Sweet & Sour, Salty & Sweet, Riots & Relaxation

Hey al, it's been awhile but I'm back after an interesting couple of past weeks.
First, I'll address the situation in Uganda, more specifically Kampal. I'm not sure how many of you keep up with events in Uganda, but a few weeks ago (starting Thursday, Sept. 10)there were riots in Kampala. Let me begin by explainging the cause. Uganda is a tribal nation. People will tell you what tribe they're from before telling you that they're Ugandan. One of the largest tribes, if not the largest, are the Bugandans. The Bugandans are situated in central Uganda, with their centre in Kampala. They also have a King, the Kabaka. The Kabaka was scheduled to visit Kayunga, which is part of the Baganda Kingdom, on Sat., Sept. 12. He was going there to take part in a Bugandan anual ceremony. On Thursday, President Musevini prohibited the Kabaka from visiting the region, citing security reasons. The Kabaka wanted to continue with his visit, arguing that he is still a citizen of Uganda, therefore, has the right to travel wherever he wanted. Musevini refused, blocked the road and all hell broke loose. The city was paralyzed for four days. The riots were not restricted to the city center. They were spread over several districts (Wakiso, Kayunga, Masaka, Kampala, Mukono amoung others) The rioters set fires, burned down a police station, destroyed all sorts of property (cars, taxis, businesses) and looted. The second or third day, they targeted the Indian businesses and completely destroyed some of them. There was nothing going in or out of Kampala. Taxi drivers had turned around, or just completely abandoned their vehicles to run to safety. The riots on Thursday started out of nowhere; everyone was taken by surprise. The ones on Saturday were more planned. People started shooting. There were some volunteers who were caught up in the middle of it. They had been in Kampala for one reason or another and were just around when people lost it. PC was able to get everyone out safely and I won't go into detail about what they had to get through, because it's not my story to tell. The police were called in to restore order, which did not really help. They used live ammunition on the rioters and the brutality was... a lot. I was not in Kamapala. I had been planning on going there on Friday, for a soccer game that Saturday. However, the game was cancelled, so I did not end up going. Instead, I was on the other side of the country, in Tororo. On Friday, all PCVs were put on standfast, whihch meant that no traveling was allowed. So, I was stuck in Tororo from Friday until Monday, when I got permission to return to site. By Sunday, the rioters had stopped and there was a relative calm in Kampala. As of now, Kampala is back to normal, though as I understand it, there is a heavy police presence. I haven't actually been to Kampala since the riots. So, the aftermath: over 600 people have been arrested for rioting, with 29 of them being charged with treason. These 29 are the people that set the police station and several cars on fire. Musevini addressed the Parliament and said that he supported the reaction of the police. People have the right to defend their lives, therefore the use of live bullets was not against the constitution. He and the Kabaka are going to try and talk about it. From what I understand, the two of them are constantly at each others throats because each is a threat to the others power. It's the political vs the cultural leader. As far as Kayunga goes, I think it was a test by Musevini to assert his authority over the Kabaka, which resulted in disaster.
So, that's what happened. I just thought it was important for you all to be informed. I want you to know what I'm doing, but also what I'm living with or through. Part of that is, inevitably, political. I'm hoping I won't have to write updates like this too often. Also, I'm really hoping you don't freak out too much! Really, everything is ok. I'm safe and PC has good policies and quick reaction times. Besides, I live in the bush, so I'm pretty secluded from the hot spots. The biggest worry I have is how to get to the only market in town that sells chocolate before it closes.
Right now, I'm in Tororo again. This time, I'm taking meds for parasites. Since last Friday, I've been having stomach cramps, amoung other things. So, I got here Friday afternoon and took some drugs that will, hopefully, kill whatever organism is invading my space and making my life difficult. I should be back to site on Tuesday.
Last weekend was the end of Ramadan, called Ed. Ed is calculated according to the moon and marks the end of fasting. There is usually a feast to celebrate. Nulu and I spent over 6 hours cooking a ton of food! At the beginning, I was cooking but then I demoted myself to washing dishes (you all can probably guess why). I did get to cut come cabbage though. And, after a couple bad starts, I kicked that cabbages butt!! When we finally got to eat, the food was excellent : )
And, to end, here's the latest cooking faux paux: I attempted to make smore the other day, by cooking the marshmellows over my gas stove. Now, you should know that smores are a delicacy because one, maybe two, stores in the entire country sell marshmallows, so getting my hands on thosewas tricky. Well, I roasted the marshmallow and put it on my biscuits (cookie/cracker) and chocolate. Then, I went to lick the fork... and branded myself! Afer blowing on it and everything. My tongue and bottom lip had an imprint of the fork on it. My lips were swollen the next couple of days as a result. Seriously, I'm not sure why the culinary gods are so against me, but they are ever busy.
And with that, I'll leave you all to your fall weather. TTFN!
~Rachael