Lama Lo Uganda?

Posted on by andrewrfretwell

Jamie and I sojourned for a long weekend in Uganda. While Kampala didn’t impress us except for insane traffic, it was a wonderful break from work. We went whitewater rafting down the Nile River and lounged, ate, and happily languished in the sun with drinks in hand. As always, if you want to see photos, including of when we capsized (twice), check our Google Photo Album or follow me (@thewanderingview) or Jamie (@jewsforcheesus) on Instagram.

Not so long ago there was a popular Israeli song titled “Lama Lo Uganda?” Hebrew for, “Why not Uganda?” Here’s a little historical context: In the early 20th century, Great Britain was trying to figure out how to make allies of both Jews and Arabs leading up to World War I. The only way to do that was to find a solution to the conflicting Jewish and Arab aspirations for that blessed and cursed tract of land between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea. And Great Britain figured it out: let the Arabs have Palestine and give the Jews Uganda! It’s a national Jewish homeland, just in a place where Jews had no historical, spiritual, or physical connection; the Zionist Congress roundly rejected it. The song is lighthearted, ironically lamenting that maybe Uganda was the way to go.

The Uganda Plan was a bad idea; it shifted a problem instead of solving it and it attempted to hollow out the ideals of Zionism while leaving the packaging intact and call it whole. But cutting corners for convenience is ubiquitous: it’s in every organization, hierarchy, and culture in the form of jargon. I define jargon as when a term becomes a symbol and that symbol ends up replacing independent thinking and the goal it was actually established to meet. In business, managers constantly invoke the virtue of efficiency to drive decisions. But efficiency is never the business’s goal, just one indicator among many others. Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox capture this “tail wagging the dog” phenomenon in their book, “The Goal.”

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In the non-profit industry, managers pray at the altar of innovation, but to what end? Innovation is important, but it so often causes so much hand-wringing it’s as if organizational missions are reduced to being the vehicle to simply showcase innovation. There are myriad examples to include but let’s move to the next point: Democracy in most of East Africa today is little more than jargon.

Democracy is when a society regulates itself to create constructive tension and harmony between individuals and sub-groups, to the benefit of that society as a whole. No one does this perfectly; democracy is as much a group journey as it as a set of systems and institutions.  America is an exciting democracy despite, and in some ways because of, its warts, many of which are on full display when Donald Trump tries to poison our country for his own profit. Borrowing from MLK, America’s moral arc is long and uneven, but it bends towards justice. Our democracy is more inclusive and mature than it was 50 years ago and 50 years from now it will be even more so than today.

But in most of East Africa, while the word democracy is everywhere, only the packaging is left intact. Elections were just held in Uganda; President Yoweri Museveni won handily and few believe the results have any authenticity. Elections are the easiest imitations of democracy to display for foreign governments and investors and, in this region, they rarely reflect popular opinion. Even in South Africa, where election results are honest, anyone who is not a beneficiary of the African National Congress hardly feels like they get a whisper in government decisions. Many protest, but more resign themselves to a corrupt, incompetent government. The regimes in Kenya and (un)Democratic Republic of the Congo are too busy remembering who they took bribes from to even feign democracy.

Is this a uniform condemnation? Hardly. We have a fairly fixed conception of democracy: regular elections with universal suffrage, an independent judiciary, protection of press, free expression, and private property. All of these may be a part of our utopian vision but if those conditions are the whole of the democracy we promote, instead of the core pursuit of creating harmony within a society, then we compel these countries to jargnoize democracy for the sake of foreign cash flow. In “Long Walk to Freedom” Nelson Mandela speaks about his childhood village tribal councils. Tribesmen would come to the hall of the chief, present pressing conflicts, and the chief would build an agreement by consensus. The chief was born into his position, so by our standards this is not a democracy. Yet Mandela praised this system as democratic since it settled conflict and created cooperation among quarreling neighbors. Who am I to disagree with the great Madiba!

In “We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We will be Killed with our Families” President Museveni explains his disinterest in a Ugandan multi-party democracy by making the comparison to a man with a heart condition who tries to prove his good health and kills himself in the process. The “democratizing” of Iraq and Arab Spring prove the point quite well. We jammed in the mechanisms of democracy where the societal cohesiveness was not strong enough to hold up and what we got are dictators and the Islamic State.

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Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, DRC’s President Joseph Kabila, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, and Jacob Zuma at a ceremony to celebrate the peaceful transfer of power in Tanzania.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame also leads a single-party government and controls the army, which does not hesitate to instruct people on how they should vote when elections are held; no one expects this to change, but should we wag our finger at Kagame? It was only 22 years ago that Rwanda suffered a genocide rooted in the rivalry between Hutus and Tutsis. For democracy to work, citizens must believe that their destiny is enmeshed with the destiny of all their neighbors. Otherwise the staples of democracy are little more than a coat of polish on tribal vitriol. Perhaps Rwanda will host a vibrant political discourse someday with great discord and dignity, but to push that prematurely is not just dangerous, it’s radioactive. You need look no further than Burundi on Rwanda’s southern border to see that Hutu-Tutsi violence remains a potent threat.

So what am I to think? Democracy is a fig leaf for single party rulers, so that’s bad!

But that may be the only way to set the foundations to uphold a democracy, so that’s good!

But we’ll only know that’s the case if a peaceful transfer of power can take place, so that’s…inconclusive.

There is no stress test for if these governments are ushering their countries towards democracy or away from it. Only when Kagame, Museveni, et al either die or step down will we know down which road they have led their people. How frustrating to the instant gratification seeking millennial who is thirsty to witness history, good or bad.

Maybe I should just be content with a fun get-away and ask “Lama Lo Uganda?”

Muzungus in the Mist

Posted on by andrewrfretwell

“The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla, the more you want to avoid people.”

Dian Fossey, author of Gorillas in the Mist

This past week Jamie and I headed to western Rwanda, to spend a day lounging by Lake Kivu, by the border with the (Un)Democratic Republic of Congo, which was absolutely lovely. But that lounging was in preparation for the following day: waking up at 5am to head out for a trek through rain and fog up a mountain to hang with a family of 20+ gorillas, called the Susa Family, who happen to be the family of gorillas famously studied by Dian Fossey herself. We spent 2-3 hours hiking up from 6,000 feet up a fairly steep mountain that tops out at about 9,000 feet. The mountainside was home to lush green farmland (we were a distillery away from being sure we transported to Scotland), curious local farmers and kids, and dense bamboo forests.

It was the kind of hike where the physical exertion matches the mental serenity and by the time you nearly reach the destination you’re out of breath (the air is pretty thin at 9,000 feet in the air), exhausted, and dirty. But you still think, “Wow the journey is the destination.”

Then you see the gorillas.

And you realize, no, the destination really is the destination.

We spent an hour observing the Susa family of mountain gorillas close up; as in close enough to reach out and touch them since they’re fairly blasé about our presence. After getting up close and personal with the gorillas we returned down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, where jeeps awaited us, there was a group of villagers selling various merchandise, including shirts that said “Muzungus in the Mist,” (Muzungu is basically Rwandan for “honkey” or white person). I thought it funny enough to earn the title of this post.

That tangent aside, it’s impossible to not itch with curiosity towards how a species so close to human lives and plays. Watching an animal that can use its opposable thumbs will always be striking. Observing them was like doing a review of what some our most basic psychological needs. Four needs that stuck out the most to me include:

Our Need for Safe Space

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A Susa baby gorilla finds safe space on mama’s back

The gorillas were comfortable with us watching them eat and play up close, but we were warned that it was possible they would not be so ok with us entering the territory in which case we would have to communicate our deference to them through kneeling down and avoiding eye contact. The need to have territory for oneself, family, tribe (extended family) or nation (coalition of extended families) is taken seriously by the gorillas.

It speaks to how crucial safe space is to our own psyche. As individuals we have places that we guard jealously, whether they be houses, bedrooms, or for New Yorkers a 10X10 foot shoebox they call a modest studio with great location.

The world is full of uncertainty and danger. Keeping a safe space is an insurance policy that if the rest of the world becomes too scary, we have one place into which we, and our most loved ones, can retreat and plan our next step.

Our Need to Share

The gorillas are a cooperative species. They share their space and their food (though they also make clear to the others when not to mess with their food). Sharing is critical on multiple levels. The first is on a basic level of survival. Now to be clear, gorillas will allow one of their own to die if natural selection deems it correct. But survival is not an individual contest for the gorillas; it is a collective undertaking by the family. Therefore sharing is essential to ensuring that the maximal amount of the family can survive, produce children and care for those children until adulthood (gorillas tend to breastfeed for about three years…I think).

But there is another level and explanation to the centrality of sharing to our own psyche: it is how we create and maintain connections to others. Whether sharing food, space, or time, doing so reaffirms our desire to connect and reinforces that connection to do so. The world is a harsh place, so I need someone I can trust. I can only trust someone who understands me and I understand them. I can only understand someone, and they understand me, if we have a genuine connection. How do I create and maintain that connection? Through sharing my experience with them, and they with me. And the more we share, the stronger that connection and trust is.

Our Need for Silly

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Two young members of the Susa family get tangled up and turned upside down while wrestling (all in the name of fun, of course!)

The most entertaining thing to watch on the mountain was how the young gorillas played with each other, wrestling, teasing each other and rolling around the hill. Does this help develop the young gorillas ability to handle physical confrontation? Yeah. Does it also play a role in helping the gorillas determine dominance at various stages of development? Probably. But it also is because while the world is harrowing, sometimes the best inoculation is remembering that we can choose times to forget about the world and just do something fun and revel in our senses, physical prowess and roll around a muddy slope.

Our Need to Resolve Conflict

But not all physical interactions are sharing and playing. We watched as gorillas resolved scuffles among the family, either because one was eating another’s food, getting in another’s way or whatever else it is that gorillas bicker over. It was exhilarating and a little scary to be standing eight feet from two gorillas who escalated from grabbing at the same food to literally beating their chests at each other in about ten seconds. But what was much more interesting was how instantly the quarrel was resolved, one gorilla would back down, and then within a minute they might be playing together or picking the ticks off each other. Lesson: once a grievance has been resolved, you only waste time in stewing over it. Let me know when you figure out how to do that, I would love to learn that trick.

One Final Note

Mountain gorillas are as endangered as they are majestic. They only live in the rain forest that is split between Uganda, Rwanda and (Un)Democratic Republic of Congo. The Rwandan Government goes to admirable lengths to protect the mountain gorillas, as does the Ugandan Government. The DRC though…well let’s just say the gorillas have figured out they are better off leaving the DRC. The government is beyond corrupt and for the right price you can set a trap that will ensnare a gorilla. There is something poetic in the mountain gorillas reacting to the effects of a dysfunctional human cooperative enterprise.

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Required gorilla selfie! #Africamp

Check out tons more photos of these amazing gorillas here!

Photo credit (mostly) to Jamie Maxner.

 

Part 1: Enter Agahozo Shalom

Posted on by andrewrfretwell

Mango Tree

The famed mango tree under which Anne Heyman purchased the land for Agahozo Shalom Youth Village.

Shalom from Agahozo Shalom Youth Village!

Thanks for checking in on my and Jamie’s #Africamp travel blog. If you are wondering how Jamie and I are doing and what life is like for us here, you’re at the right place.

First, you can look at our Google Photo Album to get some of the visuals. Now, let’s see. First let me explain how amazing Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) is. ASYV is home to over 500 Rwandan teens who are orphans or considered “at risk.” ASYV has created a true home for these teens, and provides them with family, security, love, belief in themselves, an education, and opportunities to continue their studies after high school.

The last two weeks have been transformative. The love that this place radiates can melt away the cynicism off of the most hardened New Yorker’s heart.

The teens are hungry for knowledge and acceptance, and the village supplies both. Every day Jamie and I witness what a community of teens looks like when being sincere, not aloof, is the default cool. Every day we are blown away by something one or more of the kids says or does.

So what have Jamie and I been doing?

Here’s a list on one foot:

English


We’re teaching one to four English lessons a day to classes of 36 students. We were told when we arrived that mastering English is one of the principle turnkeys to build student confidence and prospects for future employment. The educators are remaking the English curriculum, so we get to make up classes as we go. Jamie and I have taught English through singing “We Shall Overcome” (practicing future tense), teaching the “Cha Cha Slide” dance (Imperative tense and reviewing left and right), and a game similar to hide and seek (learning prepositions), among other interactive lessons. My and Jamie’s extensive time doing experiential camp education is really coming in handy right now.

Professional Skills Workshops

The students are really focused on acquiring practical skills in preparation for college, gap year programs and job opportunities that involve skilled labor (IT, hospitality, modern agriculture, etc.) So we have been tasked with creating a set of workshops for entire grades (128 students) to help. We’ve so far run a workshop on how to use the 5 Paragraph essay for to organize their thoughts, personal story building for college essays, and developing interview skills. At some point we will also help build an entrepreneurship curriculum.

Student Leadership


We’ve been asked to develop a leadership training program for the student government. We were just asked to do this so I don’t know entirely what we’re going to do, but it will involve public speaking, active listening, time management, effective messaging, etc.

Debate Team


Kigali Champs

ASYV’s Kigali Debate Team 2016 Champions!

Debate team is a big deal in the village and in Rwanda in general. The debate coach, Maxime, asked us to help out the team. Last week was the Kigali (Capital of Rwanda) City championship. The motion was “Rwanda must increase its pace of reducing its dependency on foreign aid,” and ASYV’s team won! Also, in case you are wondering, debate competitions are conducted entirely in English. The national tournament is in March and we are hoping to do well and advance all the way to the East Africa tournament in Kenya!

Young Judaea Group


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Mikaela, from Young Judaea’s Year Course, thoughfully leading a discussion about the value of”Tikkun Olam” (repairing the world) with a group of boys.

Not coincidentally, there is a group of 15 teens who are currently on Young Judaea’s Gap Year, Year Course in Israel program (the same one Jamie and I both went on back in the day) who are spending three weeks here at ASYV, learning about the village and Rwanda, and volunteering. We know many of these teens as they were our campers at Camp Tel Yehudah and we’ve enjoyed experiencing the village along with them, helping them lead programs and activities for students and remaining linked to the work we once did in YJ. If you’re wondering why the YJ kids are at this specific village, the answer is that the founder of the village, Anne Heyman, was a YJ alumna who felt that YJ gave her the vision and passion to undertake founding this village (which is modeled after Yemine Orde, an orphan village created in Israel after the Holocaust).

All of the work that we have been doing over the past two weeks has given us a myriad moments upon which to reflect, enjoy and marvel. We already know that by the time we finish our time here at the end of March, we will feel this place woven into us.

What about the Rest of Rwanda? 


So Jamie and I are really busy, like non-stop busy from 8am until 9pm every day. But we’ve also had a chance to get out of village every now and then and the village is an hour or so away from Kigali. We spent a day with the YJ group at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, learning and understanding about the darkness that encapsulated Rwanda in 1994, the shadow of which still looms silently over the country and Rwandan youth. Jamie and I are fortunate that we will be in Kigali on April 7th, to experience the Memorial Day for the genocide. I am especially curious to compare it with Yom HaShoah. During other trips out of the village, we’ve had the chance to eat Rwandan food, shop at small and charming rural markets, ride around Kigali on the bike of motorbikes (it’s how everyone gets around) and see the city. We’ve also hung out with silverback gorillas, but these are all just previews for future blog posts.