And every year, in Uganda, there is presentations about Ukrainian universities and the favourable conditions there...blah blah with representatives from these places and from our own country. Below are the said articles to reflect on. Does being black mean we have to undergo all kinds of mistreatment and be subjected to dehumanising acts? Is because of the skin colour that they hate on us? I have not heard of any incident where a Ukrainian was stabbed in Uganda and even his body not traced in more than a decade!!!!
Listen to Ugandan students in Ukraine
 |
| Benjamin Egesa says he was mistreated |
EDITOR — I was disappointed by the response of Eng Davis Matovu in The New Vision of August 20 to a special report, which was published in the Saturday Vision of August 15, 2008. In the report, a Ugandan student, Benjamin Egesa, claimed harassment and racist treatment.
But it was quite disheartening for Matovu to justify Ukrainian police harassment of Egesa. In a press release, Matovu wrote: “So, as Benjamin claims the police harassed him, we, as an association, say it is better because the police had to keep checking on him since he was a suspect.”
What Matovu forgets is that ill treatment does not only entail physical beating. Harassment leads to depression and poor health. Many people commit suicide and murders as a result of severe depression. Does Matovu want us to believe this is good?
To justify harassing Egesa because he was a suspect is wrong. Even in Uganda, the Police and other security agencies are under a lot of criticism for some of the officers who harass suspects. While it is true Ukraine enjoys cordial relations with Uganda at various levels, it is wrong for Matovu to sit in Kampala and simply defend acts of individual Ukrainians. In any society, there are criminal elements, who may not reflect the official policy. What is pertinent is how the matter is handled.
The Universities in Ukraine often advertise seminars where they market themselves to students in Kampala. But who really cross checks what they claim to own? My friend in Namungoona was duped into the same scenario by claims of lower tuition by Ukrainian professors. But when she got there, the fees were more than triple what she was told in Kampala during the presentations.
The poor girl could not complete her course or pay the hostel fee and her passport was withheld by the university till she coughed the money. This was a shortcoming on the Ukrainian side because the girl’s budget and money for upkeep were endorsed by the university’s office in Kampala. We had to raise the money and, after a year of agony, my friend is now in Makerere University.
Mr. Matovu, you should encourage Ugandans who have problems with Ukrainian Universities to report them. Let the Kampala office raise it with the Ukrainians and find a sensible solution.
Kikonyogo Kivumbi
kikonyogo.k@gmail.com
Yes, it is not safe to study in Ukraine
By Patrick Oyulu
I wish to respond to Benjamin Egesa’s article in Saturday Vision of August 16 titled, “Racial violence: How safe is it to study in Ukraine?” in which he gives an account of the alarming rise in the number of racially-motivated attacks in Ukraine.
My family became a victim in 1996 when my brother, Alex Onencan Oyulu, was murdered in the Kiev, Ukraine, by goons. To make matters worse, we failed to bring his body that was allegedly cremated due to bureaucracies in the Ministry of Education.
Alex went to Ukraine in 1984 on government sponsorship. He completed his Bachelors degree and commenced a Masters programme. In 1996, and having just joined my first job posting, I received a call from the Ministry of Education informing me that Alex was stabbed in Kiev, a traumatising experience up to today.
We immediately sought the help of the ministry in transporting the body to Uganda. In light of the transport costs we could not afford then, we opted for cremation and transportation of his ashes to Uganda. A contact was provided to help us in this venture. This was Alex’s fellow student who claimed to know where his body was but refused to reveal the exact location of the hospital.
So we kept wiring money to this man who turned out to be a conman because he kept asking for more money for this and that. The climax was when he asked for money for ‘refrigeration’ for an already cremated body (according to him) without providing the much sought after pictures of my brother in whatever mortuary he was in. Refrigeration for ash? We smelt a rat.
This gentleman, who today owns one of the numerous ‘Study in Kiev’ agencies, went further and requested me to contact another family who had lost their own, saying he would help. Was he dealing in other people's misfortunes? We ignored him and became resigned to the fact that we would not bring Alex’s body home, God bless his soul. Three years ago, we received another message from another fellow, who said he knew the late Alex, claiming that his body was still lying in some mortuary in Kiev.
Asked to reveal the hospital, he was evasive. It appears there are many people dealing in people’s misfortunes to earn a living in the Ukraine. Why go there in the first place? Egessa did, and learned the hard way; at least he completed his mission.
My brother earned a scholarship, and ended up stabbed and murdered. As a family, we live with the guilt that we failed to bring Alex back for a decent burial in Uganda. To the Ugandan who got all our money saying he was helping in his cremation and never sent us pictures of his body, God bless his soul.
Egessa’s story has again brought sadness to our lives. Even Amnesty International, in a report, recognised the alarming rise of racism. The Ukraine government fails to recognise the gravity of the problem, the report states. The government of Ukraine only frequently registers the attacks as acts of hooliganism.
The Ministry of Education did not help us to return Alex’s body home. They only relayed the messages that my brother was stabbed. I always pray that the story of Alex’s death is a hoax. But going by the trend in Ukraine, it might be true. Those folks are dangerous. Alex, may your soul rest in eternal peace.
The writer is the Production Manager of QG Saatchi & Saatchi
No comments:
Post a Comment