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Excerpts from postcards sent in March 1987, Dean's World Tour I:
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This country has suffered more human devastation than most, even since Idi Amin, with tyrants such as the more recent president, Milton Obote, who slaughtered many opposed to his regime. People are more optimistic now with the current president, but there are still tribal wars in some parts of the country, and a lot of things are still screwed up and unpredictable here. For example, a thief was pulled off the train we were riding on and, I was told, was publicly flogged while the train waited and crowds watched. There are quite a number of military checkpoints, and we are stopped fairly often and thoroughly searched for weapons by men bearing rifles. The streets of Kampala, which have a very pleasant atmosphere during the day, become vacated by 10 PM and gunfire can be heard every night after midnight coming from various places in the city. We heard gunfire very near our hotel window a couple times. These shots, I've been told, are not being fired in anger, but are fired into the air as warning shots to those people who might be plotting a coup. Tourists, meanwhile, almost never experience any problems. Probably the biggest problem for them is continuously responding to the seemingly endless friendliness of the people.
We have just returned to Uganda after a couple days just across the border in French speaking Zaire, where we had the pleasure of viewing gorillas at very close range (as little as 10 feet) in their natural jungle habitat. It was a hard slog through the jungle, our guide bearing a machete knife to cut his way through, but it was more than worthwhile, since the gorillas were not too shy and were playfully fun to watch. There are fewer than 400 of them left on Earth.
Kwa heri, love,
Magilla Gorilla
Kampala, Uganda, 16 March 1987: Jambo! Habari? The friendliness of the people here is very nice, but sometimes it would be nicer to be unnoticed by them. It gets tiring being stared at and responding to a steady stream of "Jambo! Habari?" Some of the locals, unused to seeing muzungus (white people), will stare at us at close range for what seems like a dozen minutes before getting bored. Staring back doesn't stop them. The adults are only slightly more discrete than the children are. We also feel like pied pipers when up to two dozen children have followed us closely for up to a few miles as we walk down a country road. It's hard to have any privacy in public places as people are always watching us curiously. What could be so fascinating about us?
Transport in Africa can be an incredible pain. One of the most
unpleasant experiences I've ever had, bar none, was riding last week in an
impossibly crowded
Uganda has only a year ago begun to pick up the pieces of a dozen years of
turmoil and brutality unmatched anywhere in Africa. We have seen some of
the remains -- hundreds of human skulls and skeletons accumulated on the side
of the roads -- a scene reminiscent of
After only a year now, people have begun to feel free to express themselves again without fear of retribution. We have talked to some who have lost family and friends. They are now very optimistic about Uganda's future, while problems remain. Kampala is safe and pleasant during the day, but gunfire is heard almost nightly after midnight, with many weapons remaining in the hands of the wrong people. The economy is a mess with 125 percent inflation and very long lines at the gas pumps.
So, count your blessings,
Bungle in the Jungle
I have had to replace two pairs of prescription glasses, both of which were stolen. I don't know for what anybody would want them, unless they confused the tintedness for sunglasses.
Kwa Heri,
Gitarzan and his jungle band
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