How 9/11 attacks affected ‘kyeyo’ remittances
By Norman Miwambo
12th Sept 2011: Sunday, September 11th marked the tenth anniversary of terrorist attacks that brought down the iconic twin towers of the World Trade Centre in the centre of New York on the morning of September 11th 2001; claiming nearly 3,000 lives in the process. Since then, it’s not only US citizens who have suffered the consequences of that fateful day.
The entire world is and will continue to experience the trauma caused by the horror event. It changed the world and gave autocratic leaders the excuse to trample on fundamental human rights and freedoms of their citizens.
Ugandans working in foreign countries for example claim that the legacy of the 9/11 attacks have made it more difficult for them to remit money to their relatives back home. “…A name, an address, date of birth, and country of birth are among the [new] requirements. What does this suggest”, Abbey Mukasa asked.
Tracing the location of the people making remittances and the recipients are no longer a problem. Some Ugandans in the Diaspora who regularly remit money to their relative in Uganda have even claimed that their names could have been used ‘as ghost voters’ by the NRM during the recent national elections.
Money Transfer Agents have however denied any suggestion that they conspired with the NRM government obtain details of senders. Other strong and negative sentiments related to the legacy of the 9/11 attacks however continue to be expressed by Ugandans in the Diaspora.
“…The problems in the West have had a direct effect on our country, in Africa, and the rest of the world. Yes, we all want to have a secure world. But many despotic leaders, including the one in our country [Uganda], are using the consequences of September 11th to suppress any political disagreement”, said one political activist.
“…We don’t want to bring problems to our relatives. People are telling us to read the NUMBER [reference and amount remitted]. But we can’t just put people at risk. It is not because we don’t want to give them the money, but it’s for their own safety,” said another expatriate in a Western capital who has been sending money to Uganda.
Everist Kamukama, who attended the recently concluded Uganda Convention UK, said the corruption and the collapse morality at home, bad government policies and priorities that have cause inflation have all affected remittances. “…All these things discourage people from investing at home. One can’t afford to have hard earned resources go down the drainage”, Kamukama said.
He also said most people now fear being labeled terrorists simply because they don’t agree with the ruling party. “…Museveni has presided over Africa’s weakest democracy; a democracy in which his power usurps that of the country’s Parliament. Unlike his predecessors, he has powers to allocate national resources to a few, leaving the majority in abject poverty”, Kamukama added.
Ironically, all these concerns by Ugandans in the Diaspora over the impact of government terror policies seem to fly right in the face of the government’s own purported efforts to persuade Ugandan nationals to investment at home.
Opposition political activists also allege that Museveni is exploiting the terror threats with the single aim of suppressing freedom of expression, assembly, and any divergent political views. END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
