones I've seen are NTV and CBS (which is owned by the Buganda tribe). I think radio stations are much more popular than tv, especially in rural areas since most people don't have money for a television. But, I guess there's going to be a lot less diversity since the government is trying to shut down 18% of the stations. http://cpj.org/2009/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2008-uganda.php]

Anyway, I know that a lot of people are interested in the conflict in the north, between the UDPF (Ugandan Army) and the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, started out with the intention of overthrowing the current government and instituting his own on the basis of the 10 commandments. He began to target the Acholi people of Northern Uganda, and began to abduct children to fill his ranks when he began to lose public support. The Acholi and other northern Ugandans were forced into government-protected and regulated Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camps, which are actually in really bad condition and are contributing to a lot of the North's instability and underdevelopment. (I've had breakfast a couple times with a girl named Cathy from Pader district in the North, who lived most of her life in an IDP camp. Both of her parents died in the war, and she is now taking care of her younger three orphaned siblings. She said she can barely keep from crying when she thinks of the conditions in those camps.) Since Kony began his campaign, about 23 years ago, he has obviously strayed a lot from that original goal and no one can really guess what his intentions are. Right now he is operating in eastern Congo, pillaging and raping and abducting children there. The Congolese government has given the UPDF until the end of the month to get Kony out, or else they must leave the country. Apparently, they are nervous that the UPDF will establish a presence in the resource-rich Congo.

I will be able to write a lot more about the conditions in the north when I live in Pader district for four months this summer, but this is just a little background of what's going on.



On a completely different note, in African Literature class we are reading Achebe's Things Fall Apart. We first read the poem "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats (my favorite poet of all time), which is where Achebe drew inspiration for his title. I just wanted to share the poem with everyone, it is really incredible:

THE SECOND COMING

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?