Will 2019 offer better? We only have to hope

One of my mum’s favorite lines goes like, “Time doesn’t change, it is people that change in our eyes.” Of course she says this in the local dialect and it is laden with so much wisdom, it triggers thought and makes you understand situations you thought you never would. She likes to say it at the end of her incessant tales, but personally it has taught me to put up with so much. But that is not why I refer to it today; I want to say that much more than the people, time actually shifts and that is why we see 2018 disappearing like a blur at a distance and the 2019 horizon taking shape.

For many like me, 2018 would rather have not come, but for some, they wished it had not ended. As some people grieved and mourned others celebrated yet another year, when some were making vows others thought it was time to undo them, some were getting their dream jobs others were being relieved of their duties, it was a cycle at both ends. But both can come into 2019 hoping for better, for a brighter year for a better time. I am not one who likes to make start of the year resolutions but my constant resolution is to be better than I was the previous year, in finances, in knowledge, in the circle of friends, to write more often and to generally improve in everything in life.

A rather interesting chained message was making rounds at the start of the year that it is only the date that had changed, your income, spouse, level of education etc all had remained constant. A friend of mine on their status put it this way, “2019 is going to be exactly like 2018 because time is just an abstract concept created by man and has no real or actual bearing on what you achieve.” Many may disagree but opinions are like a nose, everyone has theirs.

There is a certain excitement that engulfs us at the start of another year, it is something like a hope for something better, a new slate to write everything afresh or all over again, new beginnings if you like. In our local dialect you won’t miss the congratulatory messages when someone meets you, thanking you for completing the old year and starting a new one, it seems like a routine, something that is done as a cultural practice but boy oh boy it is something worth celebrating. As we start this New Year my message to all is simple, let us shun mediocrity and improve ourselves in any way we can.

As part of my year’s weekly schedule, I will try and make out a blog post at least once. I will be sharing how my week was, talk about something outstanding that I saw or was part of or what I learnt, in those little bits I will try and tell my story. Today I will share something about the lay man’s perspective of women, call it the manifestation of patriarchy if you like.

The past week has been somewhat labour intensive and now and then I was involved in some casual work in the farm at home. Through this I have had to work with many people who have not crossed a school compound even once. Because of the nature of work, it doesn’t attract anyone beyond that level and it explains my company. I also feel bad about the wages I have to pay them at daybreak compared to the energy they use but that is for another day. While working, we talk about many things, of course the level of discussion being about the basic things, from President Museveni desiring that his son be the next president to oil in the Albertine having already been extracted by Museveni, plus many other stories that will definitely amuse anyone. I rarely engage except to laugh and eke them on.

But this one particular discussion caught my attention, it was the one on wives and how they are treated by their husbands. Many of those I was working with are around my age and some slightly younger than me, but because they had no school to pre-occupy them have already founded homes (families if you like). They return home to welcome songs from their little children, to food and hot water prepared by their wives while I walk home hoping they didn’t forget me for the lunch meal. But particularly disturbing was the fact that all the boys (read men) present had each confessed to having beaten their wives. I listened to them justify their wrong doings and it hurt, because they returned home earlier than them, because they spoke suspiciously on phone or maybe that they had answered them back. I asked them how it feels to beat someone and you have to sleep in the same bed just minutes later. They laid claim to the fact that they own the home and would not tolerate any kind of “indiscipline” from a woman. I didn’t engage further because the more I probed, the more justified they felt in defending what is clearly wrong. As we parted ways I felt bad that there was nothing I could do to protect their weak and helpless wives but I promised that just like my dad did many years ago, I would also raise my sons to be better.

The beginning of the year sermon was also one that caught my attention, the kind that reminded us to put ourselves right this year. My biggest takeaway however was an important statement that the preacher made albeit in passing. He said that, “In this world, it is only civilized people who appreciate.” He was teaching us about how Christians in this day have jettisoned all their values, why it is important to thank someone who has protected you throughout the turn of the year and why we should have hope in 2019. We like to call ourselves civilized people, maybe what we could do is appreciate more.

I take the opportunity to also welcome back home the team (Sebastian Ivan Segawa and Shabil Ojambo) that represented Uganda at the World University Debate Championship in South Africa. It is not every day that we get representation at the WUDC, the last time we had a team there was when the country was still engulfed in the euphoria of discovering oil in the Albertine. The bigger debate community looks forward to learning from your experience garnered at the world stage.

Lastly, I wish all those at the Law Development Centre a happy term ahead. Maybe someday you will debunk the many myths talked about every time LDC features in a conversation.  

Till next time,

Have a rollercoaster week!