Al Shabaab kills traditional relationships between Somalians and Ugandans

Al Shabaab kills traditional relations between Somalians and Ugandans…

Perspective of an outraged and concerned Ugandan

Sam Mwaka-karama

At the dawn of colonialism, a hundred years ago, the Imperial Company of East Africa - then as forerunner of colonialism in East Africa, imported labor forces from India.
Native Africans at that early time were considered un-primed human resource for the purpose of building the Railway line from Kenya to Uganda. As primed laborers Coastal peoples of Kenya, were however usably to the Imperial Company - having been primed so by the Portuguese builders of Fort Jesus in Mombasa centuries earlier.
When the ‘Lunatic Express’ line (after braving the roaring Lions of Tsavo) finally crossed to Uganda, the labor forces that manned the enormous job were Indians, Digos, Swahilli of the Kenya Coast tribal stock, and the Luos of Kenya - and attached to them were a sprinkling of Somalis.

It is believed that largely the Somalis might have been the Cooks that prepared the meals… though I personally have not read that part in any history of the building of the East African Railway.

However the nature of activities Somalis were engaged in - long after that foundation era - and perhaps three decades before Independence - generally indicates a background role in food preparations.

Colonial authorities naturally rewarded the Indians who were officially conscripted from the old country - by installing them in every town “Bomas” founded in all parts of Uganda… as developers of the Bazaar. Certainly Indians were constitutional (or rather gazetted) right up till Independence. And thus were entitled to that reward.
However, Somalis might have not been in the same status as Indians… even then they enjoyed a very privileged freedom way-up above indigenous tribes of Uganda.

Indigenous tribesmen join the labor camps…

Colonial Authorities first conscripted Africans into the labor camps according to their evident habitat and especially shelter; those African tribes with skills to construct good basically structured dwellings were pulled in big numbers to labor in various towns… of cause after first building the labor camps (whose typical basic design replicated that original tribal huts as built then - like that by the Acholi - which triggered the manufacture of the tin Uniports - years later) wherever the railway line progressed to, till Jinja, at the source and initially east of the Nile.
And then the spread of the litany of towns began, and progressively the Indians became the supervisors as more and more the natives were gaining work skills: eventually most of the towns had quarters for the workers; Indians took much of the Bazaar lands, and began building, while the more administrative Goans had quarters to themselves, mostly away from the bazaar.

And the natives working in the towns built their own dwelling so that; Acholi quarters, Teso (bar) quarters, Lugbara quarters etcetera… sprang-up everywhere - wherever towns were founded.

In 1911 the Acholi people of Lamogi rebel-suddenly against colonialism - now this puts the Acholi people generally at question - Lamogi people were put-down by the Kenyans and Nubians under the colonial command.

And for Ten years till 1920 Lamogi people were displaced and encamped… however the churches needed labor around about the time - and that was a relief for the encamped Lamogi people participating in the works.

St Joseph Cathedral in Gulu Northern Uganda was thus built. The church also began developing a litany of schools in all the founded towns. What was to insure the future status of the indigenous.

By the 1930s much of the towns of Uganda were founded - Indians were high class and operated the bazaar activities. Somalis operated the butcheries, tearooms and eating kiosks that decades later were eating houses and hotels - and the markets that where mostly started around the butcheries by the Nubians and Swahilis and Luos of Kenya who had settled. (in Moroto, Karamoja the last town to be founded in Uganda - Camp Swahilli survives to this day).

What guaranteed status of the tribes was fact that the colonial authority worked with the tribal Chiefs. And that was where the lands people had their land rights guaranteed. I believe that the British with their United Kingdom and the centuries of development alluded to that hard earned unity of the Kingdoms, believed in those basic chiefdoms they found in existence among the Ugandan tribes.

Hitler’s War - uplifted status of the indigenous...

The Second World War catapulted status of the indigenous way-up to intimidating levels to the Indians and Somalis living in the various towns of Uganda - the war heroes brought with them a new confidence.

Between 1945 and 1950, things had changed dramatically in advantage of the local people. Their children going to class with the Indians with zest - confidence began building as character and eventually personas appeared to even equal the Indians who were actually very bright.

Of cause back in their own countries - the Indians and even Somalis had participated in the war - perhaps from both sides! Especially for Somalia which was divided-up between three European countries, what was a terrible confusion for the Somali people - a situation that was to polarize itself with fall of Hitler - and Mussolini, Italians lost their hold in the horn of Africa… that post war era in the horn of Africa ushered-in the complication - Islamism.

Somali developments in Uganda…

During all those years of volatility in the horn of Africa, many Somalis shifted and trickled into East Africa - and enjoying free access to anything in Uganda, most of those seeking fortunes away from Somalia joined their fellows in the country - Diaspora Somali had began!

As Ugandans eased into the administration mostly supervised by Goans and some Indians who opted to join government of the protectorate, the mentality was that of near brotherhood despite the skin color differences and racial roots…

This acceptability was the mis-guidedness Ugandans grew-up with; that the country belonged to all of us, we the natives and the Indians and Somalis were all natural to Uganda.

Between 1950 and 1960 several immigrant Somalis trickled in always naturally crossing the borders between Uganda and Kenya freely… indeed Germany that had colonized Tanganyika lost the country to Britain - that again opened the path for Somalis to also enter into Then Tanganyika equally freely - well, Somalis are coastal people and have had historical migratory movements along the Indian Ocean Coastal lines for centuries - that is undeniable. The Somalis therefore became domicile to the three East African countries.

Now Somalis are however a very difficult self centered people… in all the one hundred years since dawn of colonialism, they could not melt-away into marriages and dissolve into the various tribes of East Africa.

They instead jealously guarded their creed, they maintained their culture and language with uncommon avarice - they held to their natural inclination towards violence and brow-beat attitude.

Even after independence (as foreigners) Somalis were the only outright foreign people who carried large knives openly - like the native Karamojong carried spears and rungu clubbing-bats or, the Ankole carried long sticks and spears of the herdsman or, like the Acholi of the time carried spears and Lokilee small axes… one might say that Somalis naturalized in Uganda more psychologically that officially.

General Iddi Amin’s friendship with General Siad Barre in the 1970s capped Somali/Uganda relationship. That time the Diaspora Somalis gained tremendous advantage with enormous wealth that they constantly sent abroad.

The small developments they had in Kishenyi in Kampala, which was likened to Eisliegh in Nairobi - had become serious investments in trucking and bush services even small and medium scale industries that were money minting.

And being a constantly travelling people, their World Wide Spread largely UNHCR aided, became an enormous network - that today is worth fortunes - mostly all that is from that humble beginning in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

As Aideed and the War Lords wrecked that old country, the Diaspora Somalis developed and supported the various struggles - till things culminated into “Black Hawk Down”.

Al Shabaab and Uganda…
What every Ugandan can’t keep quiet about is the wanton act of Al Shabaab bombing a very tender soft target, like they did to the Soccer fans.
To all and sundry it is known World Wide that Sports is the symbol of peace… however, it is also natural that not everybody can be involved in sports, which is why sports is largely an entertainment industry.

We cannot all participate in competitive sports - the Chinese once had programmes of nationwide martial arts - but today it is highly unlikely that all Chinese are martial arts experts… Al Shabaab has killed traditional relationship that existed between Somalians and Ugandans since colonial times. The African Union offers the best forums for conflict resolve between Africans and not just African Governments, even rebel organizations like that of the LRA of Joseph Kony - whose spokes person was erroneously interviewed by Al Jazeera right after that tragic event - would best have their greaviences resolved at AU level - linking LRA to Al Shabaab was morally wrong***

Paid Document Content Sites - biased

Paid Document Content Sites - Biased

Sam Mwaka-karama

The World Wide Net and World Wide web have very popular sites that pay users on the basis of uploaded documents on the basis of contents. However all these sites post out notices on their terms and conditions, that restrict their said Paypal payment to those whose documents merit the payments - only if the users live in the United States of America.

I daubt that America could want everybody to trans-locate to the USA... so that the many,many net and web activities that only honour people who live in America might have all of us prospective users and participants, to leave our continent ant fly away to America, to do some work online and get paid.

Paid Content sites like Associated Contents, Scribd, and many others do restrict their payments conditions, of content values, to Americans and generally people who live in the USA.

This I think is very much biased against us Africans. Even areas of document Content values are strickened to Americanized concepts of applicability; Literature is suddenly valueless and not applicable on paid content. American concepts of do-it-yourself technical works have the lead and nothing else and, without anaysis or overviews in certain aspects of obviously non consumerbles from Africa, then we might as well leave the net and web money making for America.

Why then must Africa pay so much on clicks; internet cafes, online office usage, on-net time, and what ever we Africans must pay to access the net - and if we won't ever get paid as participants online; participating on certain sites - then why introduce your valuable services to Africa and at the sametime cut us off very cleverly? You might as well just cut Africa off from your click,click,click,click billions - the money Africa spends click - clicking can use elsewhere.$$$

Sexual Slavery, Sexual and Gender violence...

Sexual slavery, sexual and gender violence…

Sam Mwaka-karama

As I write - this week the World sympathize with modern victims while we all remind ourselves of past and historical even celebrated publicized victims of sexual slavery, sexual and gender violence… and all those women (Young and old) who have been derailed in life by obsessive, imposing and often even organized rape and other aspects of extremism in masculinity - these also should include media and advertisement orchestrated mind-sets that are detrimental to or spur violence in-family.

Talking about sexual and gender violence, without incorporating ‘sexual slavery’ is like diagnosing and treating symptoms - while you don’t want to recognize presence of its root-causes. And you don’t want to recognize these root-causes because it is tied-up to ancient abduction and slavery of Africans whose descendants are now the African-Americans; you are ashamed of that because the American former slave masters… are now the major donor country and, as a dire-needy African, you wouldn’t want to get into their black-books, you don’t want to be seen or heard to root sexual slavery and violence with them. You are therefore playing safe – by not wanting to blame the donors!

But then it is all true; sexual and gender violence as known to modern day civilized world started with sexual slavery: on board ‘the great white ships’ of the trans Atlantic slave trade; the good looking slave women were isolated and raped. Similarly, on board the ‘Trade Wind Arab Dhows’ of the Indian Ocean slave trade; the nude body of the young African woman was irresistible, she was isolated and raped.
African traditional ‘sexual and gender violence’ started first as ‘co-wife wrangles’ that attracted and molded male dominance in the African household; first as reprisal the man who had co-wives that fought each-other, also as a repercussion beat one or both of them. Household sexual and gender violence spread-out to eventually gain in house notoriety. And as Africans began brewing crude-base drinks, the men even became more violent both sexually and physically. These violent trends developed becoming even more and more vicious by the generations.

There are also certain clan-tribe characteristics in Africa that have natural tendency towards violence when involved in sexual relationships - these truly and really exist even to these days, women who would rather be forcefully accessed by the man… they would rather be semi-raped to even enjoy the act… however the modern African woman has come a long way towards submissiveness (older generation African women were actually not as submissive as modern studies might indicate - the man didn’t find access easily and all the time - to them sex was for reproductive purposes - and not for consumerism), however the more modern society woman with education and exposure, awareness and being media savvy, being movie and TV buffs, and avid readers of good books; these category of women have developed romantic comely and more friendly tendencies. Many such African women have even become extroverts; she might propose directly to the man she is attracted to.

By percentage, those women who are stimulated by an element of forcefulness from the man are becoming less and less… while the liberal and more affirmative society women are growing more and more. In other words, a certain type of African woman is disappearing, while the emerging new society woman types (educated or not) are increasing.

Sexual Slavery - might not exist per-say in Africa - but there are certain obscure ‘convenience’ marriages that might eventually evolve and amount to sexual slavery… especially when the girl’s origin was endowed in dire poverty. When the girl was perhaps an orphan. When the girl had separated and often disagreeable parents. When the girl didn’t have proper education and lacked job-security. When the girl lived and grew-up in insecurity away from both parents or with even a more insecure mother. When the girl married a white-man, she automatically was a sexual slave - subjected to certain type of sexuality that wasn’t entirely African, while it might be considered normal by European or American standards, her hold in such marriages can only have connotations of ‘convenience’ which carry with it the slavery-to-wealth and comfort thing.

It is here that serious ‘African Cultural and Sociology’ thinking is needed. To gather-together the thinking around how the young African woman who somehow finds herself abroad and married to a white man - might be salvaged.

The slavery MUST be stopped: Respect of the girl’s culture and roots. Recognition of her parents (cripples, lepers or deranged lunatics they may be, but they parented that young woman). That is where African Union AU legislature has to be formulated, to link with relevant overseas laws, and place control over white men taking advantage of young vulnerable African women - where a parent might be able to contract a local lawyer and even by such small remote action, be able to place caveat over such marriages and bring to bear even claims for legal redress or reparations where necessary.

If high society African-American black people who are PhDs, are agitating for ‘reparations’ over 1500/1600 Trans-Atlantic slave trade - then why mustn’t an African parent whose daughter suffers and dies of ‘HIV/Aids’ or ‘dog rabies’ in Europe - not be able to seek reparations - since the girl might have died in sexual slavery, which is a modern kind of slavery? - “Sexual slavery and sexual and gender violence” - are one and the same. In marriage or outside marriage… as long as there exist ‘educational and wealth’ inequality the relationship becomes that of ‘convenience’ - a fertile ground for sexual violence and sexual slavery.

Between the western world and Africa, there is need for certain new ‘legal frameworks’ and ‘legal practice’ collaborative ‘access-ways’ under Globalization’s new Laws or Conventions to help address this increasingly occurring situation. To help address the many-many Africa’s gender parity questions, there has got to be legal framework of modern International laws that guarantee respect of the African woman wherever they might be. And such laws must be linkable (to and fro) between African Law Firms and Western Legal and Security Systems - whenever need arises to culprit sexual slave masters, even years after their African spouses living abroad might have died under hushed-up circumstances. $$$

Understanding my 'Poetic Verses...'

Understanding my ‘Poetic Verses…'
My Tribe, Acholi is in North Uganda. We are the inheritors of the original ‘Luo’culture – other Luo clan-tribes proceed from us and through us to form the clusters that – spread over Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and cross with other Bantu clusters – to form other tribes of Southern Africa.
Luo is best known for its ancient migrations that started from slavery fields of Aswan in Egypt – a process that took five centuries of recorded history, and perhaps even more centuries before 1400AD.
Now due to this vast migratory movement (mostly back and forth) and then doubling-back, when recurrent slave snatching always recurred to pull the stock backwards – leaving the very old to actually die away (as too old and undesirable to slavery) – and always those re-migrating back whenever Egypt was in turmoil… and Egypt had a fair share of troubles over all those centuries.
Now to understand my poetic verses, that is what you need as background – and to cap-it, my tribe has produced poets like writers Prof. Okot’p Bitek (rip), Prof. Okello Oculi, Prof. JB Ocitti. And many other writers who now all live in the Diasporas; those are the highly educated, but then, there is tremendous under-developed, untapped raw-talent in my tribe Acholi, the producer of elusive rebel Joseph Kony.
In my poetic verses… which I am developing into a small booklet – I depict a small litany of Acholi old people’s sayings of the wise…
And narrate it in a background setting relevant to its formative characteristics – and translate that into English, with certain Acholi-lwo words that are untranslatable written in their original form.
In the first ‘stanza’
The ancient old had warned the younger generation of the ‘rumble in the belly of the world’ – this means that, ancient people had seen, from long ago that this world we lived in would experience turmoil’s, upheavals, commotions and un-peace.
‘Tomorrow, tomorrow someday’ in Acholi-lwo language ‘diki, diki wang ca’ would mean that; in the recurrent tomorrows – it shall come-to-pass… and when it does happen, the root of the Pumpkin shall dry-up.
In the second ‘stanza’
The bag of ‘Ataany’ depicts the taxidermists-farers’ bits and hold. What became popular during the great-tracking migrations and really very important was the survival-kit; made out of squirrels, wildcats, moles, giant wild edible-rats etcetera.
In the process of the wild-wild walking – mostly fueled by gathering and picking, up-rooting and wild fruits collecting. The migrations had worked and actually survived.
‘Ataany’ was some later-day restless-foot; some ‘strongie’ who still played the migrating walk-about long after the tracks had gone cold.
‘Ataany’ carried his bits and hold – and tracked back to Sudan or forward… actually within the Acholiland; visiting the past and interacting with the future.
As time went-by, the settling Acholi people had their first baby-boom – the younger generation were often fascinated by the wise-crack old man who seasonally passed-by often cooling his feet in their villages – telling lots of funny-funny stories and liked by all the clan parents, always talking of faraway furlong places and peoples; You want to cry – sort of tales of ancient nostalgia young mothers and fathers loved. To the young ones ‘Ataany’ eventually became a mystique-character with lots of stuffed-up heavy loads of his bits and hold. And when the young were hungry – they often joked that they were walking ‘Murodo’ famished - referring to themselves as being empty like ‘Ataany’s bags’ after a long cross-country walking.
While ‘Ataany’ always went away ‘grandma’ who was fond of him gnashed her teeth… in her isolated little homestead of a thatched hut and granary – there she someday dies.
In the third ‘stanza’
‘Man otyeno’ translate as ‘testicle of the evening’ and for the Acholi people, it only means trouble – at twilight, you keep indoors because that is when the evening’s testicle abandons itself, waylaying you, like the later-day landmine… at twilight watch your steps least you step on it.
In the forth ‘stanza’
The bulldog rules over his rubbish dumpy, where he jettisons his piss… that is where he eats. Like when the English says ‘trot,’ ‘trot’, ’trot – the Acholi people say ‘cwek,’ ‘cwek’, ‘cwek’ - and when the bull dog trot about unleashed – the bull dog might spread the rabies…
But don’t envy the bull-dog, for when you do… the rabies catch you – and when you can’t castrate the bulldog, and the moon went high you might - howl!

In the fifth ‘stanza’
At ‘twilight’ the mother hen pecks and drops not, for as darkness falls, chicken see nothing and that is when it was time to pack it in. And every last little peck carries through the night, till the cock crow at day break.
In the sixth ‘stanza’
As a new comer, the young rooster cock has a serious challenge to meet – the gigantic home rooster won’t ever allow the newcomer rooster chance to crow or mount a hen – till his spurs were tested in a decisive duel.
Mere flap-flapping of the new-comer’s wings brings the old rooster racing sidelong proud and self confident… spoiling for the flying side-kick.
‘Twon-gweno pe kok paAyaa’ – translates that ‘the cock don’t crow at Ayaa’s place’. To the Acholi paAyaa is when you have gone (to play) away.
In the Seventh ‘stanza’
‘Lawinos of today’ – are the younger generation Acholi women (from a character in Okot’p’Bitek’s “Song of Lawino”) – who may have put-down the ‘Abiinu’ some small round long-necked pot, ancient Acholi women pottered for keeping honey.
In this lamentation, these young women may have deviated from the traditional norm and abandoning the honey-pot…
To instead carry ripe yellow bananas – rwic-rwic, rwic-rwic, rwic-rwic, rwic-rwic –
Doing the walkabout banana marketing. What actually tally with some old innocent days particular old ‘boy and girl’ play – where the boy places his palms on the girl’s shoulders, and stoops his head down, walking behind her looking down her backside and heels, asking;
The boy - “Labolo ocek-oceki?”
The girl – Labolo pud numu
The boy – Labolo ocek-oceki?
The girl – Labolo numu-numu
He asks is the banana ripe and the girl says the banana was not yet ripe – which actually means – we haven’t arrived where we are going. And when eventually she says the banana was ripe – she meant that we have arrived where we are going... which was always home. In Acholiland of the innocent days, children played this banana game up till adolescence when mothers begin to rebuke the kids. Even then – innocence was innocence then. $$$

Poetic Verses of Acholi...

Poetic Verses of Acholi
By Sam Mwaka-karama

Who so ever understood – that
Belly of world rumbled
So the ancient old said so…
Who so ever understood – that
Tomorrow, tomorrow someday
Tomorrow, tomorrow whole day
Under the pumpkin
Shall be dry.

Who so ever understood – that
Bag of ‘Ataany’ the carrier
Will nowadays walk ‘murodo’
Who so ever understood – that
‘Obwoko’ the emptiness lump in the throat!
Shall strangle grandma,
In the hot sun…
Alone, under the granary.

Who so ever understood – that
Testicle of the evening…
Will ‘ometto-kome’ abandon itself,
That you might step on it!
“Trouble O trouble, why waylay me?”

Who so ever understood –that
‘Cwek-cwek-cwek - trot-trot-trot of the bull-dog,
Spread the rabies
So that castrating the bull-dog,
Defeated the jealous…
Because the garbage dumpy,
Won’t ever belong to all peoples.

Who so ever understood - that
It was really the ‘twighlight’
So that the mother-hen
Pecks and swallows silently…
Gut-gut, gut-gut, gut-gut - was no more,
and the cold chicks will di-di, di-di, and di-di.

Who so ever understood – that
The young rooster cock…
Lost his spurs, that
He might never ever,
Crow at ‘Ayaa’s’…
That had ‘Ayaa’ tasted the saltiness
Of the cock, which was ‘yeng-yeng’…?
She might have eloped with the cock!

Who so ever understood – that
The ‘Lawinos’ of this today,
Will put down the ‘Abiinu’ - pot-of-honey,
So that they now carry…
‘Oderulabolo’ atop their heads.
No wonder the ancient Acholi said it…
Whenever the dead were buried,
They actually went ‘ka pito labolo’…
So that ‘okalo-cwan’gi’ have all gone;
Carrying ‘oderulabolo’ atop their heads.
Walking morning to sunset…
L’labolo ocek-oceki…?
Labolo pud numu
Labolo ocek-oceki…?
Labolo numu-numu
Labolo ocek-oceki…?
Labolo dong ocek…
… rwic-rwic, rwic-rwic, rwic-rwic…
Who so ever understood – that
‘Ceng-a-maki, labolo dok-woo’
Because ancient Acholi said it all…
That you might understand
$$$

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