My favorite Ugandan hip hop/breakdancing duo made BoingBoing yesterday as part of a post on Diamonds in the Rough, a documentary about Uganda's awesome socially and politically active hip hop scene. The film has been out for a while, and its director, Brett Mazurek, was profiled in 2006 by UGPulse. The site also has an excellent introduction to East African hip hop (Uganda's at the bottom) and an interview with Sylvester & Abramz, whose song Lemerako is featured in the film's trailer. Check it...
Glenna at Uganda's Scarlett Lion posted yesterday, wondering why the majority of Ugandan bloggers write about things other than politics:But where have all the political blogs gone? There's this one, but that's also a newspaper column, or this one, not updated frequently, or this one that's not by a Ugandan, and some others that are more general to Africa and not specific to Uganda.Or were polticial blogs never there in the first place? There's plenty of thoughts on boda bodas, Big Brother Africa, the bad weather Kampala's been having lately, being broke, and other aspects of life in Uganda that certainly aren't apolitical, but they aren't exactly government budgets and school fires either.My experience in Uganda has been that expat bloggers are the ones writing about politics, while...
My next post is up at Global Voices Online:A little over a year ago, Ugandan blogger Country Boyi wondered why Ugandans weren't blogging in local languages. He wrote:The power of indigenous languages to infiltrate the thinking of the local people cannot be underestimated.[…]Do bloggers, like other writers, have a major stake in the development of writing and reading materials in the local languages, and what is in it for them considering the Ugandan society pays little attention to the written word?The majority of Ugandan bloggers have yet to write in languages other than English, perhaps because four distinct language families, each with multiple languages, are represented in the country. Over the last year, however, several of Uganda's blogren have forayed into the world of...
My next piece is up at Global Voices Online:A post by Gay in Uganda last week reveals the discrimination the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) population faces when applying for travel documents.Read more...
In light of a recent spate of posts and comments asking what its purpose is — one-stop entertainment hub? blogren free-for-all? — The Kampalan is running a poll. What do you think should happen to the site?If you think The Kampalan should stick around and you want to become a contributor, e-mail me at...
Atis Originally uploaded by Farl. Jonathan Dommer explores The Rules of Beeping in Rwanda and India: Reports from the economic development community suggest that the practice is common across many African nations (Chipchase & Tulusan, 2007; McKemey et al., 2003; Oestmann, 2003; Samuel, Shah, & Hadingham, 2005) and is not limited to teens. Slater and Kwami (2005) describe flashing as both an economic and symbolic practice, noting how "Michael, a man who flashes the same five people every morning, is not merely keeping in touch but also discharging obligations and responsibilities" (p. 10). Sey (2007) describes flashing in Ghana as one of a set of cost-saving strategies developed by users. Others note that beeping conventions in Africa differ between men and women (Alhassan, 2004;...
CitizenUganda is a new site covering politics, business, fashion, citizen media (including a series of blog profiles that's hit up Dennis and Glenna so far, among others) and other goodies.The site's still under construction, but a steadily growing body of editorial posts already talks about Facebook, the iPhone and the Daily Monitor's redesign.XOXO, and can't wait for...
The documentary made by the four Danish women who were in Uganda earlier this year is online, both at the Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke website and on Google Video: It makes me miss you...
My next piece is up at Global Voices Online:Uganda's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community has gotten a lot of press recently in the form of a number of articles written by Katherine Roubos, a 22-year-old Stanford student from the United States. Most recently, Roubos covered the first ever LGBTI press conference, a story that prompted an anti-gay rally in Kampala.Read...
My strongest support goes to my friend Katherine Roubos, whose courageous coverage of the GLBT community in Uganda has garnered this:I went to the rally to be a part of a team of white female decoys (Katherine's editor sent her to cover it, which theoretically gave her some sort of journalistic immunity, but the purpose of the rally already nullified that. Better safe than sorry, not so?) and to exercise my own curiousity: the event was organized by Martin Ssempa, a conservative Ugandan religious activist with whom I recently exchanged words.Wow. Martin Ssempa is undeniably charismatic. He is also undeniably creepy. For all you Lawrencians: imagine Fred Phelps shaking your hand. I came home and took a very long shower.P.S. Aga Khan, if you fire her, that's it. We're...
I am the furthest thing possible from a connoisseur of Ugandan nightlife/live music. I've done the basic rounds: Rouge, Fat Boyz, Just Kickin, Bubbles, Mateo's, Steakout, Al's Bar, Punchline, Backpackers, the now defunct Blue Mango, Slow Boat. When I got malaria I sort of lost my will to live, or at least to go out, and lately I've been more content to stay in bed and watch Scrubs than to get all fancied up and leave the safety of Kisementi. Besides, I can hear the music from three bars plus the restaurant downstairs from here, anyway (lending to a weird sort of aural schizophrenia), so really, what's the point?Which brings me to Iguana. Formerly Wagadougou (cited in Lonely Planet as "a good place to retreat to if Just Kickin is too crowded"), this bar shut down late last year for...
In Shadow of the Sun, his literary montage of more than 40 years as a reporter in post-independence Africa, Ryszard Kapuscinski writes of the incredible ability of people in violent areas to continue with their daily lives as if war were nothing more than a mild natural disaster. I am amazed by the resilience of many of the Ugandans I have met, both those who have been affected by one or more of the many armed conflicts this country has seen since independence and those whose lives have been touched by other, less violent tragedies: the death of a parent, HIV, extreme poverty.The people I know have carried on through things I think would have destroyed me, and whether it's because of a difference in our hometowns and cultures or if, under similar duress, I would remain just as...
Last night I left the house (goodbye, Scrubs, I'll miss you so) and went to the Sharing Youth Center in Nsambya for Breakdance Project Uganda's Hiphop For a Cause show.I say this as only a white girl from the midwest can: How. Cool.Breakdance Project Uganda was founded by Ugandan hiphop artist Abramz several years ago to empower street kids, formerly abducted child soldiers and other disadvantaged children throughout Uganda using hiphop and breakdance. BPU offers free breakdancing classes to these children, giving them a positive means of expressing themselves and encouraging them to become future BPU teachers.The Hiphop For a Cause performers ranged from Lyrical G, the hiphop winner of the 2006 Pearl of Africa Music awards, to a group of children from HEALS, an afterschool program in...
I spent Sunday afternoon selling juice and sandwiches to passersby at the first ever Kampala Street Arts Festival. Organized by Peter Otim, who sells his paintings, batiks and sculpture in his gallery on Bukoto Street, the festival filled the street with local artists, musicians, restaurateurs and those who came to admire their work.BBC's Sarah Grainger compiled a photo essay that shows participants making art out of the city's ubiquitous potholes, and I was able to get a few shots of Breakdance Project Uganda and Sylvester & Abramz, who performed at the...
The violence in Karamoja is likely the biggest forgotten, neglected part of what has been called the biggest forgotten, neglected humanitarian emergency in the world. Both UPDF soldiers and rebels have been accused of gross human rights violations, drought is sweeping the northeast, and the violence has gotten so bad that the night commuter phenomenon, previously restricted to areas under LRA attack, is spreading to the region.Amidst it all, there is hope — in the form of a hip-hop duo called the Rocky Boyz Crew. Ugly-Unit and Legless, its two young members, aim to promote unity and reverse negative perceptions of Karamoja through their music.Another hip-hop artist in Kampala is doing the same thing. Abramz, a rapper and breakdancer, works in Nsambya, Gulu and Mbale to encourage...
Check out more Happy Hour pictures on the Jackfruity Flickr siteThe topics of conversation at Thursday night's Inaugural Uganda Bloggers Happy Hour ranged from cell phones to Alice Lakwena to the transvestitical possibilities of Philip Seymour Hoffman. The Jabberwocky was recited, blogging addictions were confessed, heaven was declared to be just like North Korea, and the Ugandan blogosphere gained a fanboy. Also, we unanimously agreed that Inktus is hot.We came together to discuss the issues circulating among our blogs and throughout the country, to put faces with names, and to enjoy a few drinks with our fellow geeks. I'd like to think we all got something special from our exchange — I came home with multiple offers of free jackfruit and the shocked insistence of many of my...
The first Uganda Bloggers Happy Hour will take place on Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 6:30 PM at Mateo's (above Nando's on Kampala Road, K'la). Bring your wit, your feistiness, your eloquence and your humor and meet up with the myriad of voices, minds and opinions that make up the Ugandan blogosphere.Friends, readers and the blog-curious are welcome, as is anyone willing to debate the faults and merits of Aga Khan or Jay-Z. We hope this happy hour will serve as a springboard from which the Uganda blogging community can trade ideas, stories and opinions and continue to grow. We look forward to seeing you there!(Out of the Uganda blogger loop? Check out the Global Voices Uganda page or the links to the right.)Leave a comment in the box below if you're planning on coming, and we'll add...
I was going to try to recapture these events for you, but I think I'll let the following conversation do the work for me.Me: OHsorandom storywent to little bakery a block from my house in kampala yesterdaybought breadcashier was holding a STACK OF $100 BILLSlikeat least half an inch thickanalyze this for meJulio: that seems to be a lot of money for a bakery to have especially when everything's so cheap there.but that's....a good $5000Me: yeahi knowand bread?is like 60 centssoobviouslysomething else is going onJulio: special chicken!Me: (maybe he's the main purveyor of special chicken? all other special chicken sellers work for him?)yeahexactlybut he was SO CASUAL about itJulio: maybe you should ask him sometime about special chicken. Me: it was 5:00 in the afternoonno attempt to hide...
Last night my roommate and I indulged in a number of vices: cheese, cigarettes, beer. A couple of hours later, sitting on the balcony, I blurted out a tipsy confession:I really want meat right now. This statement may not be shocking, but it runs contrary to the more than third of my life I've spent as a vegetarian.I try to dissect the craving — it's salt, I decide. I just need salt.We decide to run across the street and split a plate of chips. On our way, we're accosted by a friendly Ugandan who offers us "special chicken." We pass him by, get our chips, and head home. We meet him again."Hello, madame! Hello! You want special chicken?"He's very insistant, and we're very...err...persuadable. "Might as well put all possible toxins in our body at once," Roommate says. I...
Q: How many Ugandans does it take to get a matatu (shared minivan taxi) from Kampala to Entebbe?A: Two to maneuver your friend's suitcase into the front seat; another to charge her 225% of the fare because she's bringing luggage (I'm sorry, isn't everyone else?); three to load the back of the vehicle with bags of grain and sacks of live chickens; two to strap foam mattresses to the top; one to yell at those strapping mattresses to the top about the way in which they're strapping mattresses to the top; six to get in, properly position (read: cram into every available nook and cranny) their baggage, get settled, then change their minds, extract their belongings and leave; one to roll his eyes at the six indecisive ones; two to press water, biscuits, handkerchiefs, newspapers and other...
I meet an American undergraduate a few weeks ago who was writing his senior thesis on the "NGO circus" in Uganda.His point (I think — it was hard to get past his carefully cultivated skepticism and the unlit cigar he carried around in his mouth like an über-cool oral security blanket) was that the proliferation of NGOs in Uganda in the last 20 years has made it more, not less, difficult for the country to develop. He focused on international organizations, but I see the same thing happening at the local level.I spent last week in Gulu talking to several Ugandan non-profit and community-based groups about their projects. I hoped to learn about national reconciliation from the grassroots level and to come home more informed about what needs to happen in the north for peace to...
I quit my job this week (not the one with the peanut butter life saver — no worries, my life is still in good hands). I left for several reasons, but the last straw was a conversation that went something like this:Me: You can't rely solely on international volunteers to make this work. You need to recruit Ugandan volunteers as well, or even more heavily.Director: But Ugandan volunteers are not as good as international volunteers.Me: Why not? None of the international volunteers here right now have teaching degrees, but you've turned down three Ugandans who wanted to work here who all have teaching experience.Director: But Ugandan volunteers are not as good as international volunteers.His monomaniacal, unsubstantiated claim that the qualified Ugandans who have been clamoring to...