Riots Recap

Alright, I suppose after the small panic I induced in several family members (*cough*mom*cough*) after posting some articles about the protests on Facebook, I should talk about what’s been going on here.

In February, President Museveni was reelected to a fifth term as president of Uganda. The runner up in the election was Besigye. Immediately after the election, things seemed calm. Besigye didn’t throw a fit at losing and it was okay.

Then, we fast-forward to April. The newspapers revealed that the inflation rate in the month of March had been around 12 percent. Fuel prices were excessively high. Besigye called for a protest campaign to pressure the government to take actions to provide relief from the high food and fuel prices.

Thus, every Monday and Thursday since April 11^th, some Ugandans have joined the “Walk to Work” campaign. Every Monday and Thursday, Besigye is arrested for “inciting violence” and the police use tear gas to break-up the crowds who are simply walking. The use of tear gas, mass arrests, injuries, and even a few deaths seemed pretty routine until last Thursday.

Then, last Thursday, Besigye was violently arrested. The video of this arrest is linked below. Needless to say, people were irate that such an important political figure was treated in this way.

Last Friday there were mass riots in response to the way Besigye was treated. The streets were blockaded by burning debris. The taxi system had to shut down due to the unrest on the streets. Five were killed as the police used live bullets to combat the protestors. Over 200 people were arrested, 200 injured. I could hear gun shots from my apartment. The police were swarming.

But, by the end of the day things had settled down. Today was supposed to be the next day of the Walk to Work protests, but the pouring rain ensured that nothing too crazy went down.  So, if anything more happens, it will most likely be on Thursday. 

I suppose I could go into a deep evaluation of my take on the protests and Ugandan politics in general, but I think those are discussions I would rather have with people who pursue the topic with me back in the United States rather than writing out a manifesto via blog.

In other news,  I’m home in two weeks. While I am incredibly excited to be reunited with my family, friends, vegan junk food, and country, I will also be sad to leave behind the group of friends I’ve established here. The SIT group has been fantastic. I have always been the type of person who has a few very close friends. But here, I have 17 friends, almost all of which I would consider good friends. This has probably been the most social semester I’ve ever had and I will be sad to say good-bye to the people I have spent so much time with and had so much fun with. I think meeting new personality types, new people with a different set of goals and ambitions, has been good for me and I truly cherish each person in the group. Our group dynamic is truly one in a million and I wouldn’t trade my time with them for anything. 

However, my anticipation at going home is undeniable. My time away from friends and family has made me appreciate the relationships I have in the United States. I miss working in the debate room at 2 am and trying to block out the noise of Tim and Alex discussing if we should have a Senate or not. I miss Sunday runs at Great Falls with the cross-country team. I miss seeing the Washington monument on my walk to class every morning. I miss reading the Washington Post.  I miss getting a phone call from Dad to let me know how many inches of snow Summit County got the night before. I miss going grocery shopping with my room mate Emily. I miss watching bad movies with my sister Kari. I miss being overly competitive with my brothers Keith and Kaleb. I miss hugs from my mom. I miss two hour phone conversations with my BFF Erin. I miss good food. I miss having an oven that works. I miss having a hot shower. I miss sidewalks. I miss the good people of Liberty United Methodist Church. I miss the Metro. I miss feeling independent. I miss two am runs on the National Mall. I miss chocolate almond milk. 

But most of all, I miss feeling like I belong in the country I live in. 

So, two more weeks and I’ll be home. Before then, I have to:

-finish my 40 page practicum paper

-buy gifts for the people I like in the United States

-go on another booze cruise (sorry you had to see that, Dad’s Sunday school class)

-go bungee jumping this weekend!!!

-hang out with my host family a final time at the SIT farewell party

-give a presentation on my practicum paper

-locate my passport

-move out of the apartment

-say good-bye to the awesome group

-try to write a blog post summarizing the semester….yikes!

Alright, that’s it for now. I apologize for the general lack of structure or intelligence in the last couple of blog posts. I’m fuelling all my intellectual gifts into the practicum paper right now. This is just bubbly lists and surface level news stories. 

13 days til I’m home!!!