There was a demonstration in Uganda to support a free press. LGBT people are often denied media access in Uganda. Filmmaker Tim McCarthy filmed demonstrators as they walked down a street that Ugandan police had road blocked. At first they were able to demonstrate without incident but then they were attacked & arrests occurred. McCarthy stated, “After jumping the sewer & tripping on metal rods coming out of the ground, then ducking under a sign, I heard “Get the Muzungu!!!! Arrest him!! Arrest Him!!!.” At this point in the video I have tripped & partially closed the camera lens so the video was blocked but the audio is clear. I was being arrested by three police officers. One was trying to hurt my left hand but at first I thought he was giving me a hand massage it was gentle & relaxing but then he twisted my wrist bringing me back to reality. That is when I cried out, Please, Please. He & the other officers faces were very confused. They clearly were very uncomfortable arresting me. My instincts said to take advantage of that, to flee in as a non-confrontational manner as possible. I used their internalized racism to my advantage. I am a white foreigner, they couldn’t bring themselves to arrest me. As I scrambled away, I tripped again & the Officer barking orders said finally, ‘let him go’. Here is the video of me after the incident.”
Watch Video… The US Embassy in Kampala is sharing this video with the rest of the foreign diplomats here in Uganda & Amnesty International as well. We talked to filmmaker Tim McCarthy about his heroic Ugandan film project “Voices of the Abasiyazzi - Creating Allies” that he is producing with Pepe Julian Onziema. Abasiyazzi is the Ugandan equivalent of the American word Queer.
Listen to Audio Interview…
OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFFINGTON POST...:)
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