9/11 in Africa

On the way home from the farm, George was checking the news on his phone, and mentioned that it was September 11th. I had known I would be in Africa then, but I had been so caught up in the trip that the date didn’t occur to me.

Patrick, one of the people with us, asked George why that date was significant, but remembered it once it was mentioned to him.

We started talking about politics, and George seemed to follow the election very closely. Unsurprisingly, I’ve met a lot of Obama fans during the trip so far. He said that he thought it would send a bad message if Obama lost, because everyone thinks the U.S. loves war and Obama would be a chance to change that.

One nuance that wasn’t lost on me was that while people spoke very badly about Bush and the U.S., they seemed to be referring to the government. From the conversations I’ve had, Uganda is a fairly pro-US country - English is spoken here, the main non-shilling currency is the dollar, and there is western music everywhere (especially Rihanna, apparently). The same people that said bad things about Bush were asking about New York, what America was like, where I was from and how much they would love to visit one day.

I think the idea of America is a very powerful one and something that still means something to people literally all over the world. It’s worth noting that aside from some of the outlandishness of the media coverage of the election, people as far away as remote villages in Africa find meaning in our actions both as a country and as individual voters.

Anyway, this is a blog about mosquito bites and not politics, but this trip has further reinforced my belief that it’s important to remember that we live in a global society. Being somewhere so far away, and out of the country for the first time on 9/11, it did show me something that I believe is apolitical. A lot of anger and conflict comes from inequality. A lot of our foreign policy is about aid, which may or not be conditional, but its powerful to watch Ugandans work on shaping their own future.

Our farm, while obviously financially backed by the U.S., is all local workers, will change Uganda, all the finished product will stay in Africa, and if it succeeds, will completely absolve the country from needing to import diesel – at all. Living in NY, and having been very affected by 9/11, it feels good to be a part of something that is helping alleviate problems in another part of the world. The Karamajong tribe is heavily armed, and every single person that has started on our farm has turned in their weapons. If we can demilitarize an entire people, while removing hunger and making them wealthier, I think that’s a great international model to be following as we look towards a decade since the attacks.

Anyway, I’m done ranting now. From a photography perspective, this view leading up to the farm was a visual reminder of where I am today.