Interviewer: Hassan Abdurahman
English 191
Preparation
The previous two interviews gave me much confidence I needed to prepare for my last interview. Interviewing someone whom I have not met before would be a life long experience. To conduct my last interview, I had to search someone from the same country (Uganda).
For the preparation, I needed two copies which all of my questions listed and tape recorder. I usually recorded all of interview on my phone but I lost it. I borrowed a tape recorder from my friend called Baadal.
My plan was to interview someone from Saint Cloud when I came back to Minneapolis on Sunday. I went to Starbucks coffee shop (located in river side Ave) on Saturday morning to get some caffeine in my system. There were many Somali speaking people sitting inside and talking loudly. The noise was so awful and I wanted to leave immediately after grabbing my coffee.
I noticed that there was one middle-aged person sitting on the chair at the left side of Starbucks. I grabbed my coffee and asked him permission to sit. Asking permission was a right thing to do because someone might have accompanied him. We got a long very quickly and started chatting. He asked me my nationality and how long have I been staying in the United States. He told me that he came to the United States twenty-years ago. He added that he went to visit his country twice since he came here. Mr. Peter was born and raised in Uganda, Kampala.
I told him that I already interviewed two people from his country. I needed the third person for my interview. He accepted my invitation for the interview on Sunday. He invited me to his house. I took my tape recorder and two copies of paper that contained all of my questions on Sunday afternoon. I knocked the door and his wife opened the door. He was siting on the sofa. He offered me to sit beside him. He greeted me with Swahili saying “Karibu” means welcome, and I replied “Asanti sana” means thank you very much.
Country Report
Uganda is one of the smallest countries in Africa, which has been known, as “Pearl of Africa” because of "breathtaking landscape". Uganda is located at the center of East Africa. Kampala is the capital city of Uganda that has a total population of 1,353,189 populations and covers the area of 189 km.sq. It is a landlocked country. According to cia.gov, this country covers the area of 241,038-kilometer square, slightly smaller than Oregon State. It shares the boarder with Kenya on the east, Sudan on the north, and Democratic Republic of Congo on the west, and Tanzania on the South. Uganda enjoys one of the world’s great waterfalls, Murchison, which runs from the Nile River and plunges several hundred feet into lake Albert (pbs.org). The other thing that makes Uganda unique comparing with other African countries is that Queen Elizabeth Park, where the combination of plains, tropical rainforests, lakes, and Volcano gives a diversity of wildlife.
“In 1888, the British referred to the 52 clan Buganda as “Uganda” where they established their royal charter to Imperial British East Africa Company” (PBS.org). Before British explorers came to Uganda, the Buganda had already established trade relations with Arab traders. Protestant and Catholic missionaries from Europe arrived later in the 1870’s [3]
http://www.bestourism.com/img/items/big/7209/Uganda_Map-of-Uganda_9801.jpg
http://www.ganeandmarshall.com/images/uganda_queene_main.jpg
http://beadsofawarenessjmsb.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/newsindexpix.jpg
"The reign of Amin in the 1970s and the civil war that lasted until 1985 devastated Uganda's economic growth. One of the achievements of Yoweri Museveni's presidency has been turning around Uganda's flagging economy."[3] "Approximately 36 percent of Uganda's wealth comes from agriculture, which employs about 80 percent of the population. Coffee is the country's main export and accounts for about 37 percent of the country's GDP, putting Uganda ahead of all other African coffee producers [3]. When Museveni took power in 1986, inflation was running at more than 250 percent." (PBS.org) By 2005, after Uganda had worked for years with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international financial institutions, inflation was just over 8 percent. Uganda has benefited from a package of debt write-offs in recent years. According to bbc.co uk, in 2000, the international finance community in effect waived Uganda's debt through the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief, worth $1.3 billion, and the Paris Club debt relief, worth $145 million.[3] "Today, as Uganda decreases its debt and continues to grow, there is potential to move away from relief toward full-fledged trade and self-reliance."[3]
Uganda is composed of many different ethnic groups in which "none of ethnic groups claimed to be majority".[1] English has become an official language of Uganda since independence from Great Britain while Swahili become the second official language of the country. However, most people speak local language called "Luganda", predominantly spoken by "Baganda people who live in urban concentration" of Kampala (capital city of Uganda).
Citation
[1]BBC on the Internet, 2003 British Broadcasting cooperation http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14112297
[2]“World fact book: Uganda”, 2001 Central intelligence agency https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html
[3]PBS on the Internet, 2002, Public broadcasting service
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/additional.html
Transcription of my interview
(H) stands for Hassan Abdurahman
(P) stands for Peter Nyache
(H) ‘Mimi kwa kweli shukrani kwa kunikaribisha hapa katika nyumba yako.’( I really appreciate for inviting me here in your house). I would be glad and grateful for accepting my interview request yesterday.
(P) Wewe yanakaribishwa (you welcome)
(H) I want to let you know that I have to record our conversation solely for transcription purpose. I have to transcribe all of our dialogues into this tape so I will not miss anything. Would you mind recoding your voice on this tape recorder?
(P) I would not mind recording it
(H) Before I start recording, I want you to look at these questions. Could you please look at these questions please?
(P) Sure
(H) Now, let me start my dialogue by introducing my name. My name is Hassan Abdurahman. I was born and raised in Harar, Ethiopia. What is your name?
(P) My name is Peter Nyache. I was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda.
(H) I am about to ask you were are you from but you answered it. (we laughed) You told me yesterday that you have visited Uganda twice since you came to the United States. When was your last visit?
(P) I visited kampla and some other wonderful places in 2005. I observed that many things had changed radically. The city was modernized and some skycaper building were built.
(H) Are you married?
(P) I married a long time ago. I met my wife when I went to University of Minnesota. After we graduated, I proposed to marry her. She accepted my proposal. We saved money for our wedding and got married the following year.
(H) Do you have children?
(P) I have been blessed by three children:two male and one female. They are gorgeous.
(H) How many siblings do yo have?
(P) I have five siblings. One of my brother and sister live in Columbus, Ohio, two of my brother still live in kampla, Uganda, and my youngest sister lives in Washington Seattle.
(H) I noticed that you attended University of Minnesota long time ago. The education system of your country of origin may be different from the United States of America. Would you agree with this comparison?
(P) The difference is huge. When I attended high school in my country, We did not have enough resources to gain any insight and observe the chemical reactions practically. We observed our science teacher when he conducted the experiment. I could say that my country’s teaching was theoretical based. In the United States, I learned all of my science classes theoretically and practically. I would not imagine in hundred years to compare both education system since we are lagging.
(H) What was the form of government in your country?
(P) My country run by democratic process by name but the corruption in the government is cancer. My country hold an election every four years, but the outcome will be known before the election. They rigged the election and inflate ballot box with suitable candidates. I think that it is not worth of voting and participating in this kind of democracy. The president came to power many years ago and still leading the country. For instance, he jailed the candiate from opposition party before the election in murky allegation.
(H) What sites would you recommend to tourist to visit?
(P) When I went back to Uganda, I observed that my country was improving in many aspects including tourisms. Queen Elizabeth national park is one of the most popular parks in Uganda filled with wildlife and birds, Monkeys, Chimpanzee. Tracking the Kazinga channel where you cruise along the shore to see birds and wildlife animals, Volcano crater lakes. The beach around lake Victoria is one of the nice place to visit.
(H) Peter, what is the most celebrated holiday in your country?
(P) The most celebrated holiday in my country I should say Christmas. The real holiday cooking starts on the night of the 24th after the service. The morning of Christmas, the church is filled to full capacity; even people who never go to church attend church on this day. People get to wear their new attire, especially for women to show off their new traditional dresses in rich colors with matching turbans. The church is followed by an incredible feast. more and more food gifts would arrive from family to supplement the meals already planned to be cooked. On top of the bananas and chickens, different types of meats are cooked as well as sweet potatoes, cassava and rice
(H) What is traditional food in your country?
(P) The most common Uganda food is Matooke. This is a preparation of green bananas, which are peeled, boiled and then mashed. Uganda has an agrarian economy and so the cost of food that is grown in the local areas in Uganda is reasonable. The prices vary according to the food product and the season
(H) Do you prepare this food here in your house?
(P) Yes, I do. My wife sometimes prepares it. I have not encountered any problem finding the green banana here.
(H) How is religion practiced in your country?
(P) Religion can be called as triplet as it consists mainly of Christianity, Islam and the indigenous religions. My country is blessed in freedom of religion as well. Majority of Ugandans follow Christianity. The religious identity of Uganda has both economic and political implications as the membership of church provides opportunities like education, employment and also social advancement and in turn enhances the Ugandan culture.
(H) Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to get to know much about your country and you individually. I hope that we can meet again.
(P) You are welcome
Impression from the interview/Review
The interview took place in quite environment that made me comfortable and relaxed. I took one personal note from this interview that it would be easier to dialogue with someone as long as approaching a person with open-minded. I liked this interview because Peter's answerers were detailed. It conjured mental picture when he was telling me the story.
I thought that I have known him for many years the way even though I have met him for a day. I was so impressed to interview Peter. He was so friendly, thoughtful, and articulate person.
I have known a lot about Ugandan culture, people, and education system from eyewitnesses. I am grateful having this experience before I graduate from saint Cloud State.
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