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A very real story of love
Stephanie Wolters, Mail & Guardian (SA)
July 27, 2007

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=315316&area=/insight/insight__africa/

This year's winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, Ugandan writer Monica Arac de Nyeko, speaks to the Mail & Guardian's Stephanie Wolters about her winning story, some of the issues she feels strongly about what motivates her as an African writer.

What are some of the issues that you feel strongly about and that you write about?

There are issues that I will continue to write about, like the issues of poverty and class. I am very keen on writing about that, but also about violence. A lot of my earlier stories are about violence and about the war in the northern part of the country. That's where I come from, that is part of my history, my own memory, my people, my identity, but very generally I think there is so much to write about in Uganda these days, because I don't think that everything that needs to be written about has been written about. There is quite a lot of fiction about Uganda's history, which is quite a difficult history, but there is so much that still has to be explored.

What motivated you to write the Jambula Tree, a story that focuses on young lesbian love?

I think first and foremost Jambula Tree is a story about love. If you read Jambula Tree critically it's really more about the community than it is about the relationship between the two main characters. If you see things from the community's viewpoint and how it is affected generally by the relationship between these two girls, that is what the story is about, the community's reaction.

And, if you look at the reality, not only in Uganda, but in many African countries, I think the reality that Jambula Tree represents is very real. It's a difficult subject and there is a lot of hypocrisy around the subject; hypocrisy in the way that we look at this subject of morality.

And I think there are other more important things to look at, issues such as poverty and impunity, and then people say "oh but no", same-sex relationships — in a sense this is what Jambula Tree is about. It is a very real story and I think a lot of people would be able to identify with it. People wonder, "Oh what would happen if I was in this position?"

I find it quite interesting that people ask me why I chose this subject; if journalists can report about anything, I find it strange that a writer is asked why she chose to write about this.

Very often people asked me, "Oh are you a lesbian?" which is totally irrelevant to the whole story. I am able to write Jambula Tree as a result of creating and imagining as a writer. If people who are not Rwandese can write about the Rwandan genocide, why can't I write about anything, but people ask, "Oh why did you do this?"

The Ugandan government and certain elements of Ugandan society have displayed an intolerance about gay and lesbian relationships. Was this a motivation for you to write about the subject?

Yes. Jambula Tree is about the fact that the community discovers this relationship and then everything goes haywire — everyone says "oh my god". Then one of the girls is sent away and the other family has to live with this stigma. There are a whole host of consequences. I think this is not very far from reality. There is something that people find very difficult to talk about.

What are some of the other stories in the African love-stories anthology about?

There are a lot of other stories and very different authors. It is a very broad, contemporary anthology, a very radical departure from other African writing — it doesn't portray African women as being quiet victims, it shows the characters of very strong, very complex African women and it has challenging themes like same-sex relationships, domestic violence and age.

What is your reaction to winning the Caine prize?

I had read the stories that were shortlisted and all the stories were extremely strong and very well written. I did not approach it as though I would win. Of course, when I won I felt excitement and surprise. But right now I just feel very humbled and it is an encouragement to keep writing.

Jambula Tree was published in African Love Stories, Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2006

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