Category: ugandan blogosphere

jackfruit of the week: 2007.05.29

Writing for the Daily Monitor, Lucy Hannan has a chilling account of life inside a Lord’s Resistance Army camp in the DRC: “Unlike former abductees who have horrific tales of escape and fear, or children who have been murdered and tortured in the bush, these are the kids who will kill for the mystical, militarised cult.”

Country Boyi wonders what would happen if Ugandans blogged in local languages. All of the Ugandan blogs I’ve found so far have been in English — why is that? Is there a whole sector of the blogren I’m missing?

Owera responds to recent controversy over whether or not bloggers are afforded the same legal protection as journalists: “I am not a journalist. I am a blogger. I blog. I run an online diary. Period.” (Particularly interesting is the AP article he quotes, in which a blogger is defined as “some hack who offers half-baked commentary on the news of the day.”)

The news is already out, but I’m taking over from Josh as the Global Voices Uganda Author. My first post, “Self-reflection and the search for meaning in the Ugandan blogosphere,” was published on May 17, and you can keep track of my biweekly blogren roundups here.

why Idi Amin is (not) the greatest Ugandan

Dennis Matanda recently engaged in a search for heroes and came to the conclusion that Idi Amin is the greatest Ugandan.

To me, this is kind of like saying George W. Bush is the greatest American: resolve and dedication to a cause, no matter who dies. He promises a Part II, which I await eagerly, but I can’t hold in my skepticism regarding his ten points that “prove” Idi’s greatness. Here’s my rebuttal:

i) He was able to build the International Conference Center from Government Resources
Okay, this isn’t exactly a strong start (on my part) because I don’t know enough about the International Conference Center. Has it been used much since then? Has it brought in a lot of International Conferences? (Knowing my luck, this is probably the reason CHOGM is being held in Uganda.) But moving on:

ii) He had the balls to make unpopular decisions in terms of the Indians in 1972
This, as I understand, was a fantastic move for Uganda’s economy.

iii) He gave Uganda a bad name in the International Press
Which is exactly what this country needed — bad press.

iv) He went against Israel and lost [French Jet – Hijacked Passengers]
And more bad press.

v) He made the Scottish Skirt Look Good!
Not as good as Ewan Macgregor.

vi) He did not eat any of his kids
I’d venture a guess that this goes for the vast majority of humankind.

vii) He took French TV around his country on a tourism drive
This is cool, and something I didn’t know, but I think it qualifies Amin more for the “random trivia” category of hero than the “all time greatest” category.

viii) Yoweri Museveni, about 20 years later, did exactly the same thing
I fail to see the logic here.

ix) He did not actually kill over 500,000 Ugandans in those 8 years
ix) Maybe not 500,000. But a bunch. Enough that I wouldn’t put him in charge of my country, or in the same room as any of my family members, friends, coworkers or chance acquaintances. Or the guy who served me coffee this morning. Or my boda driver. Or…you know…anyone.

x) He was the star of the film: The Last King of Scotland
Really? ‘Cause I totally thought that was Forest Whitaker.

As always, I admire your willingness — nay, your unwavering, stubborn resolve — to play the devil’s advocate in the Ugandan blogosphere. But wow, man…curious to see where you end up with this.

GVO: Self reflection and the search for meaning in the Ugandan Blogosphere

My first piece is up at Global Voices Online:

The Ugandan bloggers are having an existential crisis of sorts. The self-examination among the Blogren, as they’ve started calling each other, began in January when several bloggers objected to the establishment of Uganda Bloggers Happy Hour and the Uganda Best of Blog awards.

Read more»

the blogren

Even when I disagree with the 27th Comrade, I still can’t help but admire him. This time it’s because of The Blogren — the term he coined to refer to Ugandan bloggers.

The Danish blogumentary filmmakers who were here last month assembled an “anthropological study” of The Blogren — an examination of who they are, what they write about and how they interact with one another. They describe blogren(s) as “young, sexy, cool, intelligent…[and] opinionated.” These are part of a string of adjectives that have been used in connection with Ugandan bloggers — Lovely Amphibian likes funny, witty and neurotic. Pernille prefers caring, schizophrenic, spiced up, courageous and honest, and I’ve used lovely, thoughtful, hilarious, raw and titilating.

Lately, though, I’ve been wondering about nouns. When I was designing the Uganda Best of Blogs, I struggled with how to categorize the many, many people who could be considered Ugandan bloggers. For the purpose of their documentary, the Danes were focusing on Ugandans who blog from Uganda. This is the most narrow definition, but there are also non-Ugandans who blog from Uganda and both Ugandans and non-Ugandans who blog from elsewhere. Do you include expats whose blogs are of the “Hi Mom, I made it and I’m alive, don’t worry” variety? Or Ugandan residents who blog only about their daily lives? What about Ugandan expats who write more about where they live in now than about their own country?

Frustrated about the way bloggers responded to the Mabira riots, Owera defines a Ugandan blogger as “a blogger keeping a journal [about] the situation and events [in] Uganda and not necessarily a Ugandan native blogging.” This would exclude most Ugandan expats, a lot of the younger bloggers and some members of the Makerere School, but would include blogs like I Left Copenhagen for Uganda, In an African Minute, Uganda-CAN and Jackfruity.

The Danes write that “an unknown number [of Ugandan bloggers] is considered blogrens,” and the creator of the term has yet to weigh in on the subject, but I prefer a definition that falls somewhere between the focus of the documentary and what Owera has to say. I believe the Ugandan blogosphere should include non-Ugandans and Ugandan emigrants/expats who blog heavily about the country — not just because that’s what I do, but also because these authors can provide new, outside perspective on Ugandan issues and events. I also believe that Ugandan residents who blog about their daily lives play an important role — their accounts of school, family life, dates and pop music, while not as politically charged as some of the other blogs, give the Ugandan blogosphere depth and nuance. It’s this group — Uganda-focused and Ugandan-resident bloggers — that I mean when I say The Blogren.

Tangenitally related is the 27th Comrade’s manifesto on the function of Ugandan bloggers: “Uganda is not one of them countries where bloggers are dissidents….” Definitely worth a read.

may UBHH

uganda bloggers happy hourThe May Uganda Bloggers Happy Hour is coming up next week: Thursday, May 17, 6:30 PM at Mateo’s* on Kampala Road. Mark your calendars, enter it into your Blackberries and set your cell phone reminders.

In describing UBHH to the non-initiated, I’ve realized that “we hang out and talk” is perhaps not the most alluring way to portray who we are and what we do. This, in combination with suggestions from several UBHH regulars that we make things a little more formal, has led me to designate May as Generic Blog Question Month. I’m curious to what goes on in the Ugandan blogosphere besides posting and commenting.

Some things to think about:

  • What blogs do you read regularly?
  • What’s most likely to make you return to a blog (pictures, design, writing, a personal connection to the author)?
  • Do you use blogs more as a source of information about specific topics — politics, current events, pop culture, Turkish cooking — or as a way to stay in touch with your friends and family?

Get ready — I plan to go discussion-facilitator-mode on you guys, partly so that I can tell other people that we talk about specific things, but mostly because I just want to know. Who’s reading an awesome Estonian knitting blog or gets all of their political news from a handful of bloggers? Come on, spill: what intriguing, sparkly blogtreasures are you hiding?

Also, depending on how tired they are after 36 hours of travel, there’s a chance I’ll be bringing two very special guests with me: my mom and my aunt, who are jointly responsible for my current knowledge of English grammar, how to format a term paper and what happens when you jam a finger covered in Vick’s Vapo-Rub up someone’s nose.

*Sorry for the earlier confusion — I’m terrible with dates.