*** yb10 pp. 115-117 Uganda *** CONTENDING WITH OBSTACLES ( jw.org ) The exciting progress during the late 1980’s, however, did not come without challenges. A coup d’état staged in July 1985 saw the military once again take over the government. Security deteriorated as before, and guerrilla warfare intensified. Fleeing troops went on the rampage, looting property and shooting people at random. For a while, the battle raged around the area where the missionaries lived in Jinja. One day their home was raided by soldiers, but when the intruders learned the identity of the missionaries, they did not destroy anything and took very little. Then, in January 1986, yet another regime came to power and made an effort to restore some stability to the country. The new government soon had to come to grips with a new and devastating foe—AIDS. When the pandemic struck during the 1980’s, Uganda was one of the nations most affected. A million people are thought to have died, possibly more than those killed in 15 years of political turmoil and civil war. How did the disease affect our brotherhood? “Some new brothers and sisters came into the truth with much zeal and energy,” explains Washington Ssentongo, a regular pioneer, “only to be consumed by AIDS. They had been infected with the HIV virus before learning the truth.” Others were infected by unbelieving mates. “Sometimes it seemed that hardly a month would go by without hearing about the burial of someone we knew and loved,” says Washington, “and everyone was losing family members. Also, there was a lot of superstition about AIDS. Many people linked it to witchcraft and being cursed. This misguided outlook made people fearful, stirred up unfounded prejudices, and undermined reasoning ability.” Nevertheless, our brothers and sisters loyally comforted one another with the resurrection hope and with reassurances of their genuine Christian love. As the 1980’s drew to a close, there was a great deal of optimism in Uganda. Security was being restored, and the country was making an economic recovery. Infrastructure improved, and social programs were renewed or implemented. As more people placed greater emphasis on political ideals, however, the neutrality of Jehovah’s Witnesses was at times misunderstood. In one instance, authorities arbitrarily stopped the construction of a Kingdom Hall. Permission for some assemblies was denied, and some missionaries had to leave the country when their permits expired. By the end of 1991, only two missionary brothers remained. What could be done to improve the situation? Eventually, a delegation of brothers met with authorities to explain our neutrality. Once the authorities understood our position, missionaries were permitted to return to Uganda. The work progressed unhindered, and in 1993, Uganda was happy to report 1,000 publishers. Then, it took only five more years to reach 2,000 Kingdom proclaimers. Presently there are about 40 missionaries doing fine work throughout the country.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 00:26:07 +0000
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