July 11

Today marks a very sad anniversary in Uganda’s history. On July 11, 2010 terrorists attacked at two different locations in Kampala during a screening of a World Cup Soccer final match. Even though Uganda has never been in the World Cup, Ugandans are crazy about soccer. Suicide bombers at each site quickly turned the excitement of these crowds into fear and chaos. One of the sites was a rugby stadium where a huge crowd had gathered to watch the game on large screens. The other bombing site was at a restaurant/bar (not far from our apartment) where another large crowd had gathered to take in the game. These attacks left 74 people dead and 70 more injured. In the days that followed, more people succumbed to their injuries bringing the total to 86 deaths as a result of the bombings. Please pray for the families and friends of these people as they observe this anniversary.
This attack caused the entire country to change the way they viewed many things. Suddenly, every large gathering was seen as a potential terrorist attack site and the country changed dramatically. When we visited Uganda in February 2010, we were quite free to go in and out of most buildings as we pleased. That all changed after July 11. The next time we visited, we had to go through metal detectors to get into any building- including church. It is the law that all public buildings (churches, supermarkets, everywhere) have metal detectors. Every time we enter a parking lot, our vehicle gets searched inside and out, including using the mirror to look under the car for anything attached beneath. As we go into a store or mall, our bags/purses are searched and we go through the metal detector- it is part of life here. All because of July 11 and the country’s desire to see that never happen again.
I talked before about a song we sing in church and one of the lines says, “Taking back what the devil has stolen.” The devil has stolen the peace of mind that these people once had. 86 lives gone- just like that.
Please pray for these families and the people of Uganda as this horrible day in history is remembered.