Monday 19 September 2016

Matooke Times, Vol 1: Here we go again!

Well, it sure is a weird mixture of surreal and comfort being back in Uganda! I arrived safely Sunday afternoon after a series of long-ish flights, and immediately made my way to Jinja. 

I have to say, it was pretty spectacular to be greeted by a familiar face at the airport in the form of my favourite method of transport to Jinja - the Pineapple Express! (Cue MIA's Paper Airplanes while thinking of James Franco and Seth Rogan... as if there's ever a time that one is NOT thinking about those two!) The only thing better than knowing my transport was handled, was being additionally greeted by a beautiful Ugandan rainfall! And, for those of you outside of Canada - this was a welcomed sight after not seeing much of it in Canada all summer!

Given that I hadn't slept much on any of the planes (with the best sleep taking place on the 2-hour flight from Ethiopia to Uganda, and NOT the one from Toronto to Ethiopia!), I had many nod-offs along the nearly 3 hour drive from Entebbe to Jinja. The best was nodding off somewhere along the way, only to wake up in Mabira Rainforest - also known as, my favourite part of the drive to Jinja, which also happens to be sandwiched between tea estates! But, it was really interesting to be able to spot new developments and things that had changed - and man! Somethings had really changed!

My night in Jinja was pretty low-key. I looked at a few potential places of residence, and of course, indulged in the sweet, sweet tastes of Stoney* and pork! Oh Jinja pork joint, if you were in human form, I would have your babies! But I digress...

Monday started earlier than I had hoped. I had, had a fairly good sleep, but was awoken around 5:30 am to a couple of sirs speaking loudly in the lobby of the guesthouse. Then around 7 I heard thunder in the distance and knew I needed to get a move on if I was going to get to the taxi park before it began to rain. I was thankful to have arrived and just boarded a coaster** to Kampala as the rain began to fall. 

After another drive filled with dozing off and on, I arrived in Kampala just as the rain began to fall heavily there. My pal - and boda driver - Adolf, met me where I was dropped, and we caught up while waiting for the rain to die down in a bank ATM kiosk. Then we made our way to my former place of employment - the Food Rights Alliance office. 

A few of the old crew at FRA headquarter.
Unfortunately, when I arrived at the office I learned half of my former colleagues had left the day before for a field visit. But it was still nice to catch up with and surprise the few that were around! Seriously, I wish I had been filming the reactions of two individuals in particular, because they obviously had no idea I was back in town! And after lunch (which included my favourite Ugandan food item - mattock!) with the gang, I made my way to Ggaba where I'll be staying for the next several days. 

A good Ugandan lunch, matched with some Dartmouthian coffee - sadly my first of the day...
It was really nice to be able to catch up with a few folks and to see some familiar sights around the city. I have to say its been quite strange to be back in Uganda. I think this is partly because in someways it feels like I've never left, while on the other hand it feels like it has been a very long time since I was last here. It is also likely the result of this theoretical project coming to life after months of talking about making it happen. But despite the moments of surreal-ness, it's pretty wonderful to be back. 

I have a pretty busy week ahead, and I'll be sure to update you as I go. But until then, I want to say a big thank you to everyone that has sent thoughts and well wishes over the last couple of days. I am one pooped/jet-lagged puppy!

Sula bulungi,
-the Orange Canadian

*I don't even care that you're a Coca Cola product! ...too much. 
**A safer version of taxi.

Saturday 17 September 2016

Canada... I think we need to talk

Dear Canada,

We've been together nearly every day of my 31 years on earth, and I've enjoyed this time for the most part. But lately, there's been a distance growing between us, and I think it's time we take a break. I'm not saying this is a definitive thing, but perhaps we could both benefit from a bit of space. You know, you see other people, I see other countries - keep it casual and see where we are in a few years.

I know this has probably blindsided you, but what I'm about to tell you has been bottling inside me for a while now, but mostly over the last year and a half - about the time the whole refugee debacle started. You know, where you opened your beautiful arms to those who really needed your gentle and welcoming embrace, but were greeted with racism, ignorance, and a government that handled the negativity derived from the situation in a really poor manner.

Growing up, I carried a certain pride about my relationship with you. You made me feel safe, secure, and well, this allowed me to remain ignorant to the realities of the outside world. I'm not saying you were overprotective but, you did a great job of sheltering me. And this was greatly appreciated as a small child. But, as my adult brain began to develop, I obtained the ability to think (a lot!), and eventually began to critically look at the world around me, and how you interacted with it.

Up until about a year or so ago, this didn't detract from my love for you. I still proudly sported your maple leaf on my backpack as I began to travel the world. I spoke highly of your natural beauty, your kind and warm-hearted people, and the many, many things I once believed made Canada the greatest place ever. Now, I'm not saying these characteristics don't still apply, they've just become a little tainted in my view. And this is what leads us to our recently surfaced problem.

After spending 6 months in Uganda, I was not looking forward to heading back home to you. It’s not that I didn’t want to be in the embrace of your familiarity, but more so that I was really starting to get settled with friends and a routine in Uganda. 

Shortly after I arrived back to you, I was offered a temporary position with the federal Government. I wasn’t overly excited about this new-found employment, but it was a job, and a well paying one at that. By taking it, it meant I could pay the bills and save up enough money to head back to Uganda for another 6 months at the end of the summer.


As my time in this position progressed, I started to notice patterns. For one, the people I interacted with who seemed to be the most reluctant and who were the most hostile to communicate with were usually those who would be benefitting the most from the very work I was part of. In some ways it is the same as the bully in school who really just wanted to be accepted, but through lack of confidence and support, lashed out instead of being welcoming and open to forming new friendships. Simplistic in comparison? Possibly. But accurate? For certain. 


In many of the above instances I would attempt to argue all the wonderful reasons why said individual should converse with me. But mostly, I tried to speak from personal experience, rather than listing off a collection of suggested rebuttals provided in my manual. My go-to, was always education. I often heard misguided assumptions about how no one used the information generated from the conversations I would have with them and how it had no impact. But speaking as someone highly interested in their circumstances both here at home and with like-people abroad, I would try to discuss how their insight would be used by students eager to understand the sector in Canada, or to create new processes that would increase efficiency. But alas, most were just not interested. 


It was in these instances that it took a lot to not default on “I’ve lived in ___ and let me tell you how things work there…” But it’s true. Over the last two years, which have included living in and travelling to several countries, I have been a witness to many things that have caused me to take a step back and simply appreciate where I am from. And having gone through the recent National Election in Uganda as a bystander, it was disheartening to see so many peoples' democratic rights taken away - their voice stripped without ability to recover it. The people I have called during my summer with with the feds frequently spoke of corruption and poor decision-making by the government. And although I do agree that corruption exists in the 'ol Government of Canada, it angers me, knowing that countless people the world over are literally fighting - dying even - for the same luxuries these individuals were complaining about.


But this wasn’t what killed my soul. Yes, it made some days more difficult than others. Yes, it made me appreciate all that I have and the privilege I just so happened to be born into (but that also come from my fortunate ability to access higher-level education). No, it wasn’t even remotely as disheartening as the other trend I noticed. That trend - blatant, unapologetic racism.


Now, I’m not saying that a few hundred people are a full representation of my country, nor am I suggesting that these same people are all terrible people, with ill-will for others. But for the first time in my life, I actually found myself questioning the ‘polite, friendly, open and welcoming’ stereotype I have happily embraced about you. And yes, I certainly had a taste of this during the recent refugee panic at the beginning of the year. I guess I just never realized how ridiculous people truly are.


When I started to pay more attention to the previous calls verses their outcomes, I discovered that an uncomfortably large proportion of people turned down calls from people with non-Canadian sounding voices or names. This became even more obvious when I was upgraded to refusal conversion. Many of the calls made before mine were completed by staff members whose names did not align with the traditional Canadian ones. Good, hardworking people were being rudely spoken to just because they potentially weren’t born here. But this is Canada for goodness sakes! I thought you were supposed to be the multi-cultural country that trumped (no pun intended) the melting pot society of your neighbours to the south (and no, I don’t mean Mexico!). And yet, here I am, witnessing the same actions I hear others criticizing the United States for! 


But this isn't just about how you are perceived from the outside, it's also about your inner self. Sure, you come with a lot of benefits - healthcare, public education, social programs, and the weekly anticipation derived from not knowing what outlandish fabric Don Cherry will be sporting on Coaches Corner every Saturday evening from October to April. But, you have also allowed yourself to forget many of your own. Many veterans are struggling to find extended healthcare services (particularly for mental health issues), affordable housing, and/or elder care. The treatment of your Indigenous people has also gotten out of hand, where many of your citizens don't actually understand the conditions these individuals find themselves in - the root causes being a lack of social programs, access to potable water, education, healthcare - all because many firmly, yet wrongly, believe they get a free ride underscored with not paying taxes. And then there's those who exploit the rights granted from an agreement between the then Government of Canada and the indigenous people made many years ago, by happily accepting the benefits given to them, without actually engaging with the culture itself. The racial, homophobic, religious, and many other unacceptable views of your people by privileged, does-not-apply-or-actually-affect-mes appears to be at an all-time high. It needs to stop. That we can come together for the pending death of one man, whether we were fans of his music or not, but can't seem to get our heads straight on the real values that once made this country great doesn't make sense. And as a result, I'm tired. 

So, on that note, I hate to love you and leave you, as my grandmother often says, but I think as my time home is coming to a close, it makes for the perfect time to take a much needed break. I think it will give us both time to consider what we value in this
relationship, who we want to be independent of each other, as individuals, but also as a team. And don't worry, I'll be sure to keep in touch with you. I'll follow you from afar via your public broadcasting corporation (or what's left of it). And, I'll continue to defend you should those situations arise. But until the day we reunite once again, I ask that you take a deep breath and a step back and look at who you are becoming. Maybe you were always this way, but you did a better job of hiding it back then. Or maybe I am no longer content living in a bubble. Either way, you need to figure yourself out. 

So, until then, I wish you the best. Take care of yourself.

Love, 
your Orange Canadian

Thursday 15 September 2016

"The Dark Continent" - ...ugh.

Warning: I may offend a number of you with this post. This is not my intent - I'm just venting. Should I offend you, I would encourage you to discuss this with me further.

I'm frustrated about the language I've heard while gearing up to head back to Uganda. I'm also frustrated with being told that I'm being oversensitive when I attempt to correct the language used. What language, you ask? Well, two things, the use of 'Africa' as a singular entity, and having it being referred to as "the dark continent."

Allow me to tackle the first. Africa is a continent... which I know many of you know, because you've referred to it as the latter. Going to Africa would be like saying going to North America or Europe, and yet, no one says that. In fact most use the term America to refer to one* of several countries that make up NORTH America or the Americas, in general**.

Now to the latter... the dark continent... really? There are so many terrible implications in using this term when referencing the African continent. Sure, a good number of individuals that find themselves deriving from said part of the world happen to have darker skin (which in comparison to me, makes pretty much any individual found anywhere on this great planet of ours darker skinned than I!), but this is only one of the meanings behind this reference.

Most notably, it refers to the misconception that Africa is made up of nothing more than poor, backwards, loin-cloth sporting folks that are devoid of Western things such as cars, electricity, cell phones or really any form of modern day technology. And while some of these aren't always a given on the continent, to call it THE dark continent is riddled with racial implications.

As I'm getting older, I've become acutely more aware of the impact of my place of origin (which will be tackled in a later post), skin tone, and the overall privilege that comes from both of those things***. This has likely made me a bit sensitive to how language is used to describe certain nouns. And, I'm guilty of using terminology that when I think about it after the fact, I realize, while I may have said it innocently, the meaning behind it may not be so innocent (and is the same situation for those of you who may have made this reference in my presence).

But the reference of Africa as the dark continent**** irks me more than others, because the Africa I have come to know (and yes, I realize I've only seen a minuscule fraction of it!) is not what is often meant when this term is thrown out there. You don't have to look far to see images I have personally captured***** that show the true beauty of some of Africa's landscapes. I have shared stories with you about incredible and inspiring people of all ages that I have met along the way (the school kids in Ghana, the farmer in Eastern Uganda to name a few) who prove that "Africa" is more than just a 2-minute infomercial from World Vision. And so it really angers me to hear people I love using such a term without thinking about the impact of doing so.

The actual origins of this term begin in the 19th century. It was used to reference the unknown of Africa, but has since developed - as I've noted above - to include the many stereotypes of underdevelopment believed to exist throughout the continent. It is coated in ignorance, racism, and several other issues. It's an outdated term that has been proven false time and time again. Yet, here we are using it freely without actually considering what is being implied. And that isn't okay. We talk a big talk here in "the West" about not using sexist language, about anti-bullying protocol******, and yet, we still haven't figured out how to erase casual racial slurs from our vocabulary.

It's a harsh world we live in. That's part of the natural, everyday process of life, but we don't need to make it any harder by continuing centuries of ignorance. I, for one, am working consciously at discontinuing some of the language choices that have passed as acceptable for far too long. But, I believe it's equally important to explain the why being the action, as it is to put that act in motion. So I ask you to think about what you're saying, think about the implications behind using and the origins of certain words. And better yet, referring to the first rant of this post (although it really applies to both), take the time to ask questions. Find out where an individual is going and do a little research about that area. And I would encourage that for any area of the world one might be going, not just the African continent. If we fail in doing this, we fail in becoming better humans.

-the Orange Canadian

*the United States, but I digress...
**The reference as AMERICA to solely the United States is one of my greatest pet peeves! I think the Arrogant Worms sum this up perfectly.
***I don't get the grand-slam/tic-tac-toe of white privilege because I wasn't born a man, sadly.  
****In response to this one, though, I would argue that Canada or "the West" is/are the true dark continent/continents. But doing so is completely dependent on my energy level and the other persons likelihood of digesting my rebuttal (which in and of itself is flawed on my part, I know). 
*****Found right here in this blog in past posts!
******Not that we're doing overly well on those either, but at least there's a priority and conversation started about them. Black Lives Matter anyone? Where white people are still trying to make it about them...

Sunday 11 September 2016

Make-Shift GoPro Kayaking Adventures

Well, my summer at home is quickly coming to an end. This was marked not just be the changing leaves I've seen travelling around the province or the cooler night-time temperatures, but by taking my final kayak trip before I head back to Uganda*.

I was able to enjoy a really great 2-hour trip as my final go. This was far better than the previous day's attempt - an attempt that didn't see me even getting the paddle in the water. You that saying put your best foot forward? Well, I didn't. This led me to a pretty comedic wipeout, resulting in many bumps and bruises. It also resulted in my use of a certain "firetruck" word a minimum of 47 times, while trying to get my flooded rig out of the water**.

Anyway, my 2-hour adventure was the perfect ending to a great summer of kayak trips in beautiful St. Margaret's Bay. And because I want to keep those memories close, I decided to create a makeshift GoPro and film a bit of this last trek.


Along the way, though, I caught some interesting sights. These included watching cormorants and loons swim alongside me, to witnessing an eagle swoop down in front of me in a failed attempt to catch some breakfast, to the interesting happenings under the clear water below me. Here's a few above water shots I captured.




Post-kayak wild blackberry snack!
Nova Scotia really is a pretty beautiful place to live (or visit). There are countless opportunities to explore such a variety of outdoor activities across the province. And while I don't usually miss this place when I'm away, I do love getting to engage with nature when I come home.

I'll close with some wise words from Canadian fitness legends Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod***:

Image source: http://www.prweb.com
-the Orange Canadian

*Where I hope to upgrade my skills and experience from sea to Nile rapid capabilities. 
**This would have been a far easier feat had the act of pulling the kayak out of the water not involved getting it over a 5-foot rock wall... Which, coincidentally led to the majority of my bumps and bruises both before and during the kayak's removal from the water!
***Who were unfairly terminated from Amazing Race Canada...