A sad day for Uganda...

Yesterday I received some terrible news - the Isimba Dam Project has finally reached the stage where flooding the reservoir has begun. This may seem inconsequential to you, but for me, and a great many others, this is a day we have all been dreading.

Almost a year and a half ago I wrote an article that was eventually published in IMPOLITIKAL. This  was the first time I had openly spoken about the situation just outside of my former home of Jinja, Uganda. I tried to give a good background of the current scenario, while outlining why the construction of a third hydroelectric dam was bad, not only for Uganda and Ugandans, but for the environment, itself. I, along with others, protested this project to both the Ugandan Government and the World Bank.

Eleven years ago, the World Bank (via the IDA) signed an agreement with the Government to help fund the second dam, but on the condition that it left a specific area alone, as it held both cultural and environmental importance. Nine years later, I watched in horror as the signs of construction became more and more apparent in the exact spot that had been designated as culturally and environmentally protected. Building this dam is effectively an illegal act, and yet, today, I sit staring at my laptop, thinking of those incredible rapids along the magnificent River, while trying to imagine how they must look now.

If the thought of wiping out an entire ecosystem isn’t enough to make you feel angered, maybe the human loss will. The move to build the Isimba dam has put the rafting industry - an industry that draws professional and first-time rafters from all over the world - at risk of ceasing all together. With the rafting industry comes several other tour operators from horseback riding to kayaking to bungee jumping and so much more. It also takes with it numerous hotels, restaurants, and driving services. These are good jobs, that many hardworking, passionate Ugandans have made for themselves and provided to others.

And that’s not all - there’s still all who lost their homes in the flood zone that began filling yesterday. That area alone, where 2000 farms once stood, is now underwater. But that’s not 2000 people, that’s 2000 FARMS with an average of 8-10 people per farm plus any community members that may have worked on or with one of those farms... Land gone. Home gone. Livelihood gone. No compensation. No relocation aid. Nothing. And yet, no one would even know this was happening unless you knew someone directly impacted by this unnecessary decision.

When people ask me why I am so strongly against the World Bank, the United Nations, etc., this is why. They listen when it’s convenient, and look the other way when it’s not. And, all too often I have seen the latter far more than I’ve ever seen the former. All too often the work they claim to be doing is hurting more than its helping. And, its always those in the worst predicaments that tend to lose out.

In December of 2015, I went on my first rafting trip ever. I hated almost every minute of it until the end, when I realized just how incredible that experience was. Little did I know how much that trip would impact the next three years of my life. Little did I know that a single trip down the infamous River Nile would result in lasting friendships, that would continuously keep calling me back.

Flippin’ on the final rapid - affectionately known as Nile Special.
Photo credit: Nalubale Rafting

And although we may have lost this battle, what I want to say to everyone who tried to prevent yesterday's outcome is this - you fought a good fight. You were defeated long before the first words against the dam were spoken, written, filmed, photographed, or screamed at the top of your lungs. The odds were always against you, and yet, you never once wavered. You kept fighting. You kept trying to convince the powers that be that they were wrong. You had people on the inside fighting with you, whether you knew it or not. I am angry and sad and I am so, so very sorry. But I am also proud of all you did. I am proud to call many of you my friends. And I am comforted in knowing that there are still people willing to use their voice to stand up for what’s right, for the voiceless, for the future.

-the Orange Ugandan