...Ferguson!...Ahhhh hhhmm. One of the best football (soccer) coaches in the world and the most successful coach my beloved soccer club (Manchester United) has ever had is called Ferguson. The first time i saw "Ferguson" in the news, i thought it was about the man and after scanning through a few lines, i found out it was about a place in Missouri, US. The Ugandan media has tried to dutifully keep their citizens informed about the events in Ferguson with all national news papers carrying different headlines and their readers venting off their anger and fury in the comments section. Last week, when things went the way they did; as i believe most of you know; yours sincerely was a little bit confused and didn't know what to say or do, but instead took on reading more and different views. this consumed me that i was not in the mood to write the week's blog post. None of the stuff i read provided real answers to me; the closes was when i read what a friend had shared on Facebook (NFL player Ben Watson's reaction) and even that, left me with some doubts.
One thing that came to mind was my former professor of political science' views on public policing. Now, when the British made Uganda their colony, they used divide and rule policy in most areas. Some tribes that cooperated were given privileges and made rulers over tribes that tried to resist. In order to maintain the security of the colony, certain tribes were earmarked for certain tasks based on their physical features. Thus, the men from the North and North Eastern parts of the country were recruited into the army and the police because they were naturally taller and bigger than their counterparts from other regions. But over the years after independence, this trend has kept on changing and today, it's no longer a requirement for one to be tall and big before he or she is recruited into the armed forces.
It's very common to hear or read about Ugandan police officers shooting and killing people in crime scenes and some of these shootings also have led to the killing of innocent people who got mistaken to be wrong people. While at University in 2008, there was an incident that generated a lot of public outcry when a police officer shot a child in an attempt to shoot a drug dealer. When the photographs of the officer that pulled the trigger made it to the national papers, my professor offered us his explanation for all the shootings by the police. He said the Ugandan government should have continued with the British tradition of recruiting tall and big officers. He the height and body build of such officers offers them a sense of confidence and power over those they are supposed to arrest; but if the person they are attempting to arrest is bigger and taller than them, then it's normal for anybody to get nervous and even scared and instead use their advantage (gun) to subdue the "criminal". We all laughed and thought he was being sarcastic, but after seeing that Michael Brown was as tall as i am and way bigger than me, it's possible officer Wilson felt nervous and insecure; especially if this beastly man was to take him on and hence, the need to use his advantage (the gun).
My main problem is not that a black man was shot dead, it could have been anyone else, but that the person who was armless was shot 12 times, that's excessive for me; i have always thought officers are supposed to demobilize the person by shooting both legs so that they don't move or even shoot their hands, and not to kill. But then, i have limited knowledge and wisdom in security m matters.
My anger finally took me to the place i should have gone in the first place–The Lord. As i kept seeking him on this, He seemed to ignore me. But yesterday at night, while sleeping, He finally answered my week long anguish for answers. Here is what He told me: "America is normal, it's not what you think and how others perceive it, it's not perfect and never will it be, it's the same as any other country. Only I, is perfect and no one else. The struggles in America are greater than the struggles you have ever seen or witnessed. I want you to see everything there's to see and learn. Have you seen the things that take their attention? Have you seen where their priorities are? Have you seen the spiritual poverty here? Well, you may have material poverty, but Africa is by far the wealthiest spiritually. I delight in seeing all of them seeking me, i delight in their worship and praise and i delight that they depend on me for their daily bread. i want you to see everything, and go back and tell your people that America goes through the same struggles as them and it's a normal country and tell them to be contented and happy with what they have...".
I woke up and it was 2:45 am and went to the bathroom and couldn't sleep afterwards. I kept thinking and trying to make out what the Lord was saying that America was normal and same as any other country. I found out that what is actually happening here is happening everywhere. Here it is about color and race, in Uganda, it's about tribes; a particular tribes(s) feeling superior to others and dominating others and other tribes feeling one particular tribe is taking all the juicy jobs, get away with corruption scandals, send their kids to the best schools, are enjoying the best life possible. There's racism in every single country in Europe, in the Middle East, it's masked in religion (Suni muslims against shites, muslims against christians, etc); these are all the same; they generate hate, they generate control and create spate and anger. But because the world thinks America is "perfect" or may be America is creating the illusion that it's perfect to the rest of the world, people all over the world are quick to condemn and be angry when things like Ferguson come up and yet more worse things than those are happening all over the world.
So, what does this all mean? It means we all live in a broken world, racism will never end, discrimination will never end, hate will never end, superiority and inferiority will never end, because we are in a broken world, with broken systems and only a Holy God can mend this brokenness. As Christians, our duty is to love those the Lord has put in front of us whether they are white or black or brown or pink or purple or yellow; to love them the same way and help point them to Christ, who is the source of our love. The safest place on earth for everyone is the Church; that's the only safest place for people of every color and race to worship and pour out their hearts without the feeling of hate or inferiority or discrimination.
I count my self very privileged to see what i have seen and witness first hand what i have witnessed. My intention this week was to write a post on the beauty i have been able to see in our trips to different parts of this country and my experience in Bethel, but the Lord had other plans for me this week, so, i hope today's menu has been delightful and tasteful for you. I will try to write about my beautiful experiences next week; God willing. Stay in peace, may the grace of our Lord continue to be sufficient for all of us, keep warm and keep safe, greetings from Oregon.
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