The Re-Education of Ramullah Kasozi
As a child growing up in the city of Toronto, my parents would always tell me to never forget that I was Ugandan and to remember where I came from. Yet, for some reason, I felt more Canadian than Ugandan simply because I understood the culture I lived in. And also because I was more familiar with the streets of North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough then I was with the streets of Kampala. This was probably due, in part, to my academic education under the school board curriculum at that time, which had a bias for Western history, literature, politics, and civilization. As well, living in a time where many "refugees" were migrating into Canada, I am sure that many social institutions within Toronto at that time promoted "assimilation of Western culture" rather than the "celebration of diversity" that we see today. As such, unfortunately, as a child I did not have that much time to appreciate the culture I had left behind. However, my familiarity with the streets, the people, and the history of Toronto did not mean that I denied my "African roots". On the contrary, from an early age, I identified myself as an "African-Canadian", or more specifically, a "Ugandan-Canadian", to represent my two distinct origins.
It was not until late in my high school years did I decide to take my religion, Islam, seriously. Though born a Muslim, I was always encouraged by my parents to educate myself on, not only Islam but the many world religions that exist today. So after much reading, continuous prayer & reflection, and regular dialogue with peers, during my 18th year of life I had reached a point of tranquility, whereby I began to value: myself, Islam, the world around me, and the Constant Power that keeps this vast cosmos in existence. Thus, by the time I left Martingrove C.I., I had found that balance in which I could celebrate my Islamic and African uniqueness, while identifying myself as a Canadian.
It follows that, upon attending the University of Guelph (U of G), I entered post-secondary school education full of confidence, assurance, self-reliance, and an "open mind". Fortunately, university offered an atmosphere in which one could question the status quo without being denied the freedom to express it. University offered an environment in which one could read about non-Western history, literature, politics, and civilization that was not provided for in secondary school. University also offered a genuine, intellectual, democratic, and therefore a legitimate forum in which students could question the university's administration and governing bodies. Essentially, I felt that U of G gave me the opportunity to shed of my "high school drama" and to truly re-educate myself on the political, social, and economic issues that faced our world at that time.
Consequently, during my university years I was involved with many organizations, initiatives, and programs that celebrated cultural diversity. My motive for doing such programs was quite simple: being a very visible minority (Muslim, African, female), going to school in the City of Guelph that had few minorities living in the community, I felt the need to make the community aware of the types of people that existed within and outside of Guelph. Luckily, I was not alone in this mission to educate the campus community about cultural diversity. So has the years progressed, I slowly came to feel that people were not only seeing a "Muslim-African female", but that they were seeing Ramullah; a fellow Canadian citizen who loves the winter, drinks French Vanilla from Tim Hortons, and cheers for the Toronto Maple Leafs J
Then, the unthinkable happened: my mission to educate the campus community about cultural diversity and inclusiveness was arrested on September 11, 2001. This was the day when the USA fell to the hands of terrorists.
To this day, I blame the media for painting a discouraging image about Muslims and Islam during the days that followed the September 11th attacks. Due to the media, the integrity of Muslims around the world was being questioned and Islam was put on trial for its principles. As my sister, Sawfiyyah Kasozi, once noted in her article Are we Brain dead?:
"…the media's ability to mold and condition our minds into believing that terrorists were responsible for the act without any conclusive evidence to support such a claim demonstrated clearly the deteriorating state of our minds….the media, [and its] psychological terrorism in the form of deceit and manipulation, [adversely affected] the intellectual productivity of [the] society it dominat[ed]."
Consequently, as a Muslim living in Canada there were times when I felt I was not being seen as a fellow Canadian anymore, but rather as a potential terrorist. As such, it was not justifiable for the mass media to instill the belief within society that 1.2.billion adherents of a certain religion were all responsible for the 9-11 attacks and thus worthy of counter-terrorism. As S. Kasozi suggested:
"The evil of speculation, the cash cow of mass media, is that not only does it inhibit thoughtful reflection and well thought out decision making, but, more importantly, when creeping subtly into our diverse and intricate social realm it has the dangerous potential to destroy the very fabric of our great society."
Consequently, the WTC attacks increased my ability to think critically and beyond the parameters of the U of G ultimately encompassing and dictating my daily life. Rather than being on the defensive, I decided to be pro-active and use the opportunity to re-educate myself, and educate others, about the true essence of Islam. Thankfully, the U of G community (in my view) was not swayed by the daily rants of anti-Muslim rhetoric from the media; rather, they stood by their fellow Muslim-Canadians to fight prejudice on campus.
Accordingly, I graduated from U of G in the fall of 2002 with much celebration. Like most graduates in Ontario, I spent the year (upon graduation) working, applying for graduate programs, and taking courses at the University of Toronto (U of T) for the sake of "academic interest". Consequently, I had little time to be involved in extra-curricular activities at U of T. Despite the calmness of the year, another key event in human history occurred that sent shockwaves not only to my heart, but also to the very fabric of international peace.
In March 2003 the world witnessed the US-led war against Iraq, which, in my opinion, was an unjustifiable unprovoked offensive military action against another country. Though I can rant and rave about the exaggerated statements made by the media on the imminence of Iraq developing a nuclear weapon and the US's deliberate attempt to present their arguments for war with an element of urgency built in to it, I will save my outburst for another posting J
So, like most people who were against the war in Iraq, I spent most of my time attending rally meetings, participating in protests, and educating myself on the laws that govern international peace. Though the US-led war against Iraq was a sad moment in human history, it did, nevertheless, prompt me to re-evaluate the various international relations that existed then and how these relations would affect my daily life. Even so, I continued to have a lingering fear in my mind that the war in Iraq created a dangerous precedent. To this day, I feel that international order was put into confusion by the US example because, like Robert Manne1 noted, individual countries may believe that they possess the right to take unilateral military action against what they judge to be an unacceptably tyrannical regime in the future. (Which, in my view, is not a favorable political position a nation should take). But alas, the Iraq invasion continued with much disbelief and sadness expressed by the international community. Without being too dismayed by the events in Iraq and realizing that I could not do much to help the people victimized by war, I decided to pursue my life-long dream of becoming a Medical Doctor with the intention of doing humanitarian work in the future.
Fortunately, I received word from my father in the summer of 2003 that I had been accepted to Makerere University (in Uganda) to pursue the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree. Though excited about the prospect of reacquainting myself with my "motherland" and attending medical school, I came to a shocking realization that I would leave behind all things familiar to me. In other words, I had never lived in another country outside of Canada since I was five years old, so going to Uganda suddenly became an overwhelming venture to internalize. I would be entering a culture which I had little knowledge about the people, the languages, and customs. Notwithstanding the obvious anxiety of living away from my beloved family and friends in Toronto, I decided to pack my bags, said my good-byes to the familiar faces and places, and embarked on a journey that proved to be a life changing experience. I must say, that going to Uganda was (and still is) the most ambitious, challenging, and provocative thing that I have done in my life.
So, dear reader, I will bring you to the present and inform you that it's been almost a year and half since I left the 'T dot' for the rolling hills of Kampala and I must say, I have enjoyed the ride thus far J With the Mercy of Allah, I have completed a year of medical school while having a wonderful time with Grey's Anatomy J I have traveled to different parts of Uganda and I am still marveled by the gorgeous splendor and magnificence of the places that I have visited so far; namely: Jinja, Nile River, Victoria Falls, Masaka, Sese Islands, Mityana, Mbale, Kapchowra, Mount Elgon, Mpigi, and more. However, every February I get my 'dose' of 'North Americanism', so that I can still revisit the familiar faces and memorable places of my childhood in Toronto. Nonetheless, I must say that Kampala has a certain beauty, or rather a uniqueness, which has a definite charisma that appeals to my heart. As a result, my appreciation for the city and its people has grown daily. Furthermore, the amount of knowledge that I have gained about the history of Uganda and the issues facing the African continent has opened my perspective about social and political issues facing the world. Moreover, living in Kampala has given me the opportunity to "sit on the other side of the table" and view the world from an African perspective instead of a Canadian perspective. That is, I am slowly beginning to understand why most Africans are frustrated with Western media, who have a tendency to showcase the negative images about the continent instead of exhibiting its great post-colonial achievements. Also, I'm beginning to comprehend the various concerns that most Ugandans have regarding health, education, social infrastructures, and youth issues. In other words, I am gradually understanding the "pulse of the nation", so to speak.
Considering that my exposure to Uganda has been brief at the present time, I would hesitate to comment deeply on the political and societal issues facing the nation. I still need to educate myself more, read more, and live more in the country before I can make a well-informed critique. Therefore, I will leave my critique for a future posting.
Thus, I will end here and remind the reader, and myself, not to trust the media! We must continue to investigate, re-educate ourselves, question our teachers, and if possible, travel the world so that we can gain a better understanding and perspective about the world we live in.
It was not until late in my high school years did I decide to take my religion, Islam, seriously. Though born a Muslim, I was always encouraged by my parents to educate myself on, not only Islam but the many world religions that exist today. So after much reading, continuous prayer & reflection, and regular dialogue with peers, during my 18th year of life I had reached a point of tranquility, whereby I began to value: myself, Islam, the world around me, and the Constant Power that keeps this vast cosmos in existence. Thus, by the time I left Martingrove C.I., I had found that balance in which I could celebrate my Islamic and African uniqueness, while identifying myself as a Canadian.
It follows that, upon attending the University of Guelph (U of G), I entered post-secondary school education full of confidence, assurance, self-reliance, and an "open mind". Fortunately, university offered an atmosphere in which one could question the status quo without being denied the freedom to express it. University offered an environment in which one could read about non-Western history, literature, politics, and civilization that was not provided for in secondary school. University also offered a genuine, intellectual, democratic, and therefore a legitimate forum in which students could question the university's administration and governing bodies. Essentially, I felt that U of G gave me the opportunity to shed of my "high school drama" and to truly re-educate myself on the political, social, and economic issues that faced our world at that time.
Consequently, during my university years I was involved with many organizations, initiatives, and programs that celebrated cultural diversity. My motive for doing such programs was quite simple: being a very visible minority (Muslim, African, female), going to school in the City of Guelph that had few minorities living in the community, I felt the need to make the community aware of the types of people that existed within and outside of Guelph. Luckily, I was not alone in this mission to educate the campus community about cultural diversity. So has the years progressed, I slowly came to feel that people were not only seeing a "Muslim-African female", but that they were seeing Ramullah; a fellow Canadian citizen who loves the winter, drinks French Vanilla from Tim Hortons, and cheers for the Toronto Maple Leafs J
Then, the unthinkable happened: my mission to educate the campus community about cultural diversity and inclusiveness was arrested on September 11, 2001. This was the day when the USA fell to the hands of terrorists.
To this day, I blame the media for painting a discouraging image about Muslims and Islam during the days that followed the September 11th attacks. Due to the media, the integrity of Muslims around the world was being questioned and Islam was put on trial for its principles. As my sister, Sawfiyyah Kasozi, once noted in her article Are we Brain dead?:
"…the media's ability to mold and condition our minds into believing that terrorists were responsible for the act without any conclusive evidence to support such a claim demonstrated clearly the deteriorating state of our minds….the media, [and its] psychological terrorism in the form of deceit and manipulation, [adversely affected] the intellectual productivity of [the] society it dominat[ed]."
Consequently, as a Muslim living in Canada there were times when I felt I was not being seen as a fellow Canadian anymore, but rather as a potential terrorist. As such, it was not justifiable for the mass media to instill the belief within society that 1.2.billion adherents of a certain religion were all responsible for the 9-11 attacks and thus worthy of counter-terrorism. As S. Kasozi suggested:
"The evil of speculation, the cash cow of mass media, is that not only does it inhibit thoughtful reflection and well thought out decision making, but, more importantly, when creeping subtly into our diverse and intricate social realm it has the dangerous potential to destroy the very fabric of our great society."
Consequently, the WTC attacks increased my ability to think critically and beyond the parameters of the U of G ultimately encompassing and dictating my daily life. Rather than being on the defensive, I decided to be pro-active and use the opportunity to re-educate myself, and educate others, about the true essence of Islam. Thankfully, the U of G community (in my view) was not swayed by the daily rants of anti-Muslim rhetoric from the media; rather, they stood by their fellow Muslim-Canadians to fight prejudice on campus.
Accordingly, I graduated from U of G in the fall of 2002 with much celebration. Like most graduates in Ontario, I spent the year (upon graduation) working, applying for graduate programs, and taking courses at the University of Toronto (U of T) for the sake of "academic interest". Consequently, I had little time to be involved in extra-curricular activities at U of T. Despite the calmness of the year, another key event in human history occurred that sent shockwaves not only to my heart, but also to the very fabric of international peace.
In March 2003 the world witnessed the US-led war against Iraq, which, in my opinion, was an unjustifiable unprovoked offensive military action against another country. Though I can rant and rave about the exaggerated statements made by the media on the imminence of Iraq developing a nuclear weapon and the US's deliberate attempt to present their arguments for war with an element of urgency built in to it, I will save my outburst for another posting J
So, like most people who were against the war in Iraq, I spent most of my time attending rally meetings, participating in protests, and educating myself on the laws that govern international peace. Though the US-led war against Iraq was a sad moment in human history, it did, nevertheless, prompt me to re-evaluate the various international relations that existed then and how these relations would affect my daily life. Even so, I continued to have a lingering fear in my mind that the war in Iraq created a dangerous precedent. To this day, I feel that international order was put into confusion by the US example because, like Robert Manne1 noted, individual countries may believe that they possess the right to take unilateral military action against what they judge to be an unacceptably tyrannical regime in the future. (Which, in my view, is not a favorable political position a nation should take). But alas, the Iraq invasion continued with much disbelief and sadness expressed by the international community. Without being too dismayed by the events in Iraq and realizing that I could not do much to help the people victimized by war, I decided to pursue my life-long dream of becoming a Medical Doctor with the intention of doing humanitarian work in the future.
Fortunately, I received word from my father in the summer of 2003 that I had been accepted to Makerere University (in Uganda) to pursue the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree. Though excited about the prospect of reacquainting myself with my "motherland" and attending medical school, I came to a shocking realization that I would leave behind all things familiar to me. In other words, I had never lived in another country outside of Canada since I was five years old, so going to Uganda suddenly became an overwhelming venture to internalize. I would be entering a culture which I had little knowledge about the people, the languages, and customs. Notwithstanding the obvious anxiety of living away from my beloved family and friends in Toronto, I decided to pack my bags, said my good-byes to the familiar faces and places, and embarked on a journey that proved to be a life changing experience. I must say, that going to Uganda was (and still is) the most ambitious, challenging, and provocative thing that I have done in my life.
So, dear reader, I will bring you to the present and inform you that it's been almost a year and half since I left the 'T dot' for the rolling hills of Kampala and I must say, I have enjoyed the ride thus far J With the Mercy of Allah, I have completed a year of medical school while having a wonderful time with Grey's Anatomy J I have traveled to different parts of Uganda and I am still marveled by the gorgeous splendor and magnificence of the places that I have visited so far; namely: Jinja, Nile River, Victoria Falls, Masaka, Sese Islands, Mityana, Mbale, Kapchowra, Mount Elgon, Mpigi, and more. However, every February I get my 'dose' of 'North Americanism', so that I can still revisit the familiar faces and memorable places of my childhood in Toronto. Nonetheless, I must say that Kampala has a certain beauty, or rather a uniqueness, which has a definite charisma that appeals to my heart. As a result, my appreciation for the city and its people has grown daily. Furthermore, the amount of knowledge that I have gained about the history of Uganda and the issues facing the African continent has opened my perspective about social and political issues facing the world. Moreover, living in Kampala has given me the opportunity to "sit on the other side of the table" and view the world from an African perspective instead of a Canadian perspective. That is, I am slowly beginning to understand why most Africans are frustrated with Western media, who have a tendency to showcase the negative images about the continent instead of exhibiting its great post-colonial achievements. Also, I'm beginning to comprehend the various concerns that most Ugandans have regarding health, education, social infrastructures, and youth issues. In other words, I am gradually understanding the "pulse of the nation", so to speak.
Considering that my exposure to Uganda has been brief at the present time, I would hesitate to comment deeply on the political and societal issues facing the nation. I still need to educate myself more, read more, and live more in the country before I can make a well-informed critique. Therefore, I will leave my critique for a future posting.
Thus, I will end here and remind the reader, and myself, not to trust the media! We must continue to investigate, re-educate ourselves, question our teachers, and if possible, travel the world so that we can gain a better understanding and perspective about the world we live in.
1. Manne, Robert. "Reason defies the desire to bomb Iraq". August 19th, 2002
posted by Ramullah @ 11:58 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Greetings Ramullah,
This is a very inspiring posting indeed!It brings out the analytical mind in you!
Stay inspired.
Dr.Lugemwa,Abbas
JCRC
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