Victory for Spain, Tragedy in Uganda

July 13th blog

Sunday afternoon Melissa and I were deciding between going to Entebbe to see Bobby Wyne and watch the World Cup final at Lido Beach, and going to the Rugby Grounds in Kampala with Lawrence to watch the World Cup final. We decided to head to Entebbe, so at around 3 in the afternoon of us and our friends David and Saul hopped in a Matatu and headed off. Lido Beach was wild. There were so many people playing in the water, playing soccer on the beach, hanging out by the bars, and of course dancing. Melissa and I were the only two Mizungu’s until about 9 pm when a few more showed up.

Watching Africans play in the water was so entertaining. There were hundreds of absolutely gorgeous Ugandan men playing in the waves. It was awesome. Melissa and I definitely had the most successful people watching session ever. Everyone in the water was laughing, smiling, and having such a good time. It was such a happy, and carefree atmosphere. At one point, a man came up to me (unfortunately he was not one of the handsome men I had seen playing in the water) and said, “I like your thigh power.” It was honestly the funniest, best, and worst pickup line I have ever heard, and it caused Melissa and I to laugh until we were practically crying.

Once the sun went down, some upcoming artists began to perform on the stage, so Melissa, David, Saul and I headed up to the dance floor area to watch. Sun down, by the way, is about 6:30 pm in Uganda, so the party went on for hours. The performers were so good! I officially love Ugandan rap. Melissa and I had decided earlier in the evening that if Bobby Wyne came on early enough, we would head back to Kampala to watch the game at the Rugby grounds. But the game started, and he was nowhere close to coming on stage. Bobby Wyne finally came on around 11 pm. He was definitely worth the wait. Ugandans definitely know how to party. The crowd went wild when he started performing.

Some time around midnight, the show ended and the four of us made our way to a Matatu and headed back to Kampala. Half way to Kampala, I got a call from Eric. I answered the phone, and what Eric told me sent chills straight through my body. He told me that three bombs had gone off in Kampala during the final moments of the Soccer final. Two went off at the Rugby grounds, and the third went off in Ethiopian Village. After getting off the phone with Eric, I tried calling Lawrence, who we knew had been at the Rugby grounds. No answer. I called six more times, and there was still no answer. Figuring that the taxi park, where we were headed, could likely be the target for a fourth bomb, we had the Matatu driver drop us off at a gas station in Kampala. The streets were deserted. While we were walking around trying to find a boda boda, Lawrence finally called me back. Himself, his two brothers, and his brother-in-law who had all been there, had luckily not been injured and were back at their house. It took us nearly twenty minutes to find a boda boda driver who would take us to the apartment.

Monday’s paper announced that so far, 64 people had died. By this morning the toll had risen to 74. Our apartment is right down the road from Mulago Hospital where the victims had been taken. It’s also where the mortuary is. As we drove past this morning there was a crowd standing at the entrance, most likely waiting to hear about their loved ones, and to check the fatality list that has been posted.

The Somali Islamic organization, al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the bombings, and said they will continue until Uganda has removed their peacekeepers from Somalia.

It’s weird, while I realize that I should probably be frightened, I’m not. I still feel completely safe at the apartment. I’m avoiding crowded areas like the taxi parks and markets of course, but other than that, I really don’t feel like I’m in any real danger. The last thing I want to do is leave Uganda early because of this. I would be devastated if my time with the kids in Nansana and Namayumba was cut short because of all of this.