If Uganda didn’t have Christmas, neebigenderako
It is time to be nice. The good season is here. There is a lot to be angry about — Kampala’s enduring potholes and dust and floods. That is just a small example.
But there is plenty to be sunny about. This Christmas, like many Christmases past, many will make merry in the company of family and friends, some of whom may not have seen each other the entire year.
Those who live in places like Kampala will be trooping to the village to ‘eat’ Christmas and New Year’s there.
Some travel as a matter of course. Some because it is one of the assured chances for loved ones to gather and banter and laugh and eat and drink and sing and dance and say a prayer for those who may have gone to the other side of life.
The occasional flare up may occur, but that is because where there is love there also tends to be unease. Life is complex like that.
Drama and all, family provides a sense of comfort. Even when you don’t care much for family, it is always comforting to know family members are there. They will have your back, or maybe not, but you won’t know until your back is exposed. You keep hoping for better. As sure you should.
The bonus about heading out there into the countryside, especially when you are not a regular traveller, is the unending reminder of just how enchanting our land can be.
It is insane. You want forests, you will have them. You want plains, you are sorted. You want grassy rolling hills (and actual mountains some of which kiss the moon), you will have your fill. Rivers, lakes (remembering of course to balance the boat), swamps — they are there. In some places you don’t have to leave the highway to behold ambling elephants, crazy baboons, lively antelopes, and other such creatures of the wild.
I think Uganda is a land we should love with some added energy. You don’t have to die for it (although you should if you must), but that doesn’t mean you should kill Uganda through corruption, littering, and just plain bad behaviour.
I have started brooding. Let me find more cheerful news for a cheerful season. As you drive or get driven to the village, don’t pass up the chance to stop at the relevant spot to buy roast chicken, goat, bogoya or all the above. You spend, the folks you buy from earn. You spread smiles just like that.
Once in the village, visit as many relatives and friends, but don’t let your guard down. Strange encounters still happen. Like in France. Hear it from Reuters: “In an unassuming house on France’s River Loire, a cobra lives on the coffee table, a 50 kg (110-pound) tortoise roams the garden and a two-meter (seven-foot) alligator sleeps in the owner’s bed while another keeps watch at the door.”
“Over two decades, 67-year-old reptile enthusiast Philippe Gillet has amassed a collection of more than 400 phobia-inducing animals, including rattlesnakes, tarantulas and lizards in his home in western France near the city of Nantes.”
As a citizen of East Africa, why not try beetroot wine from Rwanda if you can find it. Surprise your people this Christmas. According Reuters, the rich, earthy red wine known as “Karisimbi” is put together from A-Z by a 27-year-old woman. Apparently, people in Rwanda, Mozambique and DR Congo are quaffing Karisimbi. Ugandans could join in. “It doesn’t really get you drunk like other types of alcohol. It just gives you a little buzz, it’s really tasty,” said Janvier Muhoza, in a local bar in Rwanda.
You need that little buzz this holiday. Trust me.
But don’t steal money to find the buzz, little or big. Be honest. Even in your shillings stress. Again, from Reuters: “Police in New Jersey on Thursday urged people who grabbed banknotes that spilled out of the back of an armored truck during rush-hour traffic to return the cash, no questions asked.”
Videos posted on social media showed a Brinks armored truck with its hazard lights flashing on Route 3, about 10 miles (16 km) outside New York City, as people ran after bills blowing between cars and trucks on the busy roadway.
“As of Thursday evening, East Rutherford police said some cash had been handed over but did not specify the amount.
‘“We have had several individuals contact [police] & return money,”’ police said in a tweet.
That should be the spirit of the moment. Merry Christmas everyone.
Bernard Tabaire is a media trainer and commentator on public affairs based in Kampala.
[email protected]
Twitter:@btabaire
