Walk to Atanga SS

Walk to Atanga SS

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

If Might is Right, then Love has No Place in our World

    One of the points I was trying to make in the last post was the horrific stories of violence sometimes are just lurid and we should move past them to help the victims where they are now.  Except today the world and violence kicked my butt.  So here is the story and the tragedy of violence.     Somewhere wedged between civilian planes being shot out of the sky and children dying in Palestine...violence and the ugliness of guns showed up in a school in Gulu.

     Many schools in Gulu, primarily the boarding and village schools have study halls at nit where the students are back I the classrooms from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. or later.  These are really not optional and in the most Draconian of schools, the students can be even locked in their classrooms.  Around 7:30 last night, I was trying to figure out how to beat the rain and get dinner at the same time.  Being caught in the rain here with muddy streets and potholes that I always seem to step, was exactly what I was trying to avoid.  The cook at Diana Gardens had cut into my chicken quarter and had refried to make it hotter, he added spice as he cooked.  I thought this extra time might be costly, but I was able to get home in just a light drizzle and enjoyed a wonderful dinner in the breakfast room of the Cosmo Guest House a.k.a. my quarters.

      I have never been to Keyo SS, but some of the best teachers in IC Teacher Exchange have taught there.  They even sang a song with the word Keyo to the time of the Alle, Alle, Alle soccer chant.  I am sorry to have to relay this story to all my wonderful Keyo colleagues.  Truly sorry, because I know it will cause you great sadness.

    Last night, around 7:30 p.m.  at Keyo SS, a big metal door or maybe a shutter banged, it was windy then.  The security guard came to the study room and asked who did that.  A young boy, by the name of Oscar when accused said,  "It was not me, and I have an mock exam to study for, so I am leaving now."  I guess the guard thought the remark was flippant and shouted at the kid as he stepped on a boy's leg who was on the ground.  "Do you see what I can do to you, " as he continued to stand on the boy's leg.  He then shot Oscar in the hip, and the bullet ricocheted and went through his neck or chin.  Oscar died at Keyo.  The security guard ran away and was later apprehended by police.  The boys at Keyo in their grief and superheated frustration, broke all the windows in the chemistry lab and severely damaged the boys' dorm.  School has been suspended until further notice.

     As Ocen David was relaying this story to us, five of sat in a room stunned.  I wondered right away, why the security guard even had a bullet in his gun.  I think some of the guns you see on the streets in Gulu, do not have bullets.  David posed that this all happened due to "masculine arrogance."  Seriously guys, we have to examine why the slightest insult or injury makes us lose our mind.  Dennis, another Ugandan, wondered if the guard had been drinking or had been either a rebel or a soldier in the past.  Violence begets violence we see that so often yet we watch our communities and our governments react with violence and just condone it or ignore it.  We have to do more.  Today on Facebook, someone posted a wonderful opEd piece from St. Louis where three Jewish women urged Jewish leaders to condemn the violence in Israel.  That is a start.  We have to start questioning and stand up and ask why we are sending young men into so much violence and war and then doing nothing for them when they come home.

       I just finished a good book, Lawrence in Arabia, and learned that in World War I that they fought up to the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.  There were over 11,000 casualties that morning including over 3,000 Americans of people who were fighting even though they knew it was going to end.  "Masculine Arrogance". Indeed.  We, people so sick of this violence must raise our voices and counter this stupidity of violence.  Seriously, we must use the sheer stupidity of our history to change our ways.  It could start with 3 Jewish women or it could start with you.

        It has to happen so Oscar can go back into his classroom and study for his exams.  


1 comment:

aliker david martin said...

This is an article on a Ugandan daily about that incident and what has been done to the culprit.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/S4-Student-killer-arrested-in-Gulu-town/-/688334/2394194/-/vhat32z/-/index.html