Gulu's Got Talent - well kind of...

First off, here are some pictures of Gulu from the third floor balcony of my (and formerly Antony's) accommodation:

Antony and I spent the day yesterday working - Antony at meetings with the UN, and me in email contact with the UN - as well as doing internet-based research. Antony was put in contact with the office of the Head Chief (King or something I think) of the Acholi tribe, but as Antony has left for Kampala now, I am going to the meeting instead. No idea how one should act around an Acholi chief, so I expect much cultural insensitivity will ensue!

In the evening we met with our friend Frank (pictured below - complete with Antony's hat and my jacket!), a Ugandan who works for an Italian Project that goes to rural communities and uses film/drama to help them address health issues such as HIV/Aids. Frank wanted to hear some of the music I liked, so I played him some dubstep. His reaction was to look quizically at me and say "your music sounds strange to me", followed by removing the earphones and giving my Ipod back. Uganda clearly isn't ready for Burial yet!

Later, we went for drinks at the oddly named BJz bar and met up with the other people working on the project including some Italians from their Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We then headed to a 'nightclub' called Herms for possibly the strangest night out of my life!

It was a karaoke show originally, expect people just mimed to songs, rather than singing them (probably for the best), and the audience went and stuffed Shillings notes into the hands of the best mimers. Pretty weird. However, that was nothing compared to the drag act! YES, thats right, a drag act, in Uganda, a country where homosexuality is illegal and taboo, in Gulu, where the incredibly traditional Acholi people live. We were not expecting that one at all! It got weirder still when the compere proceeded to highlight everything about the drag artists that indicated they were really men - including peeking up their skirts!

Then followed a 'comedy' sketch set to music and conducted largely in the Acholi Language - even with in-depth explanations from our Acholi friends, its fairly safe to say, we still didn't get the joke! As usual the night ended with the consumption of large quantities of Waragi.

We woke at 7am this morning and drove north from Gulu to an IDP (Internally Displaced Peoples) Camp named Pabbo. The drive took about an hour on dirt track road through ridiculously rural areas. The land is so fertile but nobody farms their due to their residing in these camps. One of the Elders at the camp that showed us around and allowed us to interview him told us how Northern Uganda used to be the 'breadbasket of Uganda', and even in the mid-1990s, during the height of the LRA's attacks, they produced bumper crops. It seems such a waste that these people and their skills and potential is all going to waste, as they live disjointed and unproductive lives in tightly packed camps, in communities that aren't their own.

The guy also told us about the Acholi conception of justice, which involves forgiveness not punishment, and how former-LRA soldiers who have committed atrocities against them are welcomed back into communities aslong as they confess and perform a cleansing ceremony. It seems odd to me that you could ever forgive someone who potentially raped/murdered/mutiliated your family members, but this approach really seems to bring peace the community.
It was a very interesting, eye-opening and humbling day.

Antony has now left for Kampala so I am all alone in the wilds of the North to face spider attacks, power cuts and water outages alone (power and water have only just come back after being out since yesterday evening). Sad times!