weather: you like it or not

raining in nyc today. doing a little uganda research...

---from WikiLeaks via The Guardian: Yet the President's autocratic tendencies, as well as Uganda's pervasive corruption, sharpening ethnic divisions, and explosive population growth have eroding Uganda's status as an African success story. Holding a credible and peaceful presidential election in February 2011 could restore Uganda's image, while failing in that task could lead to domestic political violence and regional instability. read the rest here

This cable continues on to outline major issues facing Uganda in the near future: human rights and corruption, the LRA and ethnic tensions, HIV/AIDS, oil and the economy. The attitude presented here is one of Uganda as a "fading democracy" faced with numerous domestic challenges and foreign pressure to stand up and re-establish its role as "a confident and outspoken regional leader."

-- one of the first issues facing the region in 2011 is the South Sudan referendum on 9 January. From The Independent magazine in Uganda: "Uganda should pay close attention to the 2011 South Sudan elections." The TIME Magazine issue for this week asks the question, “South Sudan: Can this be the World’s Newest Nation?” The question is very pertinent for the world, but it is an extremely important question for Uganda and Africa. As a country, Uganda should be paying particularly close attention to the political situation in South Sudan. The result of the 2011 referendum could hurt or benefit Uganda. the rest here

This blog post draws out the impact of the referendum down to two possibilities: A) The referendum in southern Sudan does not go smoothly and Sudan descends into civil war. Uganda has a history of supporting the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA - representing the southern part of Sudan) while the government in Khartoum has supported Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. (LRA - infamous rebel group from Northern Uganda) A civil war could mean increased tension between Uganda and Sudan as each country supports the enemy of the other. Option B) The referendum does go smoothly and South Sudan is gtanted independence. Uganda already has strong economic ties to South Sudan. The region is "blessed" with oil and South Sudan's independence could result in major investment from oil companies.

-- And a hopeful note for the day...Project Justice

Imagine being brutally attacked by your husband. You are rushed to the hospital, on the verge of death. At the hospital, you are cared for, and when you are slightly stronger, you are sent back home to the perpetrator of the crime because the hospital workers are ignorant of the law and the police require a bribe to file a police report.

Or, imagine you are a 13-year-old girl, raped and impregnated by your assailant. Your family is so poor and ignorant of the law that they accept a cow from the family of the man as settlement for the deed. Case closed.

Incidents like these are what inspired Just Like My Child Foundation’s “Project Justice” – a comprehensive human rights education program conducted in partnership with FIDA, a Federation of Women Attorneys that is Promoting the Dignity & Human Rights of Women & Children Using Law as a Tool of Social Justice.

SIGNING OFF TO SELL,SELL,SELL!

C O L D

chilly in the booth today. eating pretzels to stay warm.

the booth, the whole booth, and nothing bu the booth

day three. still excited. coffee helps. so does money in my hand. today i learned that most dogs in central park wear clothes. i saw a beagle wearing a green t-shirt, a blue down vest and a yellow scarf.

i went to the big library on 42nd st. i love the reading room at the top floor. the ceiling is painted with blue skies and clouds. there are two levels of books around the perimeter. above the books are tall arched windows. its like grand central station for books. there are long tables with wide, sturdy seats. each place - the seat and the table - are numbered. you could say, meet me at the big library, in the reading room on the top floor, i'll be at seat 662. i like that a lot. i'm not sure why. maybe because its so concrete. it exists. it has existed for a long time and will continue to exist. i think that's what they call legacy. maybe not.

tomorrow is saturday. usually saturday means lounging by the pool or baking brownies. tomorrow i want to work hard. i want to sell necklaces and bags and make my pitch 500 times.

market madness

made some sales today. yay.

cool and dry. my opening line is "good morning/afternoon/evening. our beads are made from recycled paper by 93 women in uganda.

staying at 62&lex (thankyou dora) a magical place. can order food on the internet and pay for with credit card. and it just shows up, right at your door all warm and juicy and mexican/thai/italian/chinese/burger.

need to find some music/cultural activity soon.

holy social media batman! i've never been more entertained by the internets. i'm warming my hands by the tweety glow. but its not enough. i turned on the space heater. i feel like a wimp, but its day one.

day one at columbus circle holiday market. rainy. really rainy. not too many people around. our necklaces look pretty. our online credit checkout is ready to go. the euro scarf/necklace girls across the cobblestone have a customer. she's looking at wallets. i'm intensely jealous.

more later...

Sciurus carolinensis

america.

i ate pretzels and apple pie. it was store bought, but so what. i'm prepping my palate for the home made version next week. tonight its my job to make lasagna. should i consult a cookbook or just go freestyle?

sending away for a 6 month multi-entry visa. maybe i won't have to play up the tourist card so much. a tourist visa only lasts 90 days and then you have to get a new one. ugandan visas are only single entry, so when you have to get a new one if you leave the country. this means that the best times for me to leave uganda are each time my visa expires.

this is me at border 4 times per year. its usually the middle of the night after 6 hours of bumpy road on a bus or a few transfers on small planes. i've got my crisp $50 bill and yellow fever card in hand:

immigration officer: i see you've been in uganda for some time.

me: i love uganda so much!

io: what are you doing in uganda?

me: rafting, traveling around. meeting people. ugandans are so friendly!

io: where do you stay in uganda?

me: oh here and there. i really like jinja. the river is awesome!

io: you've got $50? ok. (stamp, stamp)

i'm in.

counting necklaces. so many necklaces. they're hung airing in the garage. they're on the futon in the basement. they like to fall out of their velcro groupings, so i'll be counting them all again. we count them when we buy them at the meeting. twice, actually. first what we receive from each suubi lady. then, again into bundles of 10 or 25. at epoh, they're washed and counted again before being put into fedex boxes or fiber bags to be taken back to magwa. the ones that come to magwa are counted again when they're packed into suitcases to come to america. if we're lucky, the bags only have to be packed once. if things get confusing, we'll take the necklaces out and do it all over again. now i have the bags in america. i took them out to air. i'll count them again and pack them again to take to the Holiday Booth in NYC.

FICTION

A day in the life of three Suubi women…

With a single shot from a single drop on the tin roof, Christine wakes up. It’s still dark. She sits up on the foam mat she shares with the baby. A strong gust rattles the windows’ wooden shutters. The rain sounds like war on her roof. She reaches for the matchbox and lights the paraffin lamp on the floor. The baby moves behind her. She turns around. His mouth is open and she can see his small sharp teeth. The combat on the roof increases and noise fills the room around her. Its so loud she can’t hear him cry.

Florence tightens the kitenge around her waist and feels for the coins and notes tied in the corner of the top skirt. She hopes she has left for the market early enough to make it back with time to cook for and feed her children lunch at mid-day. She waves and calls out Good Morning to the neighbor unlocking the door of the shop. She reminds herself to stop here on the way home to buy an onion, three tomatoes, and two peppers to mix with the beans that are already on the charcoal stove. She hurries and turns the corner onto the main road. She steps off the curb to avoid the grass flung by the slasher cutting the grass in the drainage ditch. She steps back up as a boda carrying two men and a driver swerves toward her around a pothole. The motorcycle follows the same path worn smooth by every two-wheeled vehicle that has come before. At the market she buys three packets of gold seed beads and one bundle of lightweight fishing line. If she hurries she’ll make it back home in time.

Elizabeth sits on a fiber mat under the jackfruit tree. She can hear her grandchildren playing on the other side of the house. She picks up a string of varnished beads and cuts them with a razor. She pushes the beads from the line into a plastic container. She calls to her youngest daughter to bring the rest of her supplies from inside the house. The oldest child runs toward her with a knob of sugar cane in each hand. The next born runs close behind and shoves the older child. She calls both of their names and scolds them for fighting. She picks up another string of beads, cuts the line, and pushes them into the container. She calls for her daughter again to bring her supplies.