85 thoughts on “Riots in Uganda; Two Asians Dead, Temple Attacked [UPDATED]”

1. "Museveni says conservation is a luxury not afforded by poor countries seeking development, and that he will not be swayed people who fail to see Africa's future lies in processing goods."
   

   but destroying unique (even though it’s secondary forest) ecosystems and habitats and a forest that can also be financially rewarding if managed properly – people are already encroaching – via enrichment plantings, eco-tourism (it’s already a draw) – for a monocrop (like Indonesia destroying its forests for palm oil crops) might prove to be even more unaffordable in the long run.

   this article discusses some of the potential and probably long-term impacts of the deforestation.

   this article supports the mehta group and is complimentary of its founder. although it’s good they help replant trees and do seem to show concern for local development, they still cannot recreate the specific forest conditions that maintain the species found there. scientists haven’t even discovered all the species yet, much less isolated what all the exact conditions are for their survival.

2. But that phrase resonates with the old (and false) notion that Asians in East Africa are not locals but foreign elements, siphoning funds from the economy and not sharing the spoils with black Africans.

   Actually, many of the Indians in East Africa are citizens of India, and as such are guest workers. Not all the Asians are locals.

3. My point was that the (very much racialized) economic structure that exists in Uganda is not the doing of Asians

   Excuse me, but what is a “racialized economic structure”? I’m sorry, I have no idea what this means. Is there a non-racialized economic structure? Where can it be found?

4. This article/issue hits ever so close to home. So thank you Sepia Mutiny for providing such forum where I feel comfortable enough that I can purge some of my thoughts on this.

   My father (an Indian citizen) was killed in Uganda while he was there on assignment for an Indian firm in the late 70’s, a few years after Amin’s regime. He was close to finishing a project there for the Indian firm, and was to return to India soon after. But tragically he was shot along with two other Indian colleagues on their way home from work one day after being stopped at a roadblock. The details of that situation are very very vague. Anytime I ask my family members for more details, where, why, how and other questions, they answer that they were not really given anymore information/details from that Indian firm and Indian government officials.

   The repercussions of this event to say the least catapulted my life drastically and deeply affected the lives of many in my family in some way or another. What is really sad and thought provoking is the lack of information that exists. I have no mental images or memories of my father (as I was just born) due to this event and therefore have always tried to gain as much information as possible about him as a person, his job, and details surrounding the tragedy he faced.

   I always wondered what he was doing in Uganda just a few years after the end of Amin’s regin of terror and the general anti-Asian/anti-foreign attitudes present then (and now). I just seems like that period of time was too hot politically, too risky for an Indian to be there. It seems that Ugandan politics/society and infrastructure was in dismay at the time and information and records on such human rights violations would be very difficult to track down, this is the most frustrating thing to come to terms with, that there may never be any real closure.

   So as I read and watch the tragic events unfolding there now, I am moved. Growing up here in the U.S. I have seen the effects of economic disparity and the frustration and chasms it causes within societies and amongst peoples or groups. It is obvious that there are anti-Asian sentiments which have lingered in that country, but the linkages of those sentiments with the economic stratification in Uganda must be admitted.
   On the other hand the solution to such disparity is never to be found through violence and unsavory methods. And corporations such as the Metha corporation must be more aware and in tune with political risk issues when conducting business dealings abroad. Big business is not the only culprit, but very much responsible. Obviously, the government (in this case Uganda’s) dealing with big business must also be strategically planned, as in taking into consideration the political climate and potential repercussions of certain business initiatives.

   Indians in Uganda and Indo-Ugandans are in a very precarious situation. Hopefully things will settle in Uganda. There must be a better solution as environmental issues must not be ignored, but neither should human rights issues. I cant help thinking though… why and how the f___ can this environmental issue translate to such malicious reactions? This proves the extent to which economic realities will induce the blamegame, and history will repeat itself as people have mentioned above.

5. Ankor Watt, I am so sorry about your Father.

   Thank you for your words, for bringing a worrisome-yet-distant issue closer to us, so we can grasp it more fully. I am glad that you felt like you could be open here.

6. I would like to know if there were any Asians protesting alongside the Africans because if they weren’t…

   Until Asians in Uganda and other parts of Africa become a part of African society (not live apart from it) these unfortunate incidents will continue to occur.

7. Until Asians in Uganda and other parts of Africa become a part of African society (not live apart from it) these unfortunate incidents will continue to occur.

   I don’t have a lot of specifics about the Indian immigrant community in East Africa – but I do know this – that the roots of the community go back many, many, generations – perhaps even to the time before European hegemony – before the 15th century. There are certainly people with more recent roots there, some who arrived during the colonial period, and there are also Indian-born ‘guest workers’, as someone pointed out.

   That Indians (‘Asians’) are still perceived as ‘racially-distinct’ and therefore ‘outsiders’ – is related to the automatic otherization of racial difference, a xenophobic majoritarianism, and a non-inclusive perception of what is actually indigenous cultural variation. It is also related to the ‘racialized economic structure’ that someone mentioned. The Indian-origin communities of East Africa are quite possibly the oldest Indian diasporic communities anywhere, along with those in South-east Asia. The onus of establishing positive minority-majority relationships cannot lie solely with the Indian (‘Asian’) community. The majority also needs to realize that the Indian racial minority among them are just as African as anyone. After all, this is what we ask here in America, don’t we?

8. This isnt an environmental or immigration issue. Its part of a pattern that has been repeating itself for years on the African continent. The Africans get exploited for their labor, land or resources while their leaders or corporations or colonial masters hoard the wealth. Their powerlessness leads to attacking each other or any available scapegoat. So if Indians choose to live in a place where they are reaping a benefit from this kind of exploitative situation, why is it surprising to anyone that the incident happened? Its the name of the game over there. Instead of sleeping with “one eye open”, why not just go where you’re comfortable?

9. I don’t buy it Chachaji! All you have conveyed is an Asian’s right to live in an African country and consider themselves African. I agree with that, so, where are the Asians in this protest of the government and Mehta group? You did not address that!

   It is obvious these communities in Uganda are separate from each other and I do not buy that it is the Africans themselves who create and maintain this separatism. Please, who is really xenophobic? Next, I’ll be reading from you how Indians are just providing a service and how dumb Africans are because they do not know how to provide for themselves. I am so sick of people from any community justifiying prejudice and racism for monetary gain!

   Monmoni, I could not agree with you more. You summed up the issue in a nutshell.

10. Kali Billi, I conceded that I do not have specifics regarding the current situation in Uganda right in the beginning of my comment. So I cannot address the issue of where Indians (‘Asians’) are in the current environmental protest. However I would be very surprized if either the groups opposing or supporting the expansion fully polarized on racial or ethnic lines. I would fully expect demagogues, however, to make this claim to further their own agendas.

    I highlight only that the Indian (‘Asian’) community has long historical roots in East Africa, predating the present form of the racialized economic structure, perhaps even the present conception of race. In addition to that, I simply cannot buy into any system of logic to justify the scapegoating or killing of innocents based on somebody’s perception of what some other people who may look like them might be “gaining” from the current structure.

    Monimoni’s suggestion to go ‘where you’re comfortable’ is so off the scale it doesn’t even deserve a response.

    That’s all I have to say.

11. I agree with that, so, where are the Asians in this protest of the government and Mehta group? You did not address that!

    Perhaps the Asians (all of them?) feel that the protest is not justified? Why is that wrong? The position may be misguided but so what? That justifies the killing?

    No one is trying to deny that there are Indian racists; for that matter, so are there African racists. The type of Hutu-Tutsi rivalry leading to genocide in Rwanda, for example. (The situation in Rwanda may have links to colonialism but not all the blame can be put there.) In this eagerness to blame Indians (presumably, mostly all racists), we forget that this type of rationalisation is not only ill-advised but it shows condescension towards Africans. When someone make statements like “why is it surprising that such incidents occured?” then I get the feeling that Africans are being held to a “lower” standard of behavior. If that is not condescension, I don’t know what is.

    If there are Africans reading this, perhaps they could share their opinions. Personally, I feel annoyed when I encounter “Whites” making such excuses for Indians. When I saw the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” I could not help noticing that the blame for the failure to intervene in Rwanda was put squarely on the US and European countries. But China, India and other such countries could have easily put together a force to intervene and prevent the genocide as the rebels in Rwanda were not hi-tech armies. Presumably, since these are “third world” countries, such intervention was not expected of them. As an Indian (from India), I felt irritated and annoyed. I was also saddened that India did not intervene or even offer to do so. (Of course, I was also deeply moved by the movie.)

12. You would think a multinational company- regardless of the government being ‘in on it’ or not would have been more in tune with local environmental feelings. From this BBC story – it does not sound like this was a spur of the moment protest. source

    … forget that this type of rationalisation is not only ill-advised but it shows condescension towards Africans

    That is human nature- not unique to Africans. Though people do have a tendency to tribalize any discussions concerning Africa when people in the 1st world can be just as tribal. Philip Gourvitch’s book on Rwanda gave a factual historical account of the INTERNATIONAL community [UN] failure in the lack of intervention , help in the aftermath, reconciliation- pursing crimes against humanity etc. He also detailed some of the shenanigans/double speak that went on during President Clinton’s and Kofi Annan’s respective administrations regarding the situation.

    I can’t give you an ‘African’ perspective or a Chinese perspective***— but the human perspective is people looking out for their own/(group) best interest. To extrapolate a bit furthur-Jeffery Sachs notes that the idea of peace keepers ALONE being able to resolve the lack of RESOURCE issues in Darfur was just silly. We know China does not have a strong internal human rights record. What they do have ,is a strong presence in the UN, and a very vested interest in Sudanese Oil- that has an impact on what other countries will or will not do there.

    ***Preston (#23)– I’ve commented /responded to you on this blog ,about this book before… You have linked it it multiple times. I’ve read Amy Chau’s book. I’m glad I did- its insightful, but not really revolutionary in terms of development economics. The successive governments in the Philippines and many, many countries in Africa are ‘predatory’– not looking out for the long run. She has a not very flattering prognostication of what would/could happen to all our [American] talk of merit based, hard work, etc. if the “elites” in high profile postitions (in the US) were to change from the the existing status quo to a ‘different’ one that had no interest in assimilation with the ‘others’. In fact the subtitle is a dig at the neo-con naivety of “exporting” democracy to places that do not have the social structures in place to deal with it (Iraq?)

13. This of course is nothing compared to what africans have done to each other (example: hutus vs tutsis); or what european catholics and protestants have done to each other, and to jews and gypsies; or what Indonesians have done to the chinese in their country; or what hindus, muslims and sikhs in the subcontinent have done to each other in recent memory.

    Economic success alone does not explain this phenomenon. Gypsies (originally from northwest India) were (and still are) the lowest of the low in Europe; and indians in Malaysia are at the bottom by all measures yet equally loathed. The muslim victims of the Gujarat communal riots or the Hindu victims in the East Pakistan genocide in 1971 weren’t economically dominant communities either.

14. Monimoni’s suggestion to go ‘where you’re comfortable’ is so off the scale it doesn’t even deserve a response.

    Chachaji,

    As a guju girl who was born in East Africa, who lived there for 18 years and who still has immediate family there, the idea of ‘going where you’re comfortable’ is like religious doctrine. There are some areas where you are simply not welcome if you’re not black. It’s as simple as that.

    The issue in Uganda definitely brings a giant issue to the forefront. While numerous Indians go around calling themselves Africans etc, there are in essence, VERY few who actually try to assimilate or do things for the betterment of the entire country. Most of the Indians in East Africa that I know fly under the radar and are more concerned with their bottom lines. I’m not saying that the people attacked in this mess brought it on themselves but it does make you question, ‘why would a random Indian be attacked because of what an Indian owned business did?’.

    As someone pointed out above, because of the aloof ways by which Indians in Africa conduct their lives, a lot of them are still considered outsiders. The bigotry is present on both sides and there is distrust on both sides too.

    I guess my point is that we need to keep an open mind and ask why this is happening. You cannot go around in your beemer and mistreat your house help and then expect not to be the target of rage because someone like the Mehta Group does something idiotic like this.

15. While numerous Indians go around calling themselves Africans etc, there are in essence, VERY few who actually try to assimilate or do things for the betterment of the entire country. Most of the Indians in East Africa that I know fly under the radar and are more concerned with their bottom lines.

    What exactly is assimilation? Why is it the Indians duty to “assimilate” themselves whatever that means? Who decides when someone has successfully passed the assimilation test? You? I must say that there’s an underlying presumption notwithstanding the disclaimers that the Indians more-or-less deserved what they got.

    I would also like to note that I currently live in the UK where I keep hearing about the lack of Muslim assimilation. So can your logic be used to argue that Muslims more-or-less deserved it (with appropriate disclaimers, of course) the next time there is an incident involving Muslims in the UK? If not, why not?

16. I guess my point is that we need to keep an open mind and ask why this is happening.

    By all means. And let’s get all our facts while we do that.

    You cannot go around in your beemer and mistreat your house help and then expect not to be the target of rage because someone like the Mehta Group does something idiotic like this.

    Someone like ? The Government of Uganda holds a controlling interest in the Mehta Group. The ordinary man-in-the-street Indian (‘Asian’) should be held responsible for their decisions ? No community is a monolith, simple “rationalizations” are almost always wrong. Both ‘native Ugandans’ and ‘Indians (‘Asians’)’ would have “gained” from the development of the rain forest. And lost too, I would hasten to add. Racial rage like this is easy to incite, hard to control, and its effects can be indiscriminate, horrific, and almost always misdirected. Demagoguery and false dichotomies, on the other hand, are easy.

    In your beemer ? Here’s an excerpt from Anna’s post above:

    I’m also horrified by the footage I just saw on the BBC World service, of a motorcycle engulfed in flames; the man riding it had looked Asian, so he was dragged off of it and beaten so severely, he later died. When they interviewed members of the raucous crowd, I heard words which are uttered far too frequently; “Maybe they’ll go back to where they came from.”

17. i think you could assign partial blame for potholes, unkempt streets or other civic ills to civic disengagement by a significant portion of the business (read: Indian) community in Uganda. However it’s entirely irrational to hold them accountable for the actions of an entity in which the government has such a huge stake. The rocks should have been thrown at their elected officials, and not innocent Indians on the streets.

18. Chachaji, Suresh et all, I didn’t mean to say that the asians deserved what happened to them. I meant to point out that bigotry of this kind of not something that any single race is responsible for. The distrust between the two people is not something that is due to recent times. It has been there since Indians and even white people went to Africa to make their lives. It takes two to create trust and prosperity, not just one kind of person.

    Suresh, I am not a judge of what succesful assimilation is but at least 6/10 indians that I know in Africa still treat the place as somewhere to make a buck and get out. When the Mehta Group in Uganda or Kamlesh Pattni like thugs get themselves in the news for the wrong reason, it’s very easy for the entire african population to think that every ‘baniani’ (indian) is a crook.

    I would also like to note that I currently live in the UK where I keep hearing about the lack of Muslim assimilation. So can your logic be used to argue that Muslims more-or-less deserved it (with appropriate disclaimers, of course) the next time there is an incident involving Muslims in the UK? If not, why not?

    I don’t live in the UK so I cannot speak about the lengths that Muslims there go to become a part of the country and culture that they are a part of. However, I have lived in East Africa and have seen that a lot of times, it is Indians themselves who create a sense of distrust and antagonism. That being said, it is completely irrational to pick on an indian because you are pissed off at a decision made by an indian company. You know that and I know that. But do you think that a person on a rage high would realize that it’s not fair to atack a bystander who had nothing to do with the problem on hand. Are they thinking about whether the person they are attacking is guilty or not? No. The people who created this mayhem are more often then not educated african youngsters who are extremely frustrated at the lack of jobs, food and shelter. They are likely thinking that their lives are screwed because of the rich indian and his business decisions.

19. But do you think that a person on a rage high would realize that it’s not fair to atack a bystander who had nothing to do with the problem on hand. Are they thinking about whether the person they are attacking is guilty or not? No.

    Yes, I have seen this “logic” applied in India to justify killings of Muslims, Sikhs etc. Do you even realize what you are saying?

    Anyway, my last word on this subject. The very notion of “assimilation” presumes that there is a “right” identity to which all groups in the country must subscribe to. This is questionable. Indeed, the logic of “assimilation” is exactly what the right-wing in India (BJP and the more extreme parts like Shiv Sena, VHP etc.) uses to argue that Muslims are not “Indians” or at least “full Indians.”

    I am not fully aware of the colonial history of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania etc. But I think, as in other ex-colonial countries, the very notion of being “Kenyan” or “Ugandan” is something that came about because of the colonial presence. Let alone Asians, it is not clear that all the indigenous groups in these countries subscribe to this constructed identity: otherwise, why do you have things like the Lord’s Resistance Army? Even in India, the constructed notion of being “Indian” is not something everyone buys into: if you check, you will find dozens of groups (in Kashmir, Nagaland etc.) who are fighting to be free of the “Indian” presence. In such a scenario, to blame “Asians” for not “assimilating” is not something I buy. It will take time, I think, before a fully inclusive “Kenyan” or “Ugandan” identity will be constructed. It is not going to be easy as the experience in other formerly colonial countries shows.

    None of this questions the fact that some “Asians” are racists, as indeed are some “Africans.” All I am saying is we do no one any service by attempting to rationalize racist acts – whether they come from the “Asian” side or the “African” side.

20. The very notion of “assimilation” presumes that there is a “right” identity to which all groups in the country must subscribe to. This is questionable.

    All I am saying is we do no one any service by attempting to rationalize racist acts – whether they come from the “Asian” side or the “African” side.

    Well If that all your saying it sounds lovely. A bit unrealistic and unmindful of history but it’s certainly not offensive. Talking about about underlying structures, preventative measures on the other hand just might be[to all parties],it might even require action. Solution- lets all just say never again! The sad thing is it keeps happening again and again.

21. Well If that all your saying it sounds lovely. A bit unrealistic and unmindful of history but it’s certainly not offensive. Talking about about underlying structures, preventative measures on the other hand just might be[to all parties],it might even require action. Solution- lets all just say never again! The sad thing is it keeps happening again and again.

    Right – does saying I am opposed to rationalising racist acts amount to saying that one shouldn’t work towards understanding each other and preventing such acts in future? Presumably…The next time there is a racist attack on Indians in the US, I look forward to hearing you talk about underlying structures blah blah.

    With this degree of misrepresentation, I really have nothing more to add. G’bye.

22. You can’t work towards anything with out talking about what you are working TOWARDS and AWAY from. Some people might call that convergence, some people might call it rationalization. I am not trying to be polemic but your comments on assimilation** just do not stand up to the realities in the UK today nor the on the ground realities in Kenya, Sudan, Iraq any where else.

    [**note Blair’s recent comment on what he termed black culture]

    cheers!

23. Kenya Uganda

24. Suresh,

    Not one person has rationalised racism or violence. This kind of mad, senseless violence goes on everywhere. It happens in India as we all know. Its always the innocent who suffer, whether its those poor Asians who were murdered brutally in Uganda, or those poor people who have been brutally murdered in communal riots in India. The only way to stop the madness is to understand the underlying causes of it.

    There were several comments about how Indians look down on Africans in Africa. Well, Indians look down on African Americans here. And Indians look down on African students, visitors, etc. in India. Indians should stop looking down on people in general.

25. More updates:

    The Monitor (Kampala)

    The tragic death of three people – two Ugandans and an Asian — during Thursday’s ‘Save Mabira’ demonstration and subsequent racial attacks against Asians could negatively impact Uganda’s investment climate. Uganda Investment Authority boss Maggie Kigozi says such an incident might not only discourage Asian investors — but other foreigners in and out of Uganda. Talking to Sunday Monitor, on Friday, she said: “It was a detrimental and unfortunate happening. India is a top investor in the country. Yet it [racial attack] will not only affect the Indians but all other investors interested in Uganda.” Dr Kigozi revealed that India was the third largest investor in Uganda after the United Kingdom and Kenya. Between January 2006 and December 2006, Indian investors contributed $151 million worth of investments in Uganda. They were also the leading investors between January- March 2007 with 92 new investment projects. [snip] The incident happened at the brink of negotiations with a new investor who is one of the largest investors in Gujarat. She said the latter who is opening a shopping mall near St Balikuddembe [Owino] Market, plans to invest in horticulture, housing estates among other ventures. “You can imagine what image he got from all this. Indians have created numerous jobs for the country, they have been here for a long time, and many of them are Ugandans. You beat up a man who has lived here all his life and even has a Ugandan passport, where do you want him to go?” she wondered.

    New Vision (Kampala)

    The body of Devang Rawal, the 25-year-old Indian who was killed by an angry mob last Thursday, arrived in India yesterday. Rawal, who came from Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarati state, was stoned and beaten to death during a protest against the planned give-away of part of Mabira Forest to an Indian-owned sugar company. [snip] Unlike many other Asians, Rawal was barely two years in Uganda where he had been a sales representative for Translink, a company importing products of Johnson and Johnson and Nestle products. Ahmedabad Newsline, another online newspaper in India, reported that the violence in Uganda had given many inhabitants of Gujarati sleepless nights. There had been a flurry of phone calls to London and Kampala as people tried to find out whether their relatives were safe. The paper claimed that 95% of all Indian businesses in Uganda were owned by people from Gujarati and that the majority work for the Mehta group. It said more than 15,000 Patels were living in Kampala. Patel is a common name in Gujarati.

    The Monitor (Kampala)

    The Indian Community in Uganda has attacked the Mehta Group chief, Mr Mahendra N. Mehta for making what they describe as insensitive statements about Mabira Forest. During a five-hour meeting on Friday at their association headquarters in Nakasero, Kampala, on Friday, the Indians were bitter that Mr J. S. Mehta’s demand for the forest and his subsequent statements had inflamed the locals against all Indians. Senior members of the Indian community told Sunday Monitor that they were particularly incensed by Mehta’s reasoning that if Ugandans refused to buy his sugar, he would export it to the DR Congo or to Juba in South Sudan. “Our community is saying that if he wants to export the sugar, then what is he doing in Uganda? Why does he want the Ugandan forest?” said some Indians. The coordinator of the Indian Association, Singh Parminder, confirmed that most Indians were unhappy with Mr Mehta’s utterances. “As an association, we disassociated ourselves from individual comments. He (Mehta) cannot talk like that,” Mr Singh told Sunday Monitor yesterday.

26. One other observation:

    Ahmedabad Newsline’s claim (quoted in that New Vision article) that there are 15,000 Patels in Kampala just can’t be true. The Indian government’s own survey of the diaspora in 2000 estimated 12,000 PIOs and NRIs in all of Uganda. The trend would be for the numbers to hold steady or decline (better jobs and educational opportunities elsewhere for an increasingly wealthy and mobile community). Not that there is not a significant Indian presence in Uganda–just that the community is not as large or obvious as it was in previous generations. The Asian population in 1972, at the time of the Amin purge, was 50,000.

27. Chachaji,

    My comment was meant to reflect that if you decide to leave your native country and settle where there is exploitation, colonialism, corruption etc, you should be aware of the consequences for yourself and your children. I dont think any of the Indians went there without knowing the history of the place, and believing it’s a country whose leaders promote fairness and acceptance. BTW, my husband’s uncle was shot by a worker at his business in Kenya in the 60’s. I know many other examples of this, yet there is still a large Indian community in Kenya. There must be something keeping them there. Also, as much as new immigrants from India complain about the loose morality etc in the US, they choose to settle here, presumably after working out a risk-benefit ratio which must be pretty appealing. You cant have your cake and eat it too!

28. Not one person has rationalised racism or violence.

    Some of the comments do strike me as rationalising what happened. There is a thin line between “understanding” and “rationalising” and to my mind, the line was crossed. Also, there is only so much “understanding” it is possible to give – how much “understanding” do you want to give the murderers in Delhi 1984? in Gujarat 2002? to the Nazis? to the perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide?

    This kind of mad, senseless violence goes on everywhere. It happens in India as we all know. Its always the innocent who suffer, whether its those poor Asians who were murdered brutally in Uganda, or those poor people who have been brutally murdered in communal riots in India. The only way to stop the madness is to understand the underlying causes of it.

    If the violence is indeed “mad” and “senseless,” what is there to understand? You can prevent violence only if you think it is motivated with a purpose. In India, some of the recent work indeed take the viewpoint that riots are deliberately engineered. See, for instance, the American scholar Paul Brass’s “The Production of Hindu-Muslim Violence in Contemporary India.” Note the deliberate use of the word “production.”

    There were several comments about how Indians look down on Africans in Africa. Well, Indians look down on African Americans here. And Indians look down on African students, visitors, etc. in India. Indians should stop looking down on people in general.

    Some “whites” look down on African-Americans also; so do some Chinese, Japanese, whatever. Within the African-American community also, there are issues – from what I understand, there is a preference for “light skin.” There are issues confronting all communities that I guess, Americans as a whole have to address. As an Indian, I know perfectly well there are any number of social problems confronting us in India. Have I denied it? Look again at my posts. What is your point?

    Regarding your last sentence – are you always this pompous? Presumably, you are the sole shining exception to the rule!

29. There are lots of stories coming out of Uganda about the recent attacks, nearly all of which condemn the violence and tribalism of the incident.

    Here’s an interesting opinion piece, from a Nairobi newspaper, calling for for more political engagement among East Africa’s Indians:

    The fact that today there isn’t an East African capital where a national of Asian descent occupies a prominent public post testifies to a failure of the multicultural project. Ironically, one of the reasons Asians have become politically marginalised was the advance of democracy. Politics became more tribal, and the broad coalition of agendas – including Asian commercial interests – embraced by the independence parties collapsed. IN THE PAST, THE UNPOPULAR figure of the foul-mouthed Asian shopkeeper was cancelled out by the prestigious persons of an Asian Speaker of parliament or mayor. Today, most respectable Asian figures court a low public profile or even “invisibility”. There’s no longer an Asian voice in politics in East Africa to put the community’s side of the story or to defend itself against xenophobic propaganda. Instead, it’s the Kamlesh Pattnis and forest cutters like the Mehtas who have become its public face, even though they are a tiny minority. To improve the situation, Asians will have to re-engage politically again as they did in the 1960s. If sectarian voting patterns make that impossible, then they should be given special seats. In Uganda, there are probably more Asians in the country than disabled persons. However, the disabled have special seats in parliament and the Asians don’t.

30. Yes Preston- and here we come to your favorite book again right? The subtitle of which is: “How exporting free market democracy breeds ethnic hatred and global instability“. Your excerpts above illustrate this. “Indians” who live in Africa will not have the sheer numbers to effect a democratic outcome. In the US I’m sure you are aware the electoral college prevents our elections from being purely a popularity contest. Amy Chau is not all doom and gloom she does give some prescriptive solutions for the Philippines, Russia and other NON AFRICAN countries that she discusses in the book. Even OMGWTFBBQ!!!! our very own USA. Wasn’t Debbie Schlussel ‘concern’ that “furriners” that Americans have ‘imported’ are causing mayhem??

    One of the many reason’s blogs like this are important is because people may feel less inhibited than they might otherwise feel to express their thoughts,opinions etc. And perhaps learn about other people/groups that they might not interact with ‘in real life’. Sometimes that might be just as hard as a fish swimming in water ,trying to understand humans walking in the ground.

    Some “whites” look down on African-Americans also; so do some Chinese, Japanese, whatever. Within the African-American community also, there are issues – from what I understand, there is a preference for “light skin.” There are issues confronting all communities that I guess, Americans as a whole have to address. As an Indian, I know perfectly well there are any number of social problems confronting us in India. Have I denied it? Look again at my posts. What is your point?

    One point I did not make (I assumed it was understood- my bad). I am an American. I am of Afro descent. The two are mutually exclusive. One defines the ‘culture’ that is my heritage/the culture that I ascribe to. The other statement for the purpose of this discussion; my race. When I state the word Assimilation I do not mean Miscegenationjust so you understand me.

    As an Indian I’m sure the preference for light skin is something you just can’t fathom. Yes, all kinds & colors of people look down on people of Afro descent. Again, as an Indian– I’m sure that’s is just something you would have to try and imagine but bless you for engaging in the dialogue and making the attempt.

31. Back in January, writing from Nairobi, I blogged about Kenya’s liberal magazine Awaaz, which concentrates on the Indian diaspora in East Africa.

    The editor, Zahid Rajan, has issued this statement about the recent violence in Uganda:

    Awaaz notes with concern the recent re-emergence of racial conflict in Uganda. It is indeed sad that the South Asian community in Uganda as a whole has paid the price for the recklessness of a few. South Asian leaders have once again collaborated with the ruling class; this time to rape the country of its natural resource and continue the exploitation of the Ugandan people. It is the story of the South Asians in East Africa since the advent of independence in the territories. These business tycoons are single mindedly determined to make money in collaboration with the ruling elites. In doing so they portray the entire South Asian community as the ‘visible enemy’; and thus undermine the positive roles that ordinary South Asians have played, and are playing, in the colonial and independent histories of the East African countries. It is indeed disappointing that President Museveni considers environmental conservation a ‘luxury’! We in Kenya are grappling with trying to replace our lost environmental resources and are already suffering from the consequences. Surely Uganda’s South Asian industrialists should understand this global concern. Their complete inability in Uganda to learn from history and chart a new path of national inclusion and reconciliation, instead of exacerbating the myth of exploitation, is shocking, to say the least. It is reckless and irresponsible for the Mehta Group to attempt to plunder the resources of Uganda in complete violation of the wishes of the Ugandan people and of international environmental standards. We do applaud the sentiments of the general Ugandan South Asian community in condemning the move by the Mehta group. They need to link up with the rest of the Ugandan community and struggle for a just, democratic and environmentally secure country. Awaaz once again reiterates that it stands for: The need for the South Asian communities in East Africa to get involved politically and cast their lot with the masses of the 3 countries. As Awaaz has shown, history is replete with examples of individuals who have participated in the political processes in the region. Some notable individuals are: Uganda: Sugra Visram – MP 1963 – 1966 Kenya: Pio Gama Pinto – Socialist, freedom fighter. Makhan Singh – founder of the Trade Union Movement. Manilal Desai – party organizer & freedom fighter Tanzania: Sophia Mustafa – MP 1958 – 1965. Amir Jamal – Minister of Finance The community has to get involved in the day to day political processes be it at Parliamentary or Civic levels. We in Kenya have once again the opportunity of getting representation in the body politic during the upcoming 2007 election. Finally we stand in solidarity with the Ugandan people and the Ugandan South Asian community as they struggle against dictatorship and political repression. We have to stand up and be counted – history will judge us accordingly!

32. “The Asian Question again: A reflection” from Mahmood Mamdani (Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and a professor of anthropology at Columbia University), published in Uganda’s Sunday Vision:

    Even before the scandal around Mabira came to light, signs of rising tension were evident on the social and political landscape of Uganda. Mabira turned into a major scandal because it symbolised a collusion between an increasingly unaccountable President and an arrogant tycoon from a racialised minority. The President had taken to treating the country as his private preserve; the grant of Mabira was simply the latest in a series of grants (of a school in one case or an information ministry facility in another) by the president, always claiming that his personal will represented the interests of ‘development’. The tycoon too claimed to be doing the country a favour — once again, ‘development’ — rather than lining his own pockets. Mabira outraged just about everyone, from the Kabaka to the mukopi, the mwami to the muyaye. [snip] So what is this Asian Question? It is a different question for different groups of Ugandans. For those in urban and peri-urban areas looking to join commerce, it has to do with the crowding of the market place by immigrant traders, even hawkers — Indian and Chinese — often entitled as ‘investors’. For the middle and the lower-middle classes who have put their energies and assets in secondary and even higher education in the hope of securing their children a white-collar job, it is about the ease with which immigrants seem to be able to get residence and work permits at the expense of jobless nationals. For businesspersons of substance, it is about unfair competition and unequal access to officially sanctioned resources and connections. All of them complain of unfair treatment, and all expect preferential treatment for nationals in an independent country. For all of them, this is a question of nationalism, of meaningful independence.

    Thought provoking. Well worth reading the whole thing.

33. all this hatred of blacks towards non blacks in africa is just giving persons a taste of their own medicine.when blacks go in countries such as india,russia,germany etc they are treated the same ways or even worst .so just be glad u are not treated worst.

34. My two cents: : : : To see another become rich, while you remain poor, is usually going to provoke jealousy in the worldly man. When the rich man is an outsider, the rage is often directed towards the innocent. It is true that rich Chinese have dominated commerce in Indonesia. But, I believe the people beaten and raped in the anti-Chinese riots tended to be other poor guys who had no more power than their attackers. : : : : Rich Chinese good hop on their private plane and jet off to Singapore. And, did they take any poor Chinese with them ??? The victims only relation to the rich was only a common ethnicity but they were attacked as if they shared equal complicity. : : : : This is the tragedy of this type of event.

35. I notice a mention of skin color preference : : : : It is true that African Americans range in skin color due to white and Native admixture. It is also true that the lighter skin can be preferred as a mate or a child. Africans in Africa tend to be more homogenously black and has not produced the kind of light skinned insider elite seen in The Philippines or Latin America. Colorism, however, is an issue many around the world, not just the African American, are dealing with.

    Asian Indians remind me of Latin America or the Middle East in physical appearance and color range but they seem, to me, to sometimes be much more hostile. I have come to suspect that caste thinking plays a significant role in that. For this reason, I tend to be against their presence in Africa. I am against any deeply hostile presence in Africa e.g. whites, East Asians; I much prefer the Lebanese.

    With some others, just leave each other alone.