I've been reminiscing of my days in Uganda. Here is an article from an old newsletter during our early days there...
The
Sebei And Cattle Raids – December 1997
On one of my first visits in a
Sebei home the host apologized profusely that there was no milk in the tea —
“Chaik,” as they call it. All of his
cows had been stolen. He went on to tell
of how the Sebei used to have thousands of cattle grazing on the slopes of
their mountain. In the early 70’s the
Karamojong tribe to the north came repeatedly with AK 47’s and systematically
rustled most of their cattle. The Sebei,
with bow and arrows and spears could do nothing against their well-armed
enemies. Finally the government
consented to allowing local citizens to own firearms. So it’s not uncommon to find civilians
walking down the road carrying an AK-47.
“Homeguard,” the people explain to me when they notice me gawking at the
gun.
It happened one day back in the 80’s
the Karamojong – or the “Jong” for short – came with great numbers and superier
weapons, stole cattle and were driving the cattle down through a pass when the
Sebei circled around down below them and set an amush, killing about 60 of the
raiders. Since that time the “Jong”
haven’t made it a habit to visit Sebei.
But there is the occasional group of two or three Karamojong warriors
who want to prove their steel or get cows for engagement who will venture up
the northern slopes of Mount Elgon.
Last month I was up in
Kaproron studying the local language and going house to house to meet some of
the villagers. That evening after supper
we settled down to sleep at Daniel's house.
All of us were in one room — Daniel, his wife Mary, their baby (the big
kids were staying with grandma while I was there), along with a few
chickens. They gave me the only
bed. Tired from the day’s walking, I
fell right asleep.
POW! POW-POW-POW! It was just after midnight and my hosts said,
“Did you hear that.” “Uh huh,” I said,
sort of wishing now that I’d been sleeping on the floor as well. It crossed my mind to wonder how much a mud
wall would slow down an AK-47 bullet. We
stepped outside and listened to the calls from the next village. Three raiders had stolen cattle and now the
women were calling on the men to pursue them.
I asked my hosts, “Did they actually get cattle?” “They stole some cattle but those cows aren’t
going anywhere,” they assured me. And
they were right. As soon as the raiders
realized that they were being followed, they left the cows and ran.
The next day little else was
discussed. While I was at Daniel’s
brother’s house, I asked his brother what sort of ammunition the AK-47
used. They looked at me like, “Do you
really mean you’ve never seen it?” They
were too kind to say that of course. He
reached back behind the bed where he was sitting and pulled an AK-47 out of the
shadows! (I wondered how many other
houses I’d been in had guns.) I gulped
as he popped out the clip and handed it to me.
Then the guys started disassembling the gun and putting it back together
as nonchalantly as I might disassemble a Bic Pen. I said, “So all of you know how to use this
gun?” They said, “Yes, the government teaches
us, so that we can help protect this area if we need to.”
So I continue to learn about
these polite, mild mannered, hospitable, Sebei people who keep automatic
weapons by their beds and know how to use them.
Pray for peace in this part of the world. Pray that I may learn their language and
culture quickly and that the Word of God will spread.
