Poverty, Violance, and Copyrights in Africa

Salam all,

Work has been so hectic this month, and since the Jinja trip I didn't take any weekends, but this Sunday was an exception. I made sure it was by working until 9:30 PM on Saturday!

We went to Speke Resort in Munyonyo on the shores of Lake Victoria. It was a great day; we had fresh Tilapia fish with chips, went on a boat trip, and just basically chilled! Whenever I go to such a beautiful place, I always have my family and friends on my mind, and I recite verses from the Quraan, Sorat "Ya-Sin":

قال يا لبت قومي يعلمون بما غفر لي ربي وجعلني من المكرمين

"Would my People know (what I know),For that my Lord has granted me Forgiveness and has enrolled me among those held in honour"

If you want to see a video of the boat ride, click on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykt5ipntqiw

When we were on the river bank, they told us that this lake connects to Rwanda, and that while the war (or ethnic genocide) was happening in Rwanda, more than 800,000 man, woman, and child were killed in the course of 100 days! Basically it was one tribe (Hutu) getting rid of the other minority tribe (Tutsi). They said that dead bodies of Rwandans would wash up on the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria! When they said that I got goose bumps (ASH3AR BADAN)I! They said bodies of children would wash up with a stick impaling them like they were barbecue! They said that the two tribes sometimes married from each other, and when the genocide started, the Hutu tribe would give a hacksaw to their men, and under point gun force them to not only to kill their Tutsi wife, but to cut her up while doing so… They told us that the only remotely safe place were the mosques, Muslim minority gave sanctuary to loads of people of different faith while people were being slaughtered. Rwandan Muslims played a key role in humanitarian efforts during the 1994 genocide; Muslims have been noted and honored by the national government for their roles in saving the lives of people regardless of their faith. Many people attribute the recent spread of Islam to these humanitarian acts.

On a lighter side, there is a great direct marketing scheme going on in Uganda for singers, I saw a truck with huge speakers and a band playing live while touring the city. They told us he is one of the prominent Ugandan singers, and that because of the piracy going on and non-existing copy right protection, singers would play their music on top of such trucks, and sell their albums directly form the back of the truck! Omar Al-Abdellat should try to do the same! But I think he will be stoned to death before he'll be able to sell a single CD :P

Before signing off, I want to point out that we are all blessed with so many blessings from Allah that we take for granted; Security, Electricity, Clean Water, Connectivity... I mean, only 10% of the population here have access to electricity, not to mention telecommunication and clean water! And that is not even a worry for a huge segment of people who don't even own a home! I remember a prayer taught to us that goes:

الحمد لله الذى عافانا مما ابتلى به كثيرا من خلقه
Thank Allah for he has spared us of many ordeals he tests others with

Take care and Stay in touch

Ali Jafari