We all have so much more to learn about each other

Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa was on June 11, 2014, elected unanimously as the president of UN General Assembly despite controversy over his stand on gay rights. In Uganda, I was met with argumentative questions about why Americans approved of gay marriage, writes Randall Smith PHOTO | COURTESY | UNITED NATIONS 

In Summary

• These anecdotes occurred to me as I was reading an historical account of Winston Churchill’s questions about the Middle East. He did not understand the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, and the historical conflicts.

By Randall Smith
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Having just landed in the US after a month in Africa, I’ve found my welcome home filled with misunderstandings about where I’d travelled.

 

My first encounter was at the airport. When you land, you must claim your luggage and pass through customs. A beagle dog, handled by a security agent, smelled my bags and began to bark.

Security asked to search my bags.  Upon opening a backpack, the culprit was discovered: A banana.

“Where did you get this?” asked the security agent.

“It was served to us on the incoming plane,” I said. “I saved it for a snack.”

“Then it wasn’t grown in America,” he declared. “It was grown in Africa.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve never seen a banana in America that was grown in America. Most come from Central America.”

My banana was placed in a plastic bag and given back to me. I was given a card that directed me to go to agriculture inspection. The agriculture inspection officer asked if I was carrying any other agriculture products.

“No,” I said. “Just a banana.”

“I’m going to have to inspect all of your bags,” he said.

STAY AWAY FROM THE BABY

So he did. Finding nothing, my banana was confiscated, and I was allowed to pass through customs.

My second encounter was with a friend’s family. A newborn baby had been brought to a party. My friend, who had been with me on the Africa trip, was instructed by his family to stay away from the baby in case he was carrying some unknown disease from Africa.

Of course, my friend is healthy as a horse —perhaps much healthier than other members of his family.

My third was an admonition from my real estate agent: Why did you not respond to my emails? Why didn’t you download my documents, sign them and return them?

There is no way to explain to some Americans about Internet connections in the bush. There is no Internet when you’re visiting with lions, giraffes and zebras.

I could go on. These anecdotes occurred to me as I was reading an historical account of Winston Churchill’s questions about the Middle East. He did not understand the difference between Sunnis and Shiites, and the historical conflicts.

But we Westerners aren’t the only ones. In Uganda, I was met with argumentative questions about why Americans approved of gay marriage.

When in South Africa, I faced other questions. “Why do you Americans require me to declare my race when I get a driver’s licence in your country?” asked a professor. “My God, man. I have been through apartheid. I thought America was the land of the free!”

The answer is simple: Americans are not promoting apartheid. We want to make sure all races are represented fairly.

So be careful about what you’re hearing and experiencing: We all have so much to learn about each other.

rsmith4825@gmail.com