LUBYA ISLANDERS IN NEED OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Oct 21, 2009

Cattle, pigs and goats roam the island. The goats are many, which prompted their owners to mark them with identification features that range from ear marking to branding.

Cattle, pigs and goats roam the island. The goats are many, which prompted their owners to mark them with identification features that range from ear marking to branding.

However, dogs are conspicuously absent and residents give various reasons for this. Sebere says the dogs were killed in 1992 after they ran amok and started biting people. Others claim the spirits on the island kill dogs on sight.

As the day ends, some youthful fishermen go for football at the well-trimmed playground, while others retreat to the lake shores to bathe and swim. Children and women compete for space with birds as they fetch water at the shores.

Lubya at night
During the night, Lubya looks lost in a world of its own. Dim lights from lanterns that fishermen place on the lake to catch Dagaa fish (mukene) are a common sight. As the rest of the island goes to sleep by 7:00pm, women dress skimpily to lure men. Some women go an extra mile of calling out for them into corridors for ‘negotiations’.

The men, on the other hand, are in high spirits, after selling their day’s catch. The fun seems to be just starting — drinking and women. Drinking would not have been a problem, but the men have an insatiable appetite for women, even in this era of HIV/AIDS. Many, indeed, have died of HIV due to careless sexual behaviour.

As such, the residents have christened the two prominent bars there with names that are synonymous with death. One is called ‘Bazadde Bakaaba’ (parents are mourning) and the other ‘Ndese Basima (I left them digging up the grave).

“Prostitutes move from the mainland to the islands because men there are willing to part with between sh10,000 and sh30,000 for sex. The fishermen live a lavish lifestyle because they know they will go back to the lake and make more money,” noted Sebere.

On why they spend their money anyhow, some fishermen compared themselves to soldiers and pilots who undertake ‘high risk jobs’.

“When you go into the deep waters to fish, you are like a soldier on the frontline, you can die anytime,” said Dodoviko Mukasa, 19.

Mukasa’s argument could pass for debate. Fishermen are at risk of pirates and engine thieves while in the deep waters.

Lubya Beach Management Unit operations commander, Lawrence Odoi, says several boat engines have been stolen over the last two years and two fishermen who attempted to resist were killed.

But the Lubya chairman, Ssekitoleko, insists that such challenges should not be a good reason for living carelessly.

He appeals to the fishermen to live responsibly, lest they contract HIV/AIDS. Ssekitoleko says there is need for public awareness to curb the scourge.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});