Comment by ny2ko | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ny2ko | Hacker News Reader

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Comparing present day Uganda to Uganda under Idi Amin is a grossly incorrect stature to take. Tbh this comment is a bit triggering for myself as a Ugandan and quite a misrepresentation of the country. Since this is right at the top, I feel like I need to respond.

All the skulls - That's not a thing, I can't recall seeing any growing up in Uganda. Sure there have been wars in the country but that was decades ago...

Bad things happened there and it has never recovered: The country has developed significantly since the 70s just like most other places in the world. That statement is so far from the truth

Homosexuality: Definitely a strong opposition to it in the country. However, the media representation is an extreme versus the day to day. If you are gay in Uganda, I do agree that it is probably best to stay in the shadows

I urge you to please think about what you are going to write before writing such a comment. You haven't lived in the country for 40 years. Can you really know anything about it's present state?

Good point. You have extremely valid criticism, and I appreciate your writing them.

I loved the nation, when I lived there, and it had a profound impact on my life. Leaving was heartbreaking. I have "survivors' guilt" from that, as I suspect that all the kids I used to play with were probably killed. I still have items with bayonet holes in them, from when the soldiers were making sure that my father wasn't smuggling out his students (who were all killed). I sincerely wish you well in your continued growth and success. It has been worse.

Idi Amin and Milton Obote killed around a million folks; from the end of colonialism, through the mid 1970s. I remember -extremely well- public executions in the park in Kampala.

I also remember how rich, cosmopolitan and modern the nation was, in 1972, and how it collapsed -almost overnight- after Amin kicked out the Asians. From what I see, it has never regained that stature. It was in really good shape, pre-Amin. The income from tea, alone, made it the richest country in East Africa. The rich, volcanic soil, meant that you could grow almost anything there. It also has vast mineral wealth (my mother was a geologist, and I remember touring mines in the Southwestern part of the country). I still have samples of ore from those mines on my shelf.

The LRA has probably been the most horrifying thing for me.

You have my thanks and support. Good luck, and Godspeed.

The LRA impact was very confined to the north. I grew up in Kampala and the LRA was simply something we heard about on the news and didn't impact our lives. That said, the impact they had on the northern districts especially on all the children there is heartbreaking and still felt to this day.

I wasn't alive in the 70s so can't say exactly what Kampala was like then but my parents and grandparents say it's more modern now. And overall there are more people having better lives on average than the smaller group of well off people at that time.

From an economically standpoint I think a challenge we have is that we are landlocked and have to be dependent on our neighbors substantially amongst other challenges that delving into would turn into an essay. That said I see future promise and growth for the country

I really want that nation to thrive. Despite the dark times, it had a profound impact on me. I named both of my companies, based on my memories of Uganda.

Thanks for bringing me up to date.

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