Trouble at the gate

Our group waiting at Bujagali Falls for Scott and Phil to raft down: Paul, Evelyn, Jonathan, Emily, and Danny.

Phil and Jonathan on Sunday morning (sorry, Phil, it's the only picture I have of you).

We were staying with our friends in Jinja, Phil and Emily, last Saturday night when we heard a ruckus at their gate. Earlier in the day Emily had told us that their Ugandan househelper, Jen, had been acting strangely. To back up, Jen has been working for Phil and Emily for the better part of a year, doing laundry, cooking, and childcare, and lives on their property. Emily had felt a real bond with Jen, but one day a few months ago Jen had been found, drunk, while the children were in her care. Phil and Emily were quite concerned, naturally, but after a lot of discussion and prayer, decided to let Jen stay on, though with significant restrictions. Things had been going well until Saturday. A couple people had said Jen seemed incoherent. She had a large bruise on her cheek, which she was cagey about how she got. She had "an orphan" who was suddenly staying with her, but when Emily asked her where she came from, Jen didn't seem to know, though she was crying that she was responsible for her now and didn't know how she could afford to support her.

Phil and Emily had gotten concerned enough about the situation that they decided to go visit a trusted neighbor, Agnes, about what to do. One of the things that's different about living here is that it's hard to know who you can rely on. The police? They're often on the take and have little power. The local government? They may be a better resource, because your local councilman (called the L.C. 1) probably knows everyone in his district and keeps tabs on what's happening. Phil had tried to call his, but there was no answer. Thus the trip to see Agnes. We stayed at home with Danny, an EMI intern who is living with Phil and Emily, and the kids, who were asleep.

Then came the loud voices at the gate. We went out to investigate and found Phil and Emily, Jen, Agnes, some hangers-on, and a woman who was exclaiming that the orphan that Jen had was her relative. She basically accused Jen of misappropriating the child, and accused Phil and Emily of being baby snatchers. This would be almost laughable, but in a country where witchcraft and child sacrifice exist, it can be a serious accusation. The situation wasn't helped by the fact that everyone except Phil, Emily, and Agnes was drunk. The woman threatened to return with the police. Interestingly, as soon as Jen had opened her door to this woman, the child had slipped out and run away. We still don't know who she was running from. Jen? The woman claiming to be her auntie? Fortunately, Agnes, the neighbor, was a voice of calm (and she spoke both English and the local language and so could communicate with everyone). Eventually the situation was defused and everyone went home.

I share this story because I think it's illustrative of how different life is here, and how complex it seems to us Westerners to figure out. Part of the strain of living overseas is that you can't read people or situations like you can at home. You feel like you're walking through fog, but fog that could explode.