The atmosphere here is similar to January 25 1986 when the then rebel National Resistance Arm (NRA) stormed Kampala city in Uganda. The sounds in the air all around are similar to the sporadic gunfire the rebels used to oust the then government. Different sounds like bombs, automatic rifles, grenades and heavy artillery, all sounding off intermittently.
Here however it is different. The sounds come from fireworks being let off by the youth. From 10am New Year’s Eve until 2am on New Year’s Day, the Dutch streets could be mistaken for a military zone. This is the only time of the year that Dutch law allows the public to use fireworks. Fireworks at New Year are a long-standing Dutch tradition, and signify chasing the spirits of the old year away. In the Netherlands, fireworks cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 16. They may only be sold during a period of three days before a new year. If one of these days is a Sunday, that day is excluded from sale and sale may commence one day earlier.
Before moving to the city of Almere where we have bought a house, we used to live in a rural area in Noord Holland province 40 minutes from Amsterdam in a village called Wognum (pronounced Vohunum). In that small village everyone one almost knew everyone else, where they live, what they do and number of children. It was therefore not common for fireworks to go off before midnight. The youth knew they would immediately be reported to the police.
Almere is a big city where it is difficult to know who lives where. So over the last 3 days, the youth have been illegally setting of the fireworks. It is no longer fun at midnight when the rest set of theirs. The only consolation is that that is when the big ones go off. The big ones light up the sky for several seconds. Almost every home in the Netherlands goes out on the street to set off fireworks, hug each other and generally drink and shout in the New Year. The sky in all Holland is lit up with shiny bright colours from the fireworks- be it a village, city or town.
This is completely different from Uganda 10 or so years ago. I remember fireworks used to be set off only at the Sheraton hotel at the rooftop and at the American Club in Makindye. All middle class Kampalans went to the Sheraton to welcome the New Year. Other people in the outskirts burned old tyres in the middle of the road. Of course today it has changed much. Most happening places in Uganda set off fireworks at the stroke of midnight.
Happy New Year to all of you!
1 comment:
Bwana Ali,
Your posting has drawn my memory back to that 1986 day in Kampala as I was in the middle of it. There was no fun but plenty of hope that has long faded. Well it looks you are doing great with your family. Pass my greetings. Mine entered the new year in two halves. My wife and our eldest daughter spent the holidays in Uganda but Malaria chose to make fun of them. Hope they will get over it. Otherwise, we in Boston also entered the new year with a bhang as usual. A major firework in Boston harbor and plenty of small ones in the suburbs. Very few people can risk having their private fireworks as they could easliy be nabed. I watched the halabaloo on TV in the comfort of my house. Guess what, the new year seems to be like the old one, nothing but the date has changed. Have fun with family. Henry
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