Taking You Closer

Happy-Ness

2011-07-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Music festivals are great for the music, but even better for the atmosphere.

Here’s a quick look at the faces that appeared at the Ness Creek Music Festival in Northern Saskatchewan, where happy-ness and peaceful-ness reigned supreme and colour is appreciated.

For more photos visit: Ness Creek, the people

Mosquito Heaven North of 50 - One Girl's Battle with the Bugs

2011-07-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

So after repetitive cycles of hot, steamy weather and thunderstorms, the only reason I believe I am somewhere besides Thailand, is the complete lack of Thai food.

I don’t know what’s going on with this weather, but the last time I was this hot and sticky I was surrounded by monks dressed in orange and sleeping under a mosquito net.

And honestly if this weather pattern keeps up I might have to start thinking about a mosquito net for here. Usually self-respecting mosquitoes stick to two times of day, dawn and dusk. There are so many of the little blood suckers that at 10 a.m. there is one licking it’s lips and looking at me.

Wait, do mosquitoes have lips?

Point being, I am slowly becoming covered with the tell-tale welts that reveal my seemingly nasty allergy to mosquito bites.

Even when I am wearing deep-woods, deet-infused bug repellent I can hear their high pitch whine as they look for a safe place to land. Then the whine stops. And people I am sitting with are treated to my mini dance as I trash about trying to figure out where it landed and trying to kill it before it bites me.

I guess I should count my blessings though, at least they are not the malaria-carrying Anopheles, or I would be in a lot more trouble that simply uncomfortable.

If I am looking as the positives, at least this weather has meant much shortened season of the funny, green worms that hang off the trees on spider-web-like silk.

On the other hand, I seem to prefer the areas of the world that have Anopheles.

Signing

2010-08-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

In a taxi on my way to downtown Kampala on one of my last days, I watched two girls having a conversation. One was speaking in Luganda while using sign language and the other was responding using sign language.
It was an awesome to watch their conversation. The girls were fluent in two languages, and one was based on English. I’m lucky if I can use English on it’s own at the best of times. :)

Searching for one bag...

2010-08-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's bad news when the two women trying to get your bag checked through to Saskatoon call for a third person by saying, "come and see what we are doing."
It wasn't so much they wanted more help that concerned me, but they had the excitement of a child doing something they weren't supposed to.
I started to believe I might never see my bag again.
It was my own fault, the woman checked my bag to London and printed out the baggage tag. Dreading having to clear customs and immigration simply to check-in again, I asked if she could check them into my final destination, which didn't appear on her computer ... initially.
The first woman, called over the second and they typed and chatted excitedly. A bag tag for Sydney came out. I pointed out that, that wasn't Saskatoon, they should be looking for YXE. I was also wishing I had kept my mouth shut.
Then as if someone was looking out for me, the system died. We were left with the bag tag for London, which they put on my bag and it disappeared.

Good news, I saw my bag again in London, Toronto and finally Saskatoon. Yay. I'm not going to lie I had more than a little doubt about seeing it again.

I saw you.

2010-08-05T07:36:00.001-07:00

Nakulabye is the best place in Kampala for pork.

However, its meaning is what I find interesting. Nakulabye means I saw you. It was so- called for it’s location in a valley beneath where the king historically lived.

You couldn’t really pass through the area without someone from above being able to see you. They would then say, “I saw you.”

Nakulabye.

ROUS?

2010-08-05T07:32:00.001-07:00

When in Sudan I had a moment straight out of the Princess Bride, if you haven’t seen this movie please go and do so.
We were leaving this restaurant well after dark, around 9 p.m. when something big scurried across the road in front of the car.
It was bigger than a cat, but with a long naked tail and it moved like a mouse.
I was sitting in the front seat and I’m sure my eyes bulged.
“Did anyone else see that?” I asked.
There were equally shocked expressions on people in the backseat. They nodded.
“Was that a rat?”
Our driver just laughed.
It instantly took me back to the move. Where the heroes are walking through the woods when someone asked about the ROUS.
“Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist,” one of the characters responds.
Well they do and they are living in Southern Sudan.
That night, one of them ate the hearing aid of one of our travel companions … fortunately it wasn’t in his ear at the time.

Speaking out

2010-08-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

I nearly caused an accident yesterday evening.
While running late to meet a friend and head out of town, I hopped on a boda-boda (the ubiquitous motorcycle taxi). Another driver was following us closely, calling, “muzungu, muzungu” (white person) at me.
I turned around, still clinging to my boda, and started to speak to him in Luganda, the main language spoken in Kampala (after English).
He started at me.
Asked me a question in Luganda, I responded.
My boda driver was laughing - the other driver seemed to forget he was driving at 60 km per hour. He was staring at me in disbelief and drifting over the yellow line.
“Taxi,” I yelled in English.
That brought him back to reality. He pulled out of the path of the oncoming bus and sped away.
I still find it a little funny that a few words in the local language can cause such a stir.

Open letter

2010-08-02T05:09:00.000-07:00

An open letter to all the first time visitors to Uganda,

1. Please stop moving in herds,
2. People here aren’t going to hurt you. The worst that will happen is you will be relieved of that expensive watch you shouldn’t be wearing anyway,
3. No one is looking to give anyone food poisoning, especially not you, sick people make for bad restaurant business,
4. Stop paying excessively and tipping, especially in local establishments. I know you think you are doing a good thing, but you are driving up the costs of things for locals,
5. Do not pay people for their photos, unless they are street performers and then only maybe. If they say ‘no, I don’t want my picture taken’ then walk away,
6. Stop calling them the slums of Kampala, the area is called Kisenyi and in it are people’s homes. How would you like someone to call your neighbourhood a slum?,
7. Don’t do things you aren’t trained for. If you are an arts student, don’t provide medical ‘advice’ in the ‘slums (see 6).’ People here deserve the same level of care that you would like to receive,
8. Please if you are only coming to preach or feel good about yourself, stay home. People here need doctors and nurses and money, they don’t need to be told by some white person that their needs will be met if they pray. There are enough local priests and pastors here to tell them that.
9. If you want your church dollars to be put to good use, help support local hospitals or schools. Why are there two brand new, very expensive looking churches next to a hospital that is falling apart and can hardly afford to pay staff? People here can pray anywhere, surgery cannot be performed outside. The good news is when people die from a lack of care, they’ll have a nice place for a funeral … if they can afford it.

My question is, if you are afraid of being here, why did you come?
Really take a deep breath, get out past the gates and sanitized accommodation and enjoy Kampala and the countryside of Uganda, it’s called the Pearl of Africa for a reason. Be a tourist and support the local economy as that will help more than you can imagine.

Thank you,
Angela

Scars vs tattoos

2010-08-02T04:20:00.000-07:00

I had this grand plan when I came home to get a tattoo, but I’ve apparently decided to go with unintentional scarification instead.
What this means is I am a klutz and will be returning to Canada with more lasting marks than I left with.
A couple of days before I left on the trip I managed to perform minor surgery with my razor on my leg. That is turning into a nice scar.
When I arrived in Kajo Keji County, Southern Sudan, I literally fell out of the back of a truck, resulting in another nice scar.
And this morning while again shaving my legs – I think I know what the hazard is here – I managed to cut up my left lower back on the faucet. Please don’t as me how as I am not even sure.
While trying to perform first aid on my back and hip I realized, this is one of those times it would be nice to travel with someone.
Actually at the rate I am going, I’m going to need to start traveling with my own medical trauma team.
So much of my body is now marked up, I’m not going to have space for a tattoo.

Fences

2010-08-01T01:08:00.000-07:00

When the guesthouse said they locked their gates at midnight, they weren’t kidding.

The problem was the security guard who assured me he would always be on the inside to let me in, wasn’t.

So, what’s a girl with a raging head cold and a desire to be asleep to do, when faced with at 12 foot tall iron fence?

Climb it.

After I got over the concern that I would be shot if caught climbing it, I was good to go --even the spikes along the top presented very little problem.

Once safely on the other side, I ran into the guard, who was very apologetic, so much for my concern of getting in trouble.

He showed me how to get around the gate if I was ever locked out again.

So much for security.

Checking

2010-08-01T01:06:00.000-07:00

Since the explosion of two bombs, in Kampala, in early July, security checkpoints of sprung up everywhere.
I’ve had my bag search and my body patted down more times in the last few days than in the Seattle airport.
The checkpoints are at higher end stores, entrances to hotels, malls, and hospitals. They are at some of the entrances to the taxi parks.
This is where is becomes confusing. Why only some of the entrances and why am I only checked sometimes?
Also I get the feeling that many of these security guards, armed with their metal detecting wands, have no idea what they are looking for and less idea of what to do if they found something.
I guess it’s good that the government wants to protect the people, but I’m not sure how much more secure people feel.

Crazy Kampala

2010-07-30T00:13:00.000-07:00

While Sudan had it’s moments I’m excited to be back in Uganda.
The temperature is hot, but not reaching the almost unbearable levels of Juba, the language I can speak, a little, the people I know and I am free to move around and take public transit.
In some way it feels like nothing has changed, but then I look around to all the new development and the success of my friends and feel like everything has.
And all of a sudden I am back ... crazy Kampala

The view from above

2010-07-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

The drive between Juba and Kajo Keji is sketchy to say the least.

So to avoid the 12-hour, death defying drive back, we took to the sky.

The air strip was a fenced off field and the pilot prayed before take off, but it was a smooth journey and took a fraction of the ground time – 35 minutes from take off to landing.

Seen from above, Southern Sudan in the rainy season is beautiful.

Our pilot

Thunderstorms

2010-07-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

There are some pretty amazing thunderstorms in this part of Southern Sudan. You can always tell when they are coming by watching the clouds gather.

Spiders

2010-07-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

My room is starting to look like a scene from the movie Arachnophobia.
Let me rephrase that, my room is starting to look like what I would imagine a scene in Arachnophobia to look like – I would not actually be able to sit through that movie.
Point being it started with a rather larger spider on the floor under my bed, who was too fast for me to catch and too big for me to kill.
Now I’ve got two other ones hanging out on the wall just outside my mosquito net and there is at least one near my roommates bed.
I’m not even going to mention the number in the bathroom.
Blah.
Spiders, I hate spiders. Why did it have to be spiders.
I’m very glad for my mosquito net, hopefully it will continue to keep the spiders at bay and there will be no more.

…. Update.
One has disappeared.
The only thing worse than seeing several spiders is knowing they are around, but not seeing them.

A nice cup of tea...ish

2010-07-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have a new addiction, actually it’s an old addiction that is back to haunt me. Tea. African Tea with lots of powered milk, called Nido, and sugar.
I start every day with two cups of the sugary stuff, have at least one during the day and have one with dinner.
The hot water is served in these massive thermoses, the very sight of them make me thrill.
There are side effects of the addiction. I’m almost constantly bouncing off the walls and at night I have to make several trips to the bathroom.

The kids

2010-07-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

There are kids everywhere at the school and they are more than delighted to see all of us.

They scream and run close for a chance to shake hands then pose to get their picture taken.

I can’t resist. They are so cute.

Don't talk and drive

2010-07-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

So apparently Saskatchewan police aren’t the only ones looking out for people’s cell phone use while they drive.
I was in a car with the pair that had been assigned to help me track down my press credentials.
The driver, Charles, was on the phone, but he was doing a fabulous job driving in the jammed Juba streets, so I wasn’t so worried about it.
Suddenly he started talking louder, so I looked over at him and realized he was holding the phone in his lap.
I looked around to see that we were driving past some police officers directing traffic.
They don’t like it, he said as he skilfully turned the phone off and slid it into the glove box.
So it’s not illegal, but it seems better to not do things the police don’t like.

Frogs?

2010-07-20T03:48:00.001-07:00

A distinct feature of our little prefab is frogs.

And no, that’s not slang for something else.

I mean little, well not so little some cases, green-spotted, jumpy frogs.

The first run in came when I was in the shower on the first day. I wasn’t wearing my glasses and something moved across the floor to hide behind the toilet. My first thought was it was the largest cockroach I had ever seen. I almost died. I finished my shower in record time.

With my glasses on, I could see that the intruder was far cuter than a bug.

I coaxed the frog into our garbage container and left him outside.

But, we’ve had more. It must have partially to do with the rainy season and partially to do with my luck, but we’ve had three pet frogs since our arrival.

Two were released, but the third hiding beneath the bed and that’s where he’ll stay, at least until the housekeepers find him.

Pre-fab

2010-07-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

There is a distinct lack of permanence to the structures in Juba town. Driving from the airport to our accommodation the driver was pointing out the hotels, known as camps, as we drove past.
“They’re all pre-fab,” he said knowingly.
The pre-fab, short for prefabricated material is a big part of the construction in and around Juba.
They are shipped into the country pre-made and ready to go.
Basically they are like staying in a shipping container, thin metal walls and laminate flooring – but fortunately ours comes with an air conditioner and shower so I’m not complaining.
As one UN worker mentioned to me, no one thinks much past next year.

Our pre-fab hotel

Leg room..

2010-07-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

I must have gained some bad flight karma laughing about flights on my way to Calgary, Thursday.
The plane between London and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia had about 6 inches of leg room from the end of one seat to the back of the next. I've never felt so crammed into a plan in my life and of course we were delayed for 45 minutes on the ground in London allowing me to discover the number of uncomfortable positions I'd be able to wedge myself in for the flight.

.. six hours later, I was so desperate for leg space I'd give away someone else's first born for it. I've had my legs cramp and had the flight attendant hit them with the dinner cart, the duty free cart, the breakfast cart, the drink cart...

Apparently the plane to Juba is smaller. Oh, good.

Sanctions

2010-05-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Sanctions, like boycotts and blockades, only work when the government or ruling party (military of individual) cares about their people.
In the case of North Korea – and it’s not that I want to judge Kim Jong Il but – I would suggest the leadership doesn’t care. Millions of people starving to death over the past decades are only the beginning of evidence of this.
So as every nation decides to side with South Korea and up their sanctions the only people that are going to suffer are the average person. The rich will have ways around it and the leaders don’t care.
With more than $200 million not showing up in the country, that's a lot of people to suffer.
The problem is I can’t come up with a better way to tell North Korea that it can’t blow up South Korean ships.

Wildfire

2010-05-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

There is a fire that has been burning just north of Prince Albert.

Only one house was lost (the origin of the fire) and no one was hurt.

Here are some of my photos for the paper.

Oil Spills

2010-05-19T22:12:00.001-07:00

Ever since I was a kid I’ve thought the worst thing that could happen to the ocean was an oil spill.
The images on TV of people soaping up birds after the Exxon Valdez oil spill forever stuck in my mind.
Even as an adult I feel badly when I hear about after math of the explosion of the British Petroleum rig located off the coast of Louisiana.
According to press reports, “The Gulf Coast is experiencing an ecological disaster … Coastal areas outside of the immediate spill region will be impacted too.”
Reuters warns that some oil is in the Loop Current already "which could carry the oil down to the Florida Keys, Cuba, and East Coast."
It’s horrifying to think of all the beautiful water tainted by oil, but I also hope this will open people’s eyes
In North America we use so much oil and yet so many people life their lives without a thought of how it gets to their cars or how else it’s used as energy.
Around the globe people experience the negative effects of the over consumption of petroleum by the developed world.
Photographs in an exhibition called War Photo, show the mess in Nigeria, where Shell has operated for years with out regard for the environment or human lives — spills that continue for weeks, making farming in impossible, flames burning from leaks and a slick covering the top of bodies of water.
There is so much damage that will be done by this latest of oil spills but maybe it will be the thing that finally shows people why they need to reduce dependency, why alternative energies should be looked at and what goes on in the rest of the world.

Snow warnings in May

2010-05-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

Just a quick question -- what am I doing here?

It’s not some great existentialist question.

No this has more to do with wondering why I am living in a place that was 20 C yesterday and snowing today.

And not just a little snow either.

I’m counting down the days to Sudan and Uganda. Then what?

CMA/CNA Media Awards

2010-03-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

Excellence in Local Reporting...

Health stories brought to light by excellence in reporting

The subtle addition of information

2010-01-26T09:19:00.000-08:00

Favourite subtle addition of information of the week goes to my co-worker Tessa Holloway for the way she slipped in MP Randy Hoback was on vacation.

"Our constituents have more concerns on their minds," he said by phone Tuesday from California, where he is vacationing. "They want us to concentrate on jobs, get people back to work, and get the budget back in order. And that's what I'll focus on when I get back to Parliament and that's what I'm focusing on now."

The Globe and Mail called her the other day to see if he was still away...
See the original article here.

Helping Haiti

2010-01-18T15:37:00.001-08:00

This morning I listened to CBC’s The Current as the host interviewed Jean-Louis Warnholz on economic opportunities in Haiti.
He listed off mango exports, tourism and the garment industry as major economic benefits to the nation that were just starting to grow before the earthquake.
I waited for Anna Maria Tremonti to take Warnholz to task.
“Garment industry, who is he kidding,” I thought.
The opportunity passed her by as she asked about Mango production.
So I will fill in the blanks.
The so-called garment industry in Haiti produces the GAP shirts, Levi Jeans and a number of Disney products. It is low-pay, long hours and bad conditions, in short sweatshops in free-trade zones. They are set up to benefit the corporations that use them, not support a society in need of stability.
In 1996 workers in the FTZ made about 28 cents a day. Now, they might make up to $1 or $2 a day, but not likely.
The very reason Haiti is in so much trouble is because it has been abused a place for cheap labour and given unfair treatments from the West for decades.
That needs to change if we really want to support the country.
Let not use this earthquake as a time to ram through policy change in the very same ‘shock and awe’ way the US did in Iraq.
Throwing the doors open to more transnational corporations, paying significantly below a living wage is not going to help Haitians get back on their feet now, or if something occurs again in the future.

Torch Relay

2010-01-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

The day the Olympic torch came to town.

Once I got over the rampant commercialism I really enjoyed the torch run and as it was lit for the briefest of moments I felt connected to people all across the country.

Then the announcer said Coca Cola needed a big round of applause.

... another day older and deeper in debt

2010-01-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

I have two degrees that came after six years of international experience
I have one year of international journalism experience
And am well into my second year of daily reporting
What does that get me?
Enough income to qualify for the low income credit handed out by the Saskatchewan Government.

*sigh*

How's the weather over there?

2009-12-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

It is so cold, it hurts.
How does cold hurt, you ask?
Well for all you warm people from somewhere other than north-central Saskatchewan and don’t understand what -35 C actually means, I’ll tell you.

1. When you spend two seconds outside, even while wearing gloves, your fingers start to freeze. It makes my knuckles ache.
2. The cold wind literally sucks the moisture out of you. I have cold rashes and dry skin on my hands, face, lips, hips, arms and parts of the body you just really don’t want dried, cracking skin.
3. When you breathe in, it feels cold all the way down to your lungs.
4. You shake and your teeth chatter uncontrollably.
5. Snow hides nails, so when frantically jogging across the parking lot to get out of the cold, you step on an old board and puncture both your shoe and the bottom of your foot with a rusty nail.

Admittedly the last one was less of the cold hurting and more of my being a klutz, but I wouldn’t have taken the route I did except to cut down time and get out of the cold.
The good news is I have had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years.
The bad news is that it’s still really cold.

Lets think HIV positive

2009-12-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

Medicins Sans Frontiéres, what we in English-speaking Canada call Doctors Without Borders, has an HIV/AIDS awareness slogan, "HIV Positive."

During one international AIDS conference, I looked everywhere to see if I could find this T-shirt with the slogan on it.

The question: Would you wear a T-shirt that would announce you were HIV Positive?

It's not talking about physically being HIV-positive, but it's about attitude.

I've always loved the concept. I like the idea that people can be as positive about finding treatments and a cure for HIV as much as they can be about cancer fundraising.

For some reason, and likely because it was first associated with gay sex and then injection drug use, HIV/AIDS has always carried a stigma. It was seen as a disease that only affected people on the fringe.

But, it's not.

And it needs to be talked about by people infected and their families, friends, partners and communities.

People who are sick shouldn't have to hide it.

Many Canadians who are HIV-positive have no idea. To me that is far scarier than knowing someone who is HIV-positive. Often people would rather not know than be tested and start treatment.

The Ministry of Health announced Tuesday that rapid testing will be provided as a pilot program in Prince Albert. At first I was excited, but currently it's only being offered to people deemed at risk.

I would like to see testing offered to everyone, thus eliminating the idea that only certain people can become HIV-positive. Yes, it is more likely for someone to be infected if they share needles, but unprotected sex with a trusted partner can lead to learning too late they haven't been totally honest.

Like with other diseases, early detection means early treatment and a healthier life. As an added bonus, earlier detection of HIV and treatment also means a decreased chance of transmission.

According to a poster recently released by the Canadian AIDS Society, one in 584 Canadians is HIV-positive. A statistic long used in HIV organizations is one Canadian becomes HIV-positive every two hours.

These statistics alone should be enough to start reducing stigma.

Recently, U.S. President Barack Obama announced the end of the United States protocol of restricting entry for people living with HIV, effective Jan. 4, 2010. The end of government-sponsored stigma against people with HIV will also be a big a positive step to openly discussing the virus.

Knowing there are so many barriers in place for people living with HIV shows the power of many thousands of activists.

"HIV teaches about hope and the human spirit ... people with HIV are amazing," a caseworker said to me recently.

She's right.

So many people with HIV I have met from around the world have amazing inner strength.

In Uganda I met women who would get tested for HIV and then drag their partners in for testing as well. Sometimes their partners would leave them, but they would bring their children in and start everyone on medication.

If these women, who have to carefully budget their money to pay pennies for the bus that takes them to the clinic, can be comfortable with the decision to be tested, then maybe we can too.

While World AIDS Day is a good starting point for discussions, it shouldn't be the end point. Here in Saskatchewan, the HIV rate is only going to increase for the next little while as more people access testing.

As a community we need to encourage people to make healthy decisions and to learn their status. The most important way to protect public health is not by discriminating against those who have HIV, but by openly talking about AIDS.

Then we can all be HIV Positive.

Angela Hill is the Herald's health reporter.

This article first appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald Dec. 2

Eid al-Adha

2009-12-01T20:16:00.001-08:00

I was invited to the local mosque for Eid al-Adha, the last day of the Hajj and a festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide.

The so-called sacrifice festival is to honour Abraham, who nearly sacrificed his own son to prove to God how devote he was. God then told Abraham that it was a test and sent him a ram to slaughter.

This sounded very familiar to me, having heard the story from the bible many times.

The women that invited me were thrilled I figured this out.

“Yes, it’s the same,” they told me over and over, before pointing out several other prophets that are the same.

One God shared by many religions. Too bad we all can’t see the similarities.

The mosque is a small store front in a strip mall, but the community gathers the same as if they were shouting the call to prayers from a minaret.

Here are some images from Nov. 27.

On route to a book deal

2009-11-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time kicking myself for not working harder at keeping my blog constantly updated.
I have excuses, such as writing for a living, being exhausted after work and trying to spend the minimum amount of time on the computer when I am not in work.
On more than one occasion I have considered just reposting my columns from the Prince Albert Daily Herald, but they are much longer than the average blog post and seeing a link here is just boring.
All of that said, I kick myself a lot harder when I go into book stores and it seems like every blog I used to read with any regularity has become a book. There are the ones everyone knew about such as, Waiter Rant or PostSecret, but latest ones have made me stop short.
Vegan Lunch box, has not one, but two cookbooks out.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks also has a cookbook now.
It seems dedication on a blog is a sure fire way to a book deal.
So, the Story of Angela: following Chinese fortunes from the cookie, not coming to bookshelves anytime soon.
Hopefully I will start to spend more time writing.

Flogging Molly

2009-10-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

You can listen to a band countless times on CD or an ipod, but nothing beats seeing them in a good live venue.
And it has to be a good venue - you can't watch a punk band perform in a concert hall.
Fortunately I saw Flogging Molly in an excellent venue this weekend, there was room to dance and places to sit, and not too big.
It was just what a venue should be.
And for a group of guys that have been around since the mid 80s they still put on an excellent show.

Want to see who I am talking about?

xkcd takes a stab at airport security

2009-10-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

I swear I have been there...
Both making the argument and cringing listening to someone else.

How's the weather over there - A post for Blog Action Day 2009

2009-10-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

This morning I heard on the radio that farmers are staying optimistic for next year as for some, this year's crop is snowed under.

They are looking forward to trying again next year.

I hope the weather improves or at least starts back to normal, but I am also afraid that we are setting the "new normal."

Last week, when it started snowing, I had my first moments of thrill. Admittedly, I love watching the snow float down. Then I realized that it was still the first full week of October and I liked it a little less.

Then it didn't stop.

I would like to point out to Mother Nature that no one sang about dreaming of a white Thanksgiving and that "have a jolly holiday" was less about changing leaves and more about mistletoe.

Our leaves here didn't even have a chance to change: they just dove off the tree freezing cold and still green.

My Thanksgiving plans were cancelled because I wasn't sure how safe the roads out of Prince Albert would be. Road clearing isn't going on because it just shouldn't be snowing yet.

Despite disappointment in not enjoying as much of my favourite time, I am not really surprised.

We were given a mostly ugly summer, with many people complaining about not getting enough good weather to go to the lakes. When we finally got summer it lasted about three weeks ... or so I am told, because I managed to miss the only hot weather that came through Prince Albert.

Is this part of a growing pattern of climate change? Well, the researchers I have spoken to say yes.

Climatologists are moving away from using the phrase "global warming" because that's a pretty hard sell in Saskatchewan right now.

"Global warming? We could use some of that here," seems to be how the joke goes.

But whatever the term, the punchline isn't so funny.

Warmer weather in one part of the Northern Hemisphere, (say British Columbia) caused by El Niño is the same pattern that leads to cold weather on the Prairies because of the way the jetstream works.

It's not just here that the weather is becoming uncomfortable. The other day, I saw the Disney movie "Earth." It talks about animals on our planet and how they live. After watching a great white shark devour a small seal and a pride of lions take down an elephant, the part that bothered me most was the polar bear.

As the Arctic ice grows thinner the bears have less time to hunt. Sometimes bears make poor hunting decisions, while others stray too far out to sea where, without ice to climb on, they eventually drown.

Everything else in the movie was part of the circle of life, but the plight of those polar bears seems to be the fault of humans.

There are those that claim the world is in an endless cycle of hot and cold spells - they might be right, but after the hot comes an ice age ... and seeing as I am not such a fan of the cold, I can do without.

If it is possible that the little things we can do like turning off our lights, eating locally or petitioning our government to control big businesses might make an impact, then wouldn't it be easier just to try?

If that doesn't help, oh well, if you've been turning off lights and using less electricity the worst thing that happens is smaller power bills.

With small steps we hopefully can make a change.

Then, like the farmers, I could also be optimistic about good weather next year and hope no one will sing about the snows of Labour Day.

My column usually appears every Wednesday in the Prince Albert Daily Herald.
Posted on my blog as part of Blog Action Day 2009

Ramadan

2009-09-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims, where they refrain from eating, drinking, smoking or indulging from dawn until sunset.
It reminded me of being in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Ramadan.

While in Sarajevo, I heard a cannon fire at 7:20 p.m. the first night I was there. Seeing as I had spent the entire day learning about the siege of Sarajevo, it startled me.
Nothing followed the initial blast so I didn’t think anything of it until it happened again the next night.
Turns out it is the marker for the end of the day of fasting.
In Mostar, a city in the south of the country, it was even more marked, with cannon fire, fireworks and loud music marking the chance for Muslims to eat again.
It was a very cool experience being in cities where Muslims and Christians mesh so well.
I know it wasn't always like that and hope the peace is permanent.

Are we there yet?

2009-09-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

One of the most annoying ways to end a trip, especially after very teary goodbyes, is to get stuck before you even get on the plane.

Air France found a technical problem, Bad.

That they managed to fix within two hours, Good.

That meant we missed our connecting flight before we even got on the first plane, Bad.

But, there were going to be Air France people in Paris to help us, Good.

They told us there were no more flights we could be on (to anywhere in North America) that day, even though it was only 11 AM, Bad.

They paid for a hotel, Good.

Now, I am in Paris and hoping very much the rest of the flights go as planned.

Soccer Fever

2009-09-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Everywhere, with the exception of North America, soccer is a national sport and pastime.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is no different than the rest of Europe.
When their team played Turkey last Wednesday night, it felt like the whole country was gathered in front of the television or packed the stadium in Sarajevo.
We joined a group at a local bar in Mostar that was projecting the game on the wall outside.
Everyone moved as a group.
A team member got a break away everyone was on their feet cheering.
A collective Boo, when he missed.
In the end they tied, which was worthy of a celebration!
Bosnia and Herzegovina faired much better than Croatia, who was loosing five to one to England, when I got disgruntled and turned off the TV.

Dubrovnik

2009-09-09T02:06:00.000-07:00

Reaching Dubrovnik after an entire trip well off the tourist path has been a significant shocker.
Stalls selling trashy souvenirs, people yelling at locals in Spanish, Italian, and English, and overpriced, less than delicious food have taken away from the awe inspiring town.
But if you get your timing right, you’ll have a few blissful minutes to glimpse the sun setting behind the fortress wall – all alone.

Internet

2009-09-09T02:02:00.000-07:00

Finally a half decent internet connection and one I am pretty sure I can’t destroy.

I managed to knock out internet in a small and overly expensive café in Sarajevo. I disconnected the keyboard so I could plug in my USB key and file a couple of photos for work.

Apparently I knocked something I shouldn’t have.

The guy came over randomly pulled on something then shook his finger at us.

The internet flickered to life.

I hit send on my e-mail.

Then I pulled out my USB key.

The internet died completely.

The e-mail did get through somehow.

But, we high-tailed it out of that café pretty quickly.

Kraška Ohcet

2009-08-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

Images from Kraška ohcet, a traditional wedding festival for Slovenians living in Italy.

Getting ready

The groom heads a procession to meet his bride

On their way to the church

Dancing in celebration of the wedding

Going home to meet the parents

More mosquito complaints...

2009-08-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve got good news and bad news.
The bad news is that the mosquitoes in northern Italy love me as much as the ones in Cuba, Saskatchewan, Uganda and Thailand … which is good news for the mosquitoes.
I currently have six of the ugliest welts/bruises around mosquito bites. The bites are almost a week old – this is beyond ridiculous.
Seriously, who is allergic to mosquito bites? Besides, apparently, me.
I guess the good news for me is, here I don’t have to worry about West Nile or Malaria.

A walk in the park?

2009-08-28T03:12:00.000-07:00

The difference between hiking and mountaineering is subtle until one is actually on the side of a mountain.
Then it becomes extremely obvious.
Hiking is a gentle stroll through alpine meadows while singing and enjoying water from little streams.
Mountaineering is virtually climbing – clinging to cliffs, scrambling across rocks and sliding down trails of slippery shale.
I, unfortunately, was not hiking. And I didn’t realize it until stepping off the gondola at 2,300 metres.
Then I was committed, or I should have been.
Everyone I was with kept pointing out beautiful little wildflowers or the amazing views. I’m not going to lie. I didn’t see much except the next place I would put my foot.
In the end, my experience on Mt. Kanin, in North West Slovenia, was positive.
I survived, had only two moments of refusing to step any further and ate delicious soup at a little mountain hut, the fourth highest in all the Alps.
Today the biggest climb I will make, is out of bed.

On eating well

2009-08-25T13:38:00.001-07:00

Slovenian food is amazing.
Everyone talks about going to Florence and Tuscany seems to be the buzz word in foodie circles these days, but seriously they’ve got nothing on the things my Teta (great aunt) Mira can whip up.
I’ve had fresh strudel with apples, raisins, ground walnuts and almonds and chocolate. There has been peppers stuffed with ground beef, pork and risotto rice, and bathed in rich tomato sauce.
We had a spinach and cheese pastry with hommade goulash.
With every meal is bread with a crusty outside and soft inside and fresh sheep’s cheese from a huge round.

Let me put it this way – it’s a good thing I am walking lots!!

For her the bells toll

2009-08-25T13:37:00.001-07:00

The bells at the local church chime at every hour all day and all night. Usually during the night I can ignore them, but they do a particularly loud and musical chime at 6 a.m.
It is the official wake up bell for the community.
I am looking forward to sleeping through it.

Equally loud, but significantly longer is the chime at 8 p.m. Historically, this was the time when all the girls in the village had to be home.
My guess is the long chime before the hour marks was to give the girls a chance to get home.
So the tradition has stayed in place, the bells sound amazing, but the girls get to ignore it.

Unattended Bags

2009-08-24T05:22:00.000-07:00

So being on the road again has given me the urge to restart my blog after almost a year.
There always seems to be a common thread when I travel and that is a significant dislike for pointless, overzealous security.
And unfortunately for me the French seem particularly good at this.
While flying through Paris on route to Slovenia I had to switch terminals, which meant leaving a secure area, clearing immigration and taking a bus.
Before reaching the exit doors everyone was rerouted by angry looking, but mysteriously quiet airport security. People from at least three or four flights were funnelled away from the exit doors in to baggage holding areas where they left us for almost 45 minutes.
No one said anything until almost the end, when the rumour moved through the group that the police had been called because of a left bag.
Apparently it was third time it had happened that morning – it was only 11 a.m.
Left baggage in the departure area seems worrying, but in the arrivals? Maybe the person got stuck in a long line in immigration.
Isn’t an unattended bag less scary once it has been taken off the plane??

Not blogging right now

2008-11-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

Instead of blogging I have spent way to much time watching movies. When I blog it’s usually because I’ve been following world events, but when I follow world events from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan it stresses me out immensely.

Congolese refugees are streaming into Uganda
Somali pirates capture an oil tanker
Protests are going on in Bangkok still
A black man was elected President of the United States

I feel like I am sitting on the side lines and watching these events pass me by. It makes me ache and want to scream. What am I doing here?
So I don’t blog right now.
I watch movies.
But I am almost finished with the movies now and nearly have another book review finished so I will begin blogging again.

…. I hope.

Where is TIA?

2008-11-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

I am both excited and worried.

I’m excited because it looks like the new President of the United States will be Obama. This makes me very happy – for more reasons then I can list.

I’m worried because one of my favourite blogs – TIA (short for This is Africa) has disappeared! Completely and Totally. If anyone knows what happened please let me know.

I’m excited because tomorrow I hit the road for La Ronge, an area three hours north of where I live. Myself and another reporter from the paper will be doing some reporting on issues more north of us – the so called “Northern Notebook”

African Reading Challenge: The White Masai

2008-10-29T06:21:00.000-07:00

The White Masai
By Corinne Hofmann

Maybe I was biased from the beginning. I told my self I wouldn’t like The White Masai and then I didn’t like it. It wasn’t the story I didn’t like, it was the main character – she was just so stupid.

As a fiction – it wouldn’t have been so bad, cheesy romance where love overcomes all (but not really). But as a “true story” it makes me want to scream with frustration. It took a lot of effort to see it through and I just kept thinking how many millions Corinne Hofmann must have made capitalizing on her “love story.” It’s insane.

To begin Corinne is on vacation in Kenya when she sees a Masai that she falls deeply in love with. So after going home she breaks up with her boyfriend and returns to Kenya to hook-up with said boyfriend. She goes back to his village with him etc.

There are a few trips between Switzerland and Kenya she decides marrying him is a good plan and does so without any understanding of culture, lifestyle, local language or plans for the future.

She is unable to live like locals although she tries – can’t fill her roll in the society and ends up mooching off other people. She opens a store for a while. Then she starts getting really sick because in her attempt to be a “real Masai” she doesn’t take precautions for her decidedly not Masai body. She gets malaria and Hep C among others.

Eventually she has a baby and her husband begins to get insanely jealous and long story short she flies back to Switzerland and sends notes back to Kenya saying sorry, but I couldn’t take it anymore.

The end.

The stupid part is – with some modifications she might have been able to make it work – but she completely ignored the advice of everyone. Also if she was so determined to be the “white Masai” she probably should have acted like a Masai woman and less like a European one – that may have helped her immensely.

Sure she was in love and everything she did was for that love. But, she was so naïve it was insane and then – in the end – she markets the whole thing.

This book – while an “interesting exotic tale of love and adventure” – left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Moving up in the news world

2008-10-19T09:26:00.001-07:00

This is a screen grab from a moment of excitement at work when it was realized my article on breast-feeding had launched the Prince Albert Daily Herald to the main Google News Page – my photo and article and everything! Probably the first time the Daily Herald was there – kind of exciting for everyone…

And yesterday my story on the Northern Radio Telephone Service went out on the CP wire – with my name still attached to it. That is kind of a big deal!

Blog Action Day - Local Poverty

2008-10-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today is Blog Action Day and the theme is poverty, a topic that is often avoided because of the immensity of it.

What comes to mind when someone tells you to think about poverty?

For most people it is the extreme poverty. The one billion people in the world who may not survive the day and every minute of everyday is a constant struggle.

In Southeast Asia I saw that kind of poverty where families lived in tin roofed and cardboard complexes that stretched for miles on undesirable real estate. In small villages, way off the beaten track, in Uganda, I saw some of that – small, dusty children, with big eyes and bigger bellies. Non governmental organizations have done a very good job keeping that kind of poverty on television and on donation request forms. And don’t get me wrong it is something that needs to end.

But, there is a more local poverty, the type most people step over on street corners in North American cities, the type some people yell “get a job” at and it is more prevalent then most people want to know.

Why don’t we want to know? Because we don’t like to think our system has failed someone. We like to think that everyone has the same opportunities and some people have wasted them. To a certain extent I even felt like that – the starving people overseas are MORE in need, and MORE deserving of help.

Then I moved from Uganda to Prince Albert and realized a lot more people overseas have more then we think and lot more people in our cities and towns have a lot less.

In Saskatchewan one in 10 households will have trouble securing enough food. In the Aboriginal community these numbers go up to one in three – if there are children in the homes the numbers go up again to nearly 44 per cent.

Can you imagine? Fourty-four per cent of families in Aboriginal communities in Saskatchewan are not sure where their next meal is coming from? Probably not everyday, but even having to make the decision paying rent or feeding your family once is too often.

It’s almost funny how easy it is for some people to explain why people in our communities don’t need help.

If I say one in three households are food insecure, someone will tell me “well their bands should be caring for them,” or something far more nasty but to that effect.

If I say “what about homeless people on the downtown eastside?” someone will tell me “they are all drug dealers or prostitutes,” like it means they don’t deserve help.

I don’t understand it. If someone needs help, they need help – it doesn’t matter if you are black, white, or Aboriginal.

If we can send money away – why can’t we support some organizations here at home? I’m not saying to stop donating overseas. But, can you imagine how the local food bank or women’s shelter feels when they see the community pull together to send money or items to save starving orphans in Mali when they cannot give a starving child here something to eat.

My solution spread the wealth. If you only have enough money to donate to one organization keep doing it – but drop by the food back with an extra package of spagetti, leave used clothing at the Salvation Army or one of the collection boxes found in most cities.

Don’t have anything to give? Never under estimate the value of volunteering. Many “soup kitchens,” food banks and housing project operate on volunteers.

And while you are serving soup you might meet some of the people you are helping. Suddenly, the person you stepped over isn’t so scary and their look of gratitude might make you stand up and tell someone else to do something.

Because, as clichéd as it sounds, we can only end poverty (at home and abroad) if we work together.

ABC

2008-10-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

I would imagine the goal of these poster mail outs was to make people vote conservative. However, after receiving two of them in the mail – paid for by the taxpayer – it just make me think “ABC”

Anybody but Conservative.

The Bang-Bang Club: Book Review

2008-10-08T07:04:00.001-07:00

The Bang-Bang Club
Snapshots from a Hidden War
By Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva

“Let’s go find some bang-bang”

The Bang-Bang club is a group of photographers that banded together to lessen some of the dangers of working in the townships around Johannesburg in the early 90s. The book tells the story of the four (and some of their friends on the periphery) Greg Marinovich, Joao Silva, Kevin Carter, and Ken Oosterbroek and their images. Two of those four are now dead – one shot during the last days of violent uprising in 1994, the other by his own hand after a battle with drugs, the loss of his friend, and criticism over his Pulitzer prize winning photograph caught up with him.

The Bang-Bang club talks about the biggest fear I have as a journalist and photographer. How do you rationalize what you see through the lens, when do you help, why do you do what you do?

I know this isn’t one from my originally African Reading Challenge list – but I had to recommend it! As a photographer, I liked it. As someone interested in South Africa, I liked it. It’s violent, it’s sad, but somewhere in-between is a group of adrenalin-junkie photographers who make their impact on the world. You respect them for what they do – because most of us can’t and we need to see.

US government cuts funding to condoms

2008-10-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

The lead that arrived in my inbox two days ago -

The US government is cutting its funding for the supply of contraceptives to family planning clinics run by Marie Stopes International in Africa, alleging that it condones forced abortions in China.

MSI does some amazing work in Uganda and other countries. They play a huge role in HIV/AIDS prevention, testing and counselling in Owino Market ensuring people get access to medicines and CONDOMS.

MSI has categorically denied that it supports forced abortions or coercive sterilisation in China or anywhere else in the world, and says that the actions of the Bush government will result in more abortions in Africa, as women will be unable to get contraceptives and will end up with unwanted pregnancies.

As it turns out - at least if you listen to the group Catholics for Choice, Condoms for Life Campaign – the religious right plays a large role in influencing how USAID (and other American organizations) spends their money. On more than one occasion condoms have been pulled out of Aid packages in favour of the ABC approach to controlling HIV. I'm not saying anything about the accusations, just saying that USAID has looked for excuses for not sending condoms before this time. Funny they cut funding to condoms over abortion - that seems counter-intuitive.

If someone doesn’t believe in something that’s fine – but does that person have the right to make a life-or-death choice for someone else?

Article courtesy of Mail and Guardian (they are a great news source) and the rest can be found here.

Election Suggestion

2008-10-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Not that I believe in swaying the vote – I support all of you going out and making informed choices in our upcoming election – but if I was living in Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar I would choose Nettie Wiebe.

I first heard her speak at the annual Stapleford lecture at the University of Regina – where she spoke about food security to a packed auditorium. Here are some of the things she said back in 2005 in a lecture entitled “Who’s cooking the food system?”

She says she believes the right to food is a basic right, putting her on one side of the International debate and she says the food system is about values, nutrition, culture, and increasingly about power.
According to Weibe, a large part of the food system is knowing where the food is from and how far it has traveled.
“If you are what you eat, you should know what you are eating, no?”
She explained to a stunned audience that most of the food has traveled at least 2,000 – 3,000 km and that it has been packed, repacked, moved, and packed again. The human justice aspect plays a large role here.
“You know less and less about your food the further it travels,” she said. “The less you know the less democratically involved you can be in it.”
She says that in North America we are like those cheap toys found in dollar stores – made of 100 per cent unknown fibre. She said she thinks this is because “we have enough to eat.” Whereas 850 millions people in the world are food insecure, the politically correct term for starving.
“We need to regain control of food at the local levels,” she said. “We need to know who we are and what we are eating.”

She knows her stuff when it comes to big phrama getting rich, ecosystem destruction, brutal human processes and money making empires. And can tell you story after story on them.
So all you in the Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar riding - get involved and you might have someone stand up for you.

Food Aid Changes

2008-10-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

So according to an article in South Africa’s Mail and Guardian the United Nations is going to start buying surplus crops from low-income farmers in 21 developing countries for the World Food Programme.

Apparently 80 per cent comes from developing countries but all from traders (aka middle men) and large scale farmers (possible bad labour practices?).

The article says

"The world's poor are reeling under the impact of high food and fuel prices and buying food assistance from developing-world farmers is the right solution at the right time," said Josette Sheeran, WFP executive director, who said the Purchase for Progress scheme was a "win-win".

Win-win indeed – wonder why it took them so long to come up with this?

Charitable foundations established by Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, and Howard Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, are funding the project, which targets some of the world's poorest countries, including Sierra Leone, Malawi, Ethiopia and El Salvador. It is expected that 40 000 tons of food - enough to feed to 250 000 people for a year -- will be purchased in the first year.

Right it took Bill Gates and Howard Buffett to come up with this…

The farmers will be required to form collectives and the usual UN requirements for growers to provide surety bonds, transport and packaging materials will be relaxed or waived. By selling directly to the WFP rather than to middlemen, it is expected that the farmers will receive higher-than-normal prices.

That’s great – I have nothing bad to say about it!

Although it’s entertaining because as we grow closer to the deadline for the millennium development goals it seems that us developed countries are realizing we are going to have to work at achieving them

Apparently we just can’t make goals and then sit back – we have to work for them.

I really need to read...

2008-09-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite bloggers, Tumwijuke at Ugandan Insomniac posted a list of books she is embarrassed not to have read… then asks what about you.

So mine are:
Manufacturing consent by Noam Chomsky
The Weathermakers by Tim Flannery
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Sacred Balance by David Suzuki
Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

What’s yours?

No more miniskirts? Are you kidding?

2008-09-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

Uganda’s Minister of Ethics and Integrity strikes again

From BBC

Uganda's ethics and integrity minister says miniskirts should be banned - because women wearing them distract drivers and cause traffic accidents. Full story here.

… right….

Someone please, please tell me this is kind of joke.

Oh, it's not. That's really unfortunate. As a joke its kind of funny. As the reality - its really not.

To me this sounds like an excuse followed by the plea the girl was dressed like that so she was asking for it.

I kind of thought (maybe hoped) that Ugandan society was way past that stage.

Can someone please explain to me the actual purpose of an Ethics and Integrity Minister anyway? What does he has to follow? Are their guidelines? A rule book (or two)? Because I’m not really sure if a self righteous male should really be dictating the results of his moral compass to the population at large.

Since I have been paying attention he has done the following:

Told the Nigerian group P Square that if they sings their most famous song Do Me he would ban then from ever coming back – they sang it anyway (and it was awesome live!)
Banned the Vagina Monologues, I’m guess because of the word vagina, and not because he is totally anti the womens' movement (although I’m sure he is).
Banned a conference for female sex workers, who were suppose to talk about protecting themselves and being less vulnerable, they ended up traveling to Nairobi
And now… the mini skirt ban

This is why there needs to be a separation of church from state. Just saying.

On route to somewhere

2008-09-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

Many of you think I’m dead or got lost on route somewhere. The second one is mostly true. I don’t know where I was heading, but somewhere along the way I find myself in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

As I was starting to feel sorry for myself, long for a developing country, and for the types of things I would get to write about there, I realized something. So many of those issues I want to write about are here. And as soon as I stop churning out three-plus stories on SPCA walk-a-pet-a-thons and lunchtime nutrition for back to school I will delve into them.

A few observations I have made since arriving here a little over two weeks ago:

There is more racism here then I ever saw or experienced in Uganda – EVER!
As many as 22 per cent of the population doesn’t make enough money to feed themselves or their families
Injection drug use is high and therefore so is HIV
Prince Albert sits on the edge of nothingness

I’m a little more settled and a feeling much less tired so there will be more to come! And as soon as I get my library card, I will finish my African Reading Challenge books. Please don’t stop reading now that I am in Saskatchewan: you will miss lots and nothing is permanent in my life. Not even this. And I am on my way to somewhere; I'm just not sure where yet.

African Reading Challange - What is the what

2008-08-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

What is the What
by Dave Eggers

I almost stopped reading at page 50, then again at page 100. I hated the book at page 200. It was a great read, but the story was just so horrible. Each time I decided I wouldn’t read anymore, I read more, and in the end I really like it.

It is the story of Valentino Achak Deng, he is a refugee from southern Sudan, the ethnic conflict and problems that happened before what are hearing in Darfur. In the mid-1980s he flees his village becoming one of the “lost-boys.” His journey takes him into Ethiopia, before the refugees are thrown out, then back into Sudan, and finally he ends up in a the semi-permanent refugee camp in Kenya. He dodges malaria carrying mosquitoes, gun carrying soldiers and rebels, camel riding murahaleen (militias), crocodiles that eat people and 4000 other children on the move.

I think the part I found so hard, is the same thing that made the book so good, Valentino Achak Deng’s problems didn’t end when he got to America.

The story is gripping and heartbreaking, it is filled with adventures, tragedy, triumph, and suspense. And no one knows what is the what although several times Deng comes close.

“You didn’t tell us the answer: What is the what?
My father shrugged. “We don’t know. No one knows.”

Bombs Away

2008-08-23T22:51:00.001-07:00

I was listening to my grandmother talk about life in her village during the Second World War. She was saying how sometimes they would have to abandon their homes to hide out in the woods during bombings. That’s how her mother lost her job.

Apparently the American military was aiming for a road being created from the north of Italy straight through to Poland to help the Nazis move (whatever it was they were moving). Anyway, they missed. Instead the military hit the peanut oil factor where my Nona’s (grandmother’s) mom worked. Employment over. I understand now why they all left their homes – mistakes like that are costly for lives.

I made a typically snide remark about American Intelligence – mentioning the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in the Balkans.

"I think they make mistakes even now,” Nona said knowingly.

It seems that when it comes to bombing things from a plane things haven’t changed much drop the bomb and hope for the best.

African Reading Challange - We Wish to Inform You...

2008-08-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families.
by Philip Gourevitch

I had heard bits about the book, but what I was expecting was depressing accounts by Tutsi survivors from the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Instead I was surprised by this book that pulled me in telling me, yes some survivors accounts, but far more interesting what happened after, the role (or lack thereof) of the international community, and a peek at the bigger picture.

During the 1994 genocide the world at large was left in the dark about what was happening in Rwanda. Many in the media and NGO world wrote the actions of the Hutus off as “tribal conflict.” However with the subsequent migration of Hutus (both the killers and innocents) after the genocide into the Congo, the media became involved as cholera swept through the “refugee” camps. Suddenly those responsible were becoming the victims. And they were using the Aid organizations to their advantage.

“Many humanitarian Aid-Workers told me they had similarly anguished thoughts [of wanting a natural disaster to take out the refugee camps], but that didn’t stop them from settling in. It bothered them that the camp leaders might be war criminals, not refugees in any conventional sense of the world, but fugitives. It was unpleasant to hear these leaders say that the refugees would never return except as they had come, en masse, and that when they went back they would finish the job they had started with the Tutsis. And it was really disturbing that within weeks of their arrival, even before the cholera had been brought entirely under control, armed bands from the camps began waging a guerrilla war of blood cross-border raids on Rwanda. Some humanitarian agencies found the extreme politicisation and militarization of the camps so distasteful that in November 1994 they pulled out of Goma. But others eagerly filled the empty places.”

I had never heard this and Philip Gourevitch does an amazing job of interviewing everyone. It’s an opportunity to hear the story of the genocide and what happened after from all sides – victim, “criminal,” politicians – both locally and foreign, Aid workers, NGOs. It is absolutely worth the read!

One part in particular stood out to me. It is a description of genocide.

“’I hear you’re interested in genocide,’ the American said, ‘Do you know what Genocide is?’

I asked him to tell me.

‘A cheese sandwich,’ he said. ‘Write that down. Genocide is a cheese sandwich.’

I asked him how he figured that.

‘What does anyone care about a cheese sandwich?’ he said. ‘Genocide, genocide, genocide. Cheese sandwich, cheese sandwich, cheese sandwich. Who gives a shit? Crimes against humanity. Where’s humanity? Who’s humanity? You? Me? Did you see a crime committed against you? Hey, just over a million Rwandans. Did you ever hear about the Genocide convention?’

I said I had.

‘That convention,’ the American at the bar said, ‘makes a nice wrapping for a cheese sandwich.’”

The best way to sum up the book is the words of Robert Stone, an American Novelist.

“Young Philip Gourevitch brings us a report from the killing fields of Africa that makes him as a major successor to the handful of great correspondents who have risked life and safety to bring dark truths to a world reluctant to know of them. Like the greatest war reporters, he raises the human banner in hell’s mouth, the insignia of common sense, of quiet moral authority, of blessed humor. He has the mind of a scholar along with the capacity of a good novelist, and he writes like an angel. This volume establishes him as the peer of Michael Herr, Rysard Kapuscinski, and Tobias Wolff. I think there is no limit to what we may expect from him.”

And the title? It comes from a letter from a group of Tutsi and moderate Hutu that were hiding in a hospital, knowing the end was coming. They thought they may write to their mayor hoping he might help. (Turns out, he was probably behind it.) The politeness of the letter seems so out of place considering the circumstances.

Review written for the African Reading Challenge.

AIDS 2008 Day 5: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

2008-08-08T18:24:00.000-07:00

The Good

The current President of the International Aids Society (IAS) is Julio Montaner in his inaugural speech he called on Stephen Harper by name to step up! And even better the next IAS president is Elly Katabira, the first time an African will step into the role!!!
Amandla Ngawethu, was the call and response of a protest calling for governments to realize that poverty played a huge role in the cycle of HIV and Aids. These Xhosa/Zulu words which originated during the anti-apartheid movement simply mean “power to the people.”

The Bad

“HIV is a virus not a crime” New laws have been enacted in some African countries that can land those who transmit the virus (knowing or unknowingly) to someone else can end up in prison. Including in cases of Mother To Child Transmission.
In the US 65 per cent of Black women make up the new infections and these women are 23 times more likely to get HIV then white women.

The Ugly

New laws in France allow police to take down personal information including sexual orientation and HIV status of any person attending any HIV/Aids organization or event. This type of anti democratic move is the worst of its kind since World War II

AIDS 2008 Day 4: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

2008-08-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

The Good

Meeting up with someone I knew from Kampala. Marion. I went to KPC (Kampala Pentecostal Church) with her on Saturday afternoons! Yay mini reunions and she said she would smuggle me back in her luggage.
‘The eyes of the hippo.’ Greatest phrase ever – it’s the ‘tip of the iceberg’ equivalent. It’s used by all those in sub-Saharan countries who don’t know what an iceberg is.
The highlight of today was being called a hero. Someone who has kind of followed my work since the last Aids Conference looks at everything I did and said you are like two women – part photographer and part hero. Or something to that effect.

The Bad

Carrying bags that are too heavy, my shoulders are killing me.
Some of the most interesting sessions are run concurrently. So you have to try being several places at once or pick one.
All the white, male scientists who refer to “test sites” in Uganda, like it isn’t people that are trying the microbicide, PreP, or whatever.

The Ugly

Having people use the question period as a time to vent their issues. For example, this morning at ‘To cut or not to cut: A look at Male Circumcision” a woman from the (and I kid you not) International Coalition for Genital Integrity started spouting random “facts.” And no one stopped her for nearly 5 minutes…
More than 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to clean water. Can you imagine?
Getting caught in traffic and taking 2.5 hours to get from the conference centre to where I stay. It usually only takes 1 – 1.25 hours.

AIDS 2008 Day 3: The Good, Bad and Ugly

2008-08-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

The Good:

The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF). Following the idea of Akina Mama wa Afrika, AWDF is run by African women for African women, meeting the needs of those groups who are dismissed by larger funding organizations.
The Mexican torta; it’s a sandwich only better!
Meeting up with friends and colleagues from past conferences and experiences and catching up.

The Bad:

When it rains so hard the sound of the water hitting the roof completely drowns out the plenary speaker.

The Ugly:

Me forgetting that the number on the signature for my e-mail is for my parents’ house. Then having someone you are trying to impress call and talk to your mom. Good news is, he thought it was hilarious.

AIDS 2008 Day 2: The Good, Bad and Ugly

2008-08-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

The Good:

Today I met Svend Robinson. For that average person that is no big deal, but I think he is a pretty cool guy. And I got through the entire conversation without any embarrassing comments, and tripping. For those of you keeping score I am two for two.
The global village is good, really good. People from NGOs and other organization are all together creating a completely comfortable, open and safe environment. People wear whatever they want; women rights workers are interacting with youth members who have meetings with people from Latin America etc.

The Bad:

The walk between the global village and the rest of the conference in the Centro Bannamex is 15 minutes. It’s usually fine until you are running late for the shuttle buses.

The Ugly:

Listening to a white, female anthropologist, tell a Kenyan researcher of the impact of medical circumcision on traditional circumcision, how circumcision should be celebrated in his community. He listened politely and I nearly went insane.
There are so many white researchers presenting papers on African issues on behalf of a group. Why am I not seeing more of the local ‘African’ or ‘Asian’ researchers?

Developing countries

2008-08-05T10:50:00.001-07:00

I love developing countries! Mexico isn’t as good as Uganda, but it still has all the parts I love.

Sketchy food served from vendors that have never even heard of food safe, let alone having any certification
Men that check me out – that are my own age – that never happens in Canada.
Buses that pick you up when you flag them down.
People that smile at you when you are walking down the street
Garbage on the road and rats – okay maybe I don’t love that part but its still one of the things I am prepared to deal with here instead of in Canada.

Gotta go a protest is brewing outside the media centre and I need to go check it out.

AIDS 2008 Day 1: The Good, Bad and Ugly

2008-08-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Good:

One of the seminars I attended today was satellite linked in to Durban in South Africa. It was so cool.
Met Stephen Lewis in the hall today and didn’t freak out. I simply asked how he was, he asked how I was, I smiled then continued onto the escalator. And I didn’t trip. Life is good!

The Bad:

Compared to some many amazing people here, I feel awfully young and inexperienced sometimes. Conferences of this size are very overwhelming.
I was nearly run over by the Vice President of Tanzania today. I was in the way, and his security detail tried to move me, but I was completely oblivious to what was going on, and thus was stepped on.

The Ugly:

The worst was the audience member who stood up to tell everyone that those people in the country of Africa didn’t wear condoms because they believed in witchcraft. It took the Kenyan on my right and the Nigerian on my left to stop me from killing him.

Stephen Harper and Bob Marley

2008-08-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

My dislike for Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, has been refreshed, again.

During the opening ceremony of the 17^th International Aids Conference the President of Mexico Felipe Calderón made an excellent opening speech. He wished all of the 23,000 participants of the meetings to have much success in their work among making promises to Mexicans in Spanish that seemed to thrill all the Mexicans present.

At this point I would like to mention that Stephen Harper didn’t even show his face (or send a representative with his regrets) to the 16^th International Aids Conference. Again, Harper shows himself to be a real class act.

Anyway, Bob Marley goes down as being the most quoted tonight.

Peter Piot of UNAIDS: “To quote a great Caribbean poet Bob Marley ‘Get up, Stand up, Stand up for your rights – Get up, Stand up, Don’t give up the fight.”

Denzil Douglas PM of St. Kitts and Nevis: “As Peter already did I will quote Bob Marley, ‘Lets get together and feel alright.”

This really makes me think – there are Bob Marley lyrics for everything… more to come.

The Pat Down

2008-08-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have a new rule; I don’t care how cheap the flight is I am no longer flying through the USA.

Okay, in reality I will likely always pick the cheaper flight, but it makes me so cranky to clear US immigration, customs and security – especially when it is all in my own country. And I am only transferring through the US – I’m not even staying.

I’m sure the security lady could sense that I hadn’t had any tea, or breakfast, that I had been up since 4:30 am and had just walked from the other side of the airport – prime candidate for “additional screening.”

I had my bags hand searched, tested, and I was patted down.

Indeed I was patted down, in full view of everyone – it was like a massage – part of me wanted to scream and the other part of me wanted to hire her full time. Although mostly it made me feel like everyone around me was thinking “what did that girl do.”

I had to take off my shoes (with small heels) to allow the security woman to reach my shoulders. Gotta say, random extra screening does not make me feel any better about security. What was she going to find that all the extra attention from the lady holding the wand missed?

Bad journalism and my response

2008-07-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

The road to hell is often paved with good intentions. And often, no matter the intention, people who “volunteer” in Africa do more harm than good. A big part of the harm comes from the misinformation they bring back (Middle school student is on a serious mission, Jul. 4).

After spending almost a year in Uganda I was thrilled when someone gave this article to me. That joy quickly turned to horror when I read what was written about the country I had come to see as my second home.

The very first thing to say is Uganda does not smell like body odour and garbage. In the country it smells like charcoal cooking stoves, and in the city it can smell like exhaust when you are walking down the street. Sometimes, when you are wedged in the back of a minivan (the public transport) between two people for a several hours it can be a little smelly – but I challenge anyone here to smell good after long, hot, dust-filled trips. I never found the smell of garbage unless I was standing next to a garbage truck. Despite garbage on the road and mud or dust (weather dependent) people keep themselves, their clothes, and shoes astonishingly clean.

Experiencing a country for a few days doesn’t create an understanding. One out of every two children in Uganda is not HIV positive. The HIV prevalence rate is less than 10 per cent – with most people saying it is 7.6 per cent. This is very low when compared to other sub-Saharan African countries – something Ugandans are quite proud of.

The country is beautiful and the people are known to be the most hospitable. Often families take in children whose parents have died (from HIV or otherwise) ensuring the children have a roof over their heads, and hopefully some food.

There is a lot of history and culture in Uganda. Some of it is fascinating and beautiful, but other traditions are very difficult for North Americans to understand. I don’t support some of them, but it’s up to the Ugandans to change their own society. Many of the younger generation – those who are growing up to run the country one day – find the idea of child marriage as despicable as Westerners. To simply say “if girls don’t get an education they get married off to old men that rape them,” is unfair and judgemental. It paints a horrible picture of a society that is undergoing change.

If you give a Ugandan the choice between dignity – not being stared at, their lives dissected, and judgements made – and money, they would pick dignity every time. Just as we would be angry if someone wrote horrible comments about where and how we live – so are Ugandans.

I sent this article to a friend of mine in Uganda and he asked a pretty good question. “If you think it’s so bad here, then why do you come?” He answers it too. “Most Muzungus come to make money and then they go back and say nasty things.” He is referring to the numerous groups that look at the worst parts of the society and display them as spectacle to continue to keep their organizations in business. His anger is just one voice of many.

So, you want to help? Stay home. Find someone in Uganda that you trust (an individual or a sister organization) and entrust them with the money and overseeing a project. Unless you have some specific skill set that others don’t, you are not helping and just taking the jobs away from those who need them. If you travel to paint a school, you can feel good about yourself and get to know how lucky you are. But, the cost of the plane ticket alone could have hired several locals and subsequently supported their families.

While the fundraising effort to support new schools is commendable and it’s great that students at schools around Victoria are becoming aware of global issues, this money doesn’t give North Americans licence to act superior. Spend (and donate) your money wisely, watch who you listen too, and stay here if you really want to help.

Readjustment

2008-07-24T22:02:00.001-07:00

Readjusting to the developed world is hard.

Currently, I am job hunting and soon it will be apartment hunting. These make up two of my least favourite tasks. But, it’s 100 times harder when I keep thinking about what I left behind.

I get upset when I go out. Not because I am thinking how lucky we are here compared to how unfortunate others are. I don’t feel the urge to lecture everyone I meet (although some people get it). I am sad because all of this is becoming normal again. Too quickly the Ugandan lifestyle is disappearing.
I rarely drive on the wrong side of the world.
I forget how lucky I am to have real cheese, I just think – well of course.
I am getting used to no one staring at me.

Meh, enough of that… this makes the second whining post in a row. I will start being upbeat. In fact I am starting to read another in my African Reading Challenge – We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families. Wait, that’s not upbeat. Alright, after that.

Missing Uganda

2008-07-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Right now, I am missing

Uganda

a lot.
I want to get a boda boda, when I am running late and still have a few blocks from the bus stop to my meeting, but no bodas here.
I want to eat matoke and ground nut (strange, I know, but true).
I want to walk down a dirt road from the main road to my apartment with kids yelling ‘muzungu’ at me.
I want to sit in the sun with perfect strangers and discuss the day.
I want to go Café Pap, Ban Café, or 1000 Cups with my friends.
I want to go and dance – nightclubs in

Canada

seem to be overrun with 14-year-olds in mini skirts (for those who don’t know the drinking age in 19).
I want to sit in the Sheraton Gardens making fun of horribly dressed bridal parties getting wedding photos taken. Seriously ruffles, lace, ribbons, and beading don’t all go together.
I want to see things here that I find as interesting as things in Uganda so I can post more often. I miss posting all the time.

It’s getting bad. I can tell because I even missing load shedding – what? The power is still on? I miss sketchy broken-down taxis and even sketchier boda rides. I miss high-carb diets and random bouts of food poisoning – I haven’t been really sick in weeks. I miss having to fight with a mosquito net every night.

And in an effort to make myself feel better I read my favourite Ugandan Blogs: Scarlett Lion - Uganda, Jackfruity, Notebook: East Africa, Ugandan Insomniac, TIA (This is Africa), and Pernille’s Louder than Swahili. It doesn’t work. Now, I just miss it more, and am jealous of all the people who are still there.

I’m heading to Mexico to the International Aids Conference in two weeks. Maybe that will help.

Life on Vancouver Island

2008-07-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

I live on an island. It is a big island by most standards, you can see it clearly on most maps, it takes nearly 10 hours to drive from end to end, and about three to drive across its thickest part.

But, it is an island.

This means aside from swimming there are two ways off.

One is to fly. A better option in my opinion as it takes 24 minutes from take-off to landing, but this is a fairly expensive option.

Option two is the boat. It is advertised as a beautiful two-hour boat trip between the island and the rest of Canada. Usually I would agree but not today. Today it is two hours on an over air-conditioned roller coaster. Seriously, I think I am going to be sick. Pitch and roll is not really how you want to spend two hours.

Charming, I still have to go back.

Happy Canada Day?

2008-07-08T23:44:00.000-07:00

So for the first time in a couple of years I spent Canada Day in Canada. A novel concept I know...
But here's the worst part. After seeing the gong show Canada Day has become especially in downtown Victoria, I just miss Uganda more.
The excessive drinking, swearing, violence, and general icky behaviour from people of all ages, all while they sing Oh Canada, has really left a bad taste in my mouth.

So Happy Canada Day, but I miss Uganda.

Africa Reading Challenge - Mine Boy

2008-06-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

Although I finished reading it some time ago – I have finally made time to review my first book in the Africa Reading Challenge…

Mine Boy
By Peter Abraham

Mine Boy is the story of Xuma, who comes from a village in the north to work the mines in an effort to find a better life. When he arrives in Johannesburg he is naïve, but quickly changes to adapt to the values of the underprivileged world in which he finds himself.

Leah, a tough woman who makes what money she can by selling illegal beer and avoiding capture by police, takes in Xuma and introduces him to the people who help him adjust to his new life. She is just one of many characters created by Abraham’s to show how people operate differently in that world.

Despite Xuma’s ability to adapt, he meets with obstacles and heartbreak at every turn, the woman he loves doesn’t return his affection as she wants the white person’s way of life. Someone close to Xuma dies. His job at the mine is threatened after an accident.

Through all of this Abraham is able to paint a picture of the resilience of the people who lived with constant discrimination during the apartheid regime.

Alright, I clearly suck at writing reviews so let me make a long story short. I really liked this book. To me, any good book is one I can’t put down because it pulls me in, I cry, laugh, and I am outraged. This book makes me feel all of it and despite it being fiction I come away feeling I have learned something. Therefore highly recommend it. And it’s a really short read – so you can’t go wrong.

100th Post

2008-06-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

Apparently the last post was my 100th post. I feel like I should have something meaningful or exciting to say - I don't really, so here are a couple of photographs.

Public Health

2008-06-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

I am a public health risk.

Last week my doctor had me submit several samples (actually I’ve never seen so many sterile containers in my life – a change from Uganda where they give you a film reel container).

We were going to find out what was wrong with me once and for all!

Results came back – I got my prescription.

Then the phone rang.

Public health was casually calling to asking me about my Campylobacter – you know where I got it, were other people at risk.

Nope, I told him he doesn’t have to worry; the people of Victoria are safe.

But, I understand the concern Campylobacter is supposed to be self limiting (that means goes away on its own). Looks like I’ve had it since January. Apparently eating raw meat in Ethiopia was a VERY bad plan.

Now, I’m on some pretty strong antibiotics for five days, and I’ll be back to normal – whatever THAT is.

Happy to be home?

2008-06-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

“You must be glad to be home”

I respond with a weak smile.

“Are you glad to be home?”

Not really.

The truth?

I am happy to see my family. I am happy not to dial long distance to talk to my friends. But glad to be home? Not really.

After you live in a developing country something changes. And whatever it is I miss it.

Leaving Uganda...

2008-06-17T02:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but it's true. My time in Uganda is coming to an end - very fast. In fact today. I really should start packing.

However that doesn't mean the end of the blog. Once I get home and stop crying long enough to actually be able to see my computer screen I will be posting again. A few more from Kampala, about what it's like to be home and the upcoming trip to the AIDS Conference in Mexico City.

So this is not goodbye, but see you soon.

Fish Friday

2008-06-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Every Friday since the end of March has involved a fish that has been grilled to perfection in a secret place with my two closest friends in Uganda.

We named it Fish Friday and it has been the site of joy, sorrow, birthdays, and celebrations.

Today I am breaking the first rule of Fish Friday – which is never to talk about Fish Friday. But, I feel the urge to share exactly how amazing a BBQ Nile perch can be!!

It comes with grilled matoke, and soda. You eat with your fingers, and it comes with the head, tail and all the fins still on.

I am not longer squimsh about eating things with eyes. In fact according to one of my friends the eyes are the best part – he also gets the ones from my fish.

This feast we keep on the down-low because it so cheap, and if word gets out, if the muzungus come the price will rise.

So each week we look forward to Friday, and this week we say goodbye. It is the last Fish Friday before I leave Uganda, and both my fish friends said it won’t be the same without me.

But for now I look forward to Friday, only two days left!

Murchison Falls

2008-06-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I have been bad with posting lately, aside from the fact I am going home soon and trying to wrap up my life here, is I was in Murchison Falls National Park.

While I could have done without the game drive – I am a bit spoilt post Serengeti – but the trip up the Nile to the bottom of the falls by boat was amazing. As was the view from the top.

After my short adventure, I have a few observations to make.

The hippopotamus is a huge animal. I mean absolutely massive.
The Nile crocodile can also grow to be huge, and I currently hold the belief that no reptile with that many teeth should be allowed to grow that big. And PS – to the boat driver, we really didn’t need to get that close
The Nile pushing itself through a 7m wide gorge, is very powerful, should not be tried in a barrel and is an amazing site to see.
Warthogs are kind of cute, when you watch them for long enough.
Rules in Uganda are so different than rules in North America. I was so close to the top of the falls, I would have found myself at the bottom if I had slipped – and I am a klutz.

Uganda Cranes

2008-06-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

You win some and you loose some, and unfortunately for the Uganda Cranes they tend to lose more then they win.

But that doesn’t stop the fans.

Two weeks ago against Niger, we won and the crowd went crazy. It was a world cup qualifier and the noise was amazing.

Last week we played Benin, in Benin, and we lost – to the squirrels.

Indeed I think the Ugandan Insomniac is on to something when she said the names help. Uganda needs something tougher then the cranes, and Benin definitely needs something tougher than the squirrels.

No matter what I think of the name, the Cranes play again on Saturday, and I will be there to cheer them on.

Smarten Up...

2008-06-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

To the people of South Africa,
Don't you remember what it was like to be mis-treated because of who you were? Why are you now doing it again?
Please stop.

Kibera

2008-05-29T02:42:00.000-07:00

So I was in Nairobi a couple of days ago and for part of my very brief city tour I asked to see Kibera, the second largest ‘slum’ in Africa (only after Soweto).

I learned that this was where much of the violence took place during the Kenyan Crisis. They are rebuilding now, as a community, erecting new stalls in places where some were burnt down, repairing the church that was torched, and digging peace gardens in ditches that were full of the rubble.

I also learned something else. The people of Kibera were those that tore up the tracks, which stopped fuel from moving into Uganda. I was angry for a brief moment – transport during that time had been horrendous! But, then I learned why.

Museveni had sent in many Ugandan soldiers to help quell the violence and support the corrupt government. These soldiers had killed many people. Those in Kibera were just fighting back.

Suddenly the fuel doesn’t seem so expensive.

Going UP

2008-05-29T02:35:00.000-07:00

Food prices in Uganda are climbing like crazy. Groceries in stores and the markets are getting more expensive. Children’s boarding school fees are going up – meaning fewer are attending school.

And Antonio’s Restaurant have increased the price of their breakfasts from sh 3,000 to sh 3,500.

Doesn’t sound like a lot – but that is a big, big deal.

We are definitely on the edge of a big crisis.

Not to point fingers, but I think we could maybe look at certain drug companies, who engineer genes in seeds that stop growing after one year (*cough* Monsanto *cough*) or economies that literally force the end of the ‘family farm.’

A call to the Western world, we need to stop with our wasteful habits and consume only out share or the rest of the world is going to face a very big problem.

Zanzibar

2008-05-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

So approximately 24 hours after my mother told me the best vacation for me would be one with out my cell phone or internet access, we landed on Zanzibar.

About 8 hours after that, the power went out ... yes on the whole island.
Two days later (now) I have found a place that runs their internet cafe on generators - YAY! Internet!

Did I mention that all outgoing text messages and calls from an MTN phonecard (mine) are blocked on Zanzibar.

For two days my Mom got her wish and I was twitchy.
Feeling better now and more to come on the Spice Isle later.

On Safari

2008-05-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my! Okay, well there were no tigers or bears on the Serengeti, but there were lions, and zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, elephants, a cheetah, and a leopard.

EBB to JRO via where?

2008-05-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Today I flew Air Uganda from Entebbe, Uganda, to Arusha, Tanzania – in the least direct way possible. As we were passing Mt. Kilimanjaro the stewardess announced we would be landing in Dar-es-Salaam.

I checked my ticket. It said JRO. JRO was Kilimanjaro right? Why was I flying over the airport to Dar?

I figured maybe she meant JRO and said Dar by accident. She didn’t. We were first flying to Dar, on the coast, then back to Kilimanjaro. It was the long way round. Apparently more cost effective for them, but someone should have mentioned it when I bought the tickets.

I think my heart is beating normally again now.

'Rock with Akon' Concert

2008-05-11T01:10:00.000-07:00

On Friday night we ‘Rocked with Akon.’ The American-Senegalese singer was two weeks late, but he eventually arrived, and rocked he did.

After he managed to skip two of the cel-tel sponsored performances in Kampala, I didn’t have a lot of respect, but he forced me to gain it back and more. Not only did he perform for at least an hour and a half, he crowd surfed, battled random fans that made it to the stage (past some scary looking security), and he was talented.

At one point while crawling over fans hands during something he called Unity, he was pulled down, and disappeared. The spotlights were looking for him, the music stopped, and the security could be heard yelling.

That’s it – I thought when they found him again – show’s over. But he got right back on stage and kept performing, then went into the crowd and did it again.

The whole night was like that – the Nigerian brothers P-Square sent the crowds screaming and cheering for more, Ugandan Bobbi Wine asked for a minute of silence to remember 20 kids that died in a school fire two weeks ago, and Uganda’s Chameleon climbed the rigging.

As Chameleon swung from the rafters and danced high above the stage, I managed to get out “they’d never be allowed to do that in North America” between my cheering.

It was a night to remember

An Airport at Entebbe

2008-05-09T04:31:00.000-07:00

I am still alive - sorry about the lack of posting. My mom has arrived for a visit and I am really enjoying the chance to catch up with her.

I'll let you know something I have learned through. When I first arrived in Kampala, shortly before CHOGM, I came in through a barn like building at the airport. I thought that was the airport.

I have since learned there is an actual airport with walkways, conveyor belts and real immigration windows. Apparently the renovations taking place for CHOGM had shut the main terminal down the day I arrived.

So there you go. There is an actual airport in Entebbe.

Enough Said

2008-05-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

I know I talk about how corrupt the Kampala taxi drivers are, but I’m not sure if I have explained the condition of said taxis well enough.

Now I don’t have to. My favourite cartoonist Zapiro, from South Africa’s Mail and Guardian, has done it for me.

Our rising food costs

2008-04-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine asked me about the ‘growing food crisis’ - ie riots in Haiti, food prices going up - and am I seeing anything on the ground here in Kampala.

It’s a good question and we are definitely seeing the effects. In fact it was at the news meeting last Wednesday that I realized how fast food prices here were rocketing. Firstly many of the men were complaining that the price of meat had jumped sh 1,500 (nearly 50 per cent), and bread has gone up also. It hadn’t really effected me directly, but then the place were I have been buying milk a litre went from sh 700 to sh 1,000 ($0.41 to $0.52 CAN) Not a big deal to me, but a really big deal to many of the local people that now can only afford half-a-litre.

And Uganda is not supporting itself with a lot of products. Sure we have local produce vendors, butchers, and dairy stalls, but on a grander scale, Uganda is as depended on what is going on in the world as most of the other developing nations. And for sure when the problems get worse, then it’s the developing world that will bare the brunt of it.

The World Trade Organization tends to favour the developed world and many countries have trade embargos slapped on them if the government so much as attempts to help the agriculture off the ground. Not like Canada, where a quota system is applied to the dairy and poultry industry without punishment. It’s also why the BC softwood lumber thing goes on and on. The WTO can’t do much without the USA permission. That means the farmers here can’t ever grow enough for their own country let alone enough to looking after East Africa.

Now I realize I just made a very complex issue far too simple, but that’s the bare bones.

Checking my taps

2008-04-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I learned there is something worse than not having running water in your house. It is having running water in your house for an afternoon before it stops again.

Yesterday afternoon, I saw the toilet bowl had filled itself, so for kicks I turned on the tap. It worked! I washed dishes with water from the tap, had a shower and was able to flush the toilet and watch it refill.

I was so careful thinking that the water might run out or something. But it was there all afternoon. I went out for a while and came back. It had stopped running.

I thought maybe when I woke up this morning it would be back. I was wrong. I keep turning the taps in desperate hope only to be disappointed over and over again.

The worst part is I feel guilty about being frustrated about my lack of water. In reality I have it good – I can fill my jerry cans from the tap in the compound, and in the middle of the night the water usually comes on long enough to fill the toilet tank. Other people in the neighbourhood have to make a long trek to get water (see post here).

I have it good, I know I do, but I would love to see water running out of my taps again!

Excuse me, I have to go check.

Some Things Never Change…

2008-04-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Since arriving in Uganda a few things have changed for me. One of those is no longer feeling upset or sad when I see children begging, instead I feel anger at the parents that dump their one-year-olds on the side of the road to beg. I feel anger at the government for having no place for the children, if children are neglected or abused parents go to jail, and the kids? They either live alone, with relatives, or move to the prison with their parents.

But, that is an entirely different rant and a bit of a tangent. Of the things that never change:

My heart will always break when I walk past Nasolo Ward (the children’s unit) at Mengo hospital and see a mother outside, alone, sobbing.
I will always be angry when a taxi driver tries to charge me extra – thinking either I am rich and don’t care or I am stupid and don’t know better.
I will always laugh and wave when primary school kids see me, and wave. They call out “Muzungu” until I turn and return the wave.
I will hate walking in the thick red mud after the rain, especially in sandals and especially in Owino and the taxi parks, for sure nothing is grosser. My problem isn’t so much the mud but what mixed in with it.
I will always be hungry when I smell, see or hear a rolex cooking.
It will always get my back up when I hear whites refer to things as ‘African’. Listening to Sky News the other day it was playing a feed from the UK parliament and one of the MPs was talking about something and he said, “Would you rather have ethanol in your cars or bread in African’s stomachs.” I really had no idea what he was talking about but I was insulted on behalf of all my Ugandan friends who put bread (and much more) in their own stomachs!

When in Rome....

2008-04-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

From the New Vision

Breaking Ugandan social customs

Thursday, 17th April, 2008

By Angela Hill

AFTER living in Uganda for nearly eight months, I have managed to keep my social faux pas to a minimum. I was not always socially aware and I am sure I insulted more than one person after my arrival.

The first thing I got used to was a handshake that lasted an entire conversation. One of the administrators at the hospital where I was staying introduced himself to me and we shook hands. I started to let go, but he held firm. Jerking my hand away seemed rude, so it just hung there.

Now, I find myself doing the same to other bazungu (white people), until I notice the look of curiosity on their faces.
The biggest mistake I made was refusing food.

I had not been feeling well and the amount of food piled on the plate was too much. I politely said “No, thank you, maybe I can have some later.” What would have been perfectly acceptable back home, led to the longest lecture I have received on how rude it was.

The cook’s anger and hurt lasted two days. I learned never to refuse food.
A couple of secrets I learned for dodging food:

l Sitting near children. Most of them are willing to eat a little more matooke (green bananas) or chicken.

l Helping yourself in a buffet style setting.
Another of my early mistakes was buying food and eating it on the go. In Canada, it is common to have coffee or tea in a mug on your way to work as you munch a biscuit or bun.

One woman said: “Boy, you must be hungry.” I smiled and replied that I was. Then a friend told me it was not okay to walk and eat. I was embarrassed.
A custom I found easiest to adapt to was eating with my hands.

In Canada, I am always picking at my meals with my fingers and my mother smacks my hands. Imagine my delight when I realised it was okay here!
There have been other things that, with time, I have subconsciously adapted to.

Back home, I could be described as a feminist. Here, I learned that Baganda women are expected to kneel when greeting older, respected relatives or their husbands.

Initially, I was outraged, but as time passed, even I involuntarily drop to my knees. If I cannot, for example, in a taxi, I lower my head. However, when I see a young woman on her knees in the mud, my inner feminist cries.

The most difficult cultural difference to get used to is how body shape and size are viewed. I am not huge by any standard, but I am tall and not a size two, which due to a North American upbringing, makes me sensitive to my size.

Comments such as: “Wow, I bet your mother is as huge as you are,” which I received from a well-intentioned friend, cannot be taken as a compliment. To be larger here is not necessarily a bad thing.

My male Ugandan friends say I am a good size and many Ugandan men would love me. And trust me, they do. While walking downtown, they call out: “Muzungu, you’re my size.”

The final thing I got used to was not getting worked up over things in public. If I was manhandled or spoken to at home the way I am here, I would lose my temper and tell the person off. Here, I was taught to hold my tongue and walk past.

This is unfortunate as the average boda boda rider would receive some choice comments from me. “No, it is not okay to run a red light at Clock Tower,” and “I know the cost from the Old Park to Nandos isn’t sh5,000,” don’t quite sum up the frustration I am feeling.

Occupational Safety

2008-04-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Being a journalist has some distinct occupational hazards. These seem to be magnified in a foreign country. I’m not talking about threats, muzzling of the press, or operating illegally – although those are definitely concerns. I am talking about how whenever you talk to someone, you make friends.

It doesn’t matter if you want them or not.

While working for the university press I had to interview an engineering student about a project he was working on. He asked me to dinner, the next week a movie, and then to his parents place – I politely declined. He eventually stopped calling.

In Uganda it is a thousand times worse. Most of us girls have a rule about handing our phone numbers to strange men – we don’t do it. However, when you are a journalist, your number is on your card. Good news to follow up stories, bad news if those stories involve men.

The head of a fairly high-ranking Ministry of Health department calls to see how I am (and invites me to his village), the subject of an aid story has asked me to dinner, and now I am starting to fear handing out my business card.

The Working Girls

2008-04-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

So as I mentioned before, I recently spent some time in Katuna. This is a tiny little border town, a strip of lodges, bars and restaurants, on the Rwanda-Uganda border. It used to be a bustling place, but in early January the truckers stopped parking because thieves had begun siphoning fuel.

No truckers means no money, restaurants that saw 50 – 100 people a day get 20, if they are lucky. The lodges are empty and the beer bottles remain untouched.

A population that is really being effected are the commercial sex workers. These ladies were making between sh 50,000 – sh 100,000 a night ($29 - $59 CAN), and having both “shorts” and overnight customers. Now, sex is sold for sh 1000 (less than a dollar), and the women alternate their nights banging on the truck doors of the few braver truckers that chance it and avoiding the thugs that knock on their doors looking for money.

Soon they will be evicted and follow the truckers to their new stops in Kabale and elsewhere.

Katuna needs a lot of security, and the thieves arrested, but due to corruption it's not happening. Not only do the trucks need protection but the citizens. If something doesn't change soon Katuna will die.

On a more light hearted note, the girls are all exceptionally charming. As jokes were translated back and forth I was put at ease and quickly formed a bond with these woman, despite my inital nervousness.

And surreal Ugandan moment number (I don’t know I can’t count that high): Hope, one of the women, thinks I have a great stomach. I honestly could have kissed the woman – my body, one of envy? That was a first, and it was great!!