As Uganda celebrates 50 years of independence, I
thought strongly about my come back on the blog scene. Of course, the comeback
was a prior plan and I am not just taking advantage of this special occasion
that the pearl of Africa is bound to witness a few hours from today!! But let’s
be honest, much has changed especially since my last blog post. Indeed I will
miss my experiences among the local communities that I served that time; but
that too has a comeback strategy in plan. Denmark is a whole lot of new
experience and I am sure the two years will be a long tale!
Well, enough about that! My agenda tonight is about celebrating
Uganda’s 50 years of independence. It is a great feeling to be free! I feel my
blood traversing my system with fresh energy!! But as I reflect on this
achievement, I cannot hide the perplexing feeling that re-echoed in my mind for
a minute. At least I won’t hide it from my fellow Ugandans! To some extent, I
feel a stranger in my own home! Sounds
crazy doesn’t it? And maybe not true?
Well, here is the point! While here in Denmark, if I meet
people who do not or speak little English and we cannot communicate, I feel so lost!
To put it right, I feel a complete stranger and at times a loser; just looking
at people speak in tongues… and trying to guess what they could be talking
about….and just hoping it is nothing bad about me. In the same manner, after 50
years of independence, it is just a pity that Uganda lacks a unifying language
like her neighbors (Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda…). In fact, the negativity of this
situation cannot be under estimated considering this era of globalization. I am
convinced that the socio-economic disparities in land (Uganda) are partly and
largely as a result of different regions being torn apart on a basis of the
lack of a unifying language. If you want to think about it in the aspect of
professionalism (which is widely my basis of argument), then imagine how many
skilled professionals have shunned working in some parts of the country just
because they cannot speak the local language there! Or imagine how many job
opportunities have passed by you just because you do not speak the local language
in the “would have been” work station
but you posses the required skills to perform the job! And then, how many lives
have we lost in this mess of language inadequacies? And how much money and
resources have we lost as a result of language incompatibility? How many social
networks have we missed in this mess? And then how many business investments
and other social services have been missed out in certain regions just because
the entrepreneurs do not feel comfortable about the languages spoken there? It is
true that many good programs are impended by the absence of a unifying language
in Uganda! Of course in this context, national unifying language puts the
locals (who in many cases lack formal education) at the fore front since a few
elites may characterize English a unifying language in Uganda today. I envy
many countries that I have been to just for presence of a national unifying
language amongst their citizens.
In my own views, I feel that one of the achievements
towards ending the social and health inequities in our own country will be the attainment
of a national unifying language. But all that said, I am proud to be Uganda.
Happy Golden Jubilee celebrations and for God and my country!
