Hope

I can hardly believe that today is officially the second week that I am in Kampala. Compare to what I had expected, things seem to be a lot smoother than what I had expected. Since I am interning in a Human rights organization, I come across many interesting/inspiring/depressing issues through out the day. I have had a chance to meet amazing activists from in and out of Uganda and I have had a chance to hear from them what it is like to be human rights activist in certain regions.

About a week ago with the help of Amnesty, one of the Human Rights Defenders who the organization that I work for protects organized a semi demonstration against the government of Ethiopia. For me it was interesting to attend this demonstration since I was now able to place people behind all the paper work that I had been doing. The demonstration was taking place in front of an Ethiopian restaurant in Kampala. When I asked the people why we don’t approach the embassy they said that the government of Uganda has banned demonstration in “sensitive” parts of the city to avoid violent riots. There we were in front of a restaurant, underneath of the Ethiopian flag, holding a candle and shouting the slogans that were read by the activists. It was interesting to see people’s reaction and how many people who were around the area immediately left since they feared tear gases and violent police attacks. Even though, as the demonstration continued, the number of police officers who were observing our demonstration increased, there was no violence. At one point, however, a few people from the Ethiopian embassy approached us and were shouting that our slogans were lies and such. But than again, there was no violence.
After the demonstration, where about 50 people had showed up, we decided to go to the restaurant that we were demonstrating in front of , for supper. The lady who led the demonstration, Sebleh, was a 26 year old woman from Ethiopia who was the member of the opposition party during the presidential election in 2005 and was arrested and sent to jail for 2 years. Last year, when she left the prison on bail, she escaped to Kampala. My boss, who was one of the first people that she contacted to report her status, admitted that Sebleh immediately used the money that was provided for her to fulfill her basic to create a website for the fellow opposition member who were spending time in prison or were not able to escape Adis Abbaba.
When I met her and asked her a few questions, I could not believe how brave a 26 year old woman could be. Throughout our discussion she constantly emphasized on reconciliation and how regardless of how much the government of Ethiopia was pushing her to create rage against them, she was all for peaceful negotiation and not violence. She was telling me that she had to let go of her anger in order to beat them, and to me that was a powerful statement, especially considering all the things that they had done to her. I haven’t had the guts to ask her what really happened to her in prison, but I can only imagine what could a ruthless government do to a passionate, innocent 26 year old woman.
The time that I spent with Sebleh and every time that I have met up with her after the day of the demonstration, was worth every single difficulty that I have faced or will face during my stay in Kampala. Not only she gave me insight about the inside politics of the West in Ethiopia and countries in this region, but she taught me lessons that I probably would not have learned sitting in classrooms anywhere else in the world. Her passion for her country and her history, her respect for all man kind, her curiosity in others and many more allowed me to realize that hope still exists in this world. Being a pessimistic person that I usually am, especially regarding world politics and such, I was ashamed of my self for loosing hope in creating change. Now, there was a lady in front of me who experienced everything that I had only read in books and still managed to live everyday with hope, even though every day is a reminder for her that her life is in danger.

Today I decided to share this inspiring story with those of you who live in the North and might come across days where you might think that it is all a waste. Even though it might be, lets not think about that and try to see the positive. If not for you, than for people like Sebleh who sacrifice their lives for change. I know to most of you Sebleh is only a name that you read and you might not be able to see the person that she is behind this name that I keep mentioning, but try to put your self in her shoe for 1 second and you will find the hope in you to continue.
Last time I spoke to Sebleh she told me that UNHCR has informed her that Kampala is no longer a safe place for her to stay due to Ethiopian government’s affiliation with Uganda, therefore they are relocating her. She wasn’t sure where she was relocated to, and if she finds out, she has to keep it a secret to everyone around her. However, since I am working on her file I am entitled to know the location which makes me feel specialJ.

Anyways, I hope I did not bore you by preaching so much. It is just that at times I find my self not having enough hope to do well, and I thought that those of you who might find your selves in similar situations might appreciate this story.

All the best.

Entebbe Airport

I believe the first few days of any trip is usually the days that you can remember for the rest of your life. Even though I had prepared my self for this exceptional journey, the night before my flight to Kampala, i must admit that I had some sort of panic-attack. There i was being a few hours away from leaving for a place that was very far from what i was familiar with. My lack of knowledge about the culture and the people generated a different form of fear in me. When I stepped into the plane, i was carefully observing the people who were travelling to Kampala with me. It was very interesting how almost 50% of the passengers looked pretty young and seemed to have been travelling with a group of people from a foreign countryfor a specific purpose. This observation calmed me down a bit becasue i realized that i was not alone. When we landed in Entebbe, which is a small town right outside of Kampala where the international airport was located in, and saw how green it was i was a bit relived. Not that i was expecting to go to a desert, but at that time i was able to identify with the nature and that was very suiting. Waiting for my suitcase was very nerve racking. I found my self being veeery nervous and out casted. I thought that everyone was looking at me and noticing the fact that i was new in town. After a few minutes i began to look around myself and realized that no one was paying attention to me which was a surprise and relief for me.

My host family was suppose to send a taxi driver to pick me up and i was nervous that i wasn't able to find the driver. When i walked into the waiting area and saw my name on a board being held by a very friendly looking man, i was ready to give him a hug for not keeping me waiting for him. When i introduced my self to him and shook his hand, i realized that he was not so comfortable to speak English to me. Oh well...i guess i was able to keep my questions for the host family and not bombard him with my curiosity.

I guess the scariest thing for someone in a new city is to get lost. However, not if you are so jet lagged that you can hardly keep your eyes open. After a good hour or soon my way to my new
"home", i had realized that the driver had lost where he was going and since i really couldn't do anything about it, i decided to sleep instead. By the time i got home my host family was loosing her mind by being so worried. It was then that i had realized how dangerous it was for me to get lost with the cab driver in a new city. Oh well, it was pointless for me to worry about it since i was already in my room at that moment.

It is interesting how many people travelling to a developing countries from the West tend to expect the worst possible situation from that particular country and by the time they arrive they realize that it isn't so bad. With me it was the opposite. Before my trip i was aware of the misunderstanding that many people have about a developing country, so i tried to avoid it as much as i could. I thought of my fear as something that is exaggerated therefore i was preparing to face something better than what i had expected. However, it seemed like i had fooled my self a bit too much. I must admit that i defiantly felt the impact of the poverty and the poor infrastructure that exists here in Kampala and was rather disturbed when i saw the wondering kids on the streets beginning for food.
I guess at the end of the day, you cannot fully prepare your self for what is awaiting you in a new country. Even though i thought that i knew where i was headed, i was faced with many surprises. So far its been 3 days and I'm starting to enjoy the differences and take advantage of opportunities.