The Ugandan opennesss does not come with trust
Nov 02, 2009
UGANDA must be the friendliest place on earth. It is never easy to be a stranger in a new place, but in Kampala people show such hospitality and generosity that it is impossible not to feel right at home. To arrive in Uganda is like getting a big hug— l
Hanna Nilsson
UGANDA must be the friendliest place on earth. It is never easy to be a stranger in a new place, but in Kampala people show such hospitality and generosity that it is impossible not to feel right at home. To arrive in Uganda is like getting a big hug— like returning to your family after a long journey.
Ugandans have got their priorities straight; what really matters is the community, to know your neighbour, meeting new people and listening to their stories. Taking the time, not only to ask â€how is lifeâ€, but to actually stick around long enough to hear the answer.
In Sweden going to the gym or riding the bus are acts of keeping to oneself. At the gym people run on treadmills with their eyes fixed on the TV-screen in front of them, oblivious to the person next to them. On the bus people sit one by one as long as the space permits it. If someone were to sit next to a stranger even if there were other seats available people would wonder “what does he want? Is he a creep? A weirdo?†Newspapers are held up like shields, protecting the readers from the outside world.
In Kampala people talk to you all the time and if they can help you they will. If they cannot, they will still try. But not everyone is driven by good intentions. As a citizen of Kampala, especially if you are a mzungu (white person), you will have to be on your guard against people trying to take advantage of you or even harm you.
This has the unfortunate consequence that the Ugandan openness is not accompanied by trust. As friendly as people are, there is always a reservation in the back of their minds that the person they are talking to might be a bad egg. The smiling person helping you out, giving you directions, might be plotting to rob you. This paradox is hard to grasp, but vital if you want to get by in this beautiful country.
There is a lot of talk about development, and while hopefully that development will lessen corruption and eradicate poverty in Uganda it would be a great loss if it also had an adverse effect on the Ugandan spirit of friendliness and hospitality.
True development would be for Uganda to rid itself of those destructive forces that keep this great nation from growing, while cherishing the culture and the soul of that same nation. If Uganda succeeds in doing that, it will truly become the greatest place on earth.
The writer is a Swede visiting Uganda
UGANDA must be the friendliest place on earth. It is never easy to be a stranger in a new place, but in Kampala people show such hospitality and generosity that it is impossible not to feel right at home. To arrive in Uganda is like getting a big hug— like returning to your family after a long journey.
Ugandans have got their priorities straight; what really matters is the community, to know your neighbour, meeting new people and listening to their stories. Taking the time, not only to ask â€how is lifeâ€, but to actually stick around long enough to hear the answer.
In Sweden going to the gym or riding the bus are acts of keeping to oneself. At the gym people run on treadmills with their eyes fixed on the TV-screen in front of them, oblivious to the person next to them. On the bus people sit one by one as long as the space permits it. If someone were to sit next to a stranger even if there were other seats available people would wonder “what does he want? Is he a creep? A weirdo?†Newspapers are held up like shields, protecting the readers from the outside world.
In Kampala people talk to you all the time and if they can help you they will. If they cannot, they will still try. But not everyone is driven by good intentions. As a citizen of Kampala, especially if you are a mzungu (white person), you will have to be on your guard against people trying to take advantage of you or even harm you.
This has the unfortunate consequence that the Ugandan openness is not accompanied by trust. As friendly as people are, there is always a reservation in the back of their minds that the person they are talking to might be a bad egg. The smiling person helping you out, giving you directions, might be plotting to rob you. This paradox is hard to grasp, but vital if you want to get by in this beautiful country.
There is a lot of talk about development, and while hopefully that development will lessen corruption and eradicate poverty in Uganda it would be a great loss if it also had an adverse effect on the Ugandan spirit of friendliness and hospitality.
True development would be for Uganda to rid itself of those destructive forces that keep this great nation from growing, while cherishing the culture and the soul of that same nation. If Uganda succeeds in doing that, it will truly become the greatest place on earth.
The writer is a Swede visiting Uganda