Hello fellow classmates, this is Michaela under Payton's account and I have some thoughts about our time in the Parliment building speaking with the Speaker of the Parliment. Now, it was fairly difficult for me to hear what she spoke about so I will write about a general experience with going through the process and rules of meeting her.
Personally, I did not find it surprising that we had to go through a lot of security, but, I found it odd that there were three steps of security. Especially because they checked us multiple times throughout the building once we were already cleared. A question that popped into my head due to all of the security steps was, did something occur in the building to cause the need for three stages of security? I wonder, what is security stages like in other countries government buildings? I have gone to the German government building and spoke with a member of their government, but we only went through one step of security. So yes, I am interested in why there are three stages of security here.
Another thing that fascinated me about our time in Parliment was how careful the employees seemed to be around us and around the building in general. There seemed to be a secretive and nervous energy around the building and I wonder if it was because we were there or if the energy in the Parliment building is like that always.
While meeting with the Speaker of Parliment I was nervous. Especially because of how the other employees of the government building were acting. One thing that I was intrigued by was that we all were told to stand up when the speaker entered the room. I thought that made her seem more like a Queen than a government worker.
The last thought I want to share is that I wonder why she agreed to meet with our group. I want to know her motivation for meeting with us and part of me wonders is if it was to try and impress us because we are students from America or if she would be willing to meet with a variety of different students.
So, now that I have shared my thoughts about our experience I have some questions for you about your thoughts on our time in Parliment.
1.) What were your feelings and thoughts about the process of security we went through?
2.) Out of all of the government workers we spoke to on our trip, who did you find to be most interesting? How do you feel about the way the Speaker answered questions compared to the two-panel members we spoke to?
3.) Did you feel that there was a secretive energy in the Government building and/or do you feel we were treated differently because we are American students?
Popular Posts
-
A few days ago, we visited our first school in Uganda! As an education major, this greatly excited me. It was raining in the morning and a b...
-
Students and Faculty from Drake will be returning to Kampala in May, 2010! The faculty are excited to return to Uganda and see our friends ...
-
The Drake University faculty and student participants in the 7 th annual Sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa study abroad program depart... -
Traveling to the Ndere Center, we were able to learn traditional music, dance, and drama in Uganda. We learned about the three different typ...
-
Everyone is finishing final exams and busy packing for our departure to Uganda in one week. The professors are looking forward to seeing al...
I didn't think the security was too excessive, considering it didn't take us a long time to get through. Even at the state capital here in Des Moines they have to scan bags and everything. While the security was perhaps a bit more than what we would experience here in the U.S or in other developed states, I did not think it was unusual for where we were. We were in the Parliament building of a state that some would considered semi-authoritarian and is dealing with an unsatisfied populace. It is not surprising that they may have extra security. Second, out of all the government workers on the trip, I found the current member of Parliament in the two-member panel to be the most interesting. This is simply because he seemed to have the most undying support for Museveni out of everyone. My favorite moment was when I asked about what happens when power inevitably changes hands (because eventually Museveni WILL die) and what that means for democracy. He gave a very confident answer that Museveni WILL lead Uganda into a prosperous democracy. It is probably not fair to compare the panel to the speaker of Parliament since we did not ask as sensitive questions. But, her response was quite similar to Kathleen's question when she said that rural women could always vote her out of office. Just like the panel, she had no doubts that Uganda is a democracy and that the elections were free and fair.
ReplyDeleteI think that the security procedures were reasonable, its hard to compare but the building we were in was essentially the equivalent of the capitol building in D.C. so the people there were some of the most influential, and therefore controversial people in Uganda (as we later found out from the assassination of an NRM member while in country). I agree that there was a general air of uneasiness around us as we went through the building, although I was not very surprised by that either. Considering the late notice of the meeting being scheduled, and the importance of the speaker of the house, I understood her impatience with our meeting, even if it was disappointing that we didn't have more time for questions. In terms of my interest in her answers, I asked the speaker about what benefits she expected Uganda to receive from the formation of the East African Community (EAC) in order to gauge her thoughts on the future of the relationships of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. Her answer was intriguing to me because she mentioned that Kenya was Uganda's largest trading partner, and that they hoped to lower trade barriers between the nations, but she failed to mention the fact that Uganda and Kenya are actually currently engaged in a trade war, and the chance of compromise seems slim.
ReplyDeleteI think the security measures were needed. After seeing one of the members of parliament killed the next day showed me the security was needed. I really liked the Speaker of the House. She seemed to understand what the situation was with students asking questions and she told the truth from what I noticed. I think she also took the time out of her busy schedule just to meet with us which shows a lot about her character. Fred first told us that the cars stopped for us when we were crossing the street because we were white. I thought that was very interesting. Also we were supposed to address the speaker a specific way and none of us did that which was also interesting. I think we were treated differently because we were mostly white and Americans.
ReplyDeleteI could see how security measures would be necessary in this kind of a situation, especially if people get upset with someone in a government office. One thing that I noticed about this presentation that matched the previous parliament presentation was that the Speaker said if people in the country do not like the people running the government, they can vote them out of office. However, as Kathleen has stated, and we have learned from the Freedom House index, Uganda's elections are not reasonable. It showed me that whether you have been in government for a few months, or for many years as in the speaker's case, this is the common go-to answer when people debate government. It seemed very awkward and like a poor excuse for behavior that wouldn't fly in most industrialized nations. However, I did like the way procedures were followed in terms of respect given to the representatives.
ReplyDelete