Today is Thursday September 22, 2011. Today marks the third straight day of sitting in the house. On Tuesday the 20th, we held Presidential Elections for the country of Zambia and since then we have been waiting for the results. Government schools were canceled through today but we were supposed to go back and teach on Wednesday. As you now know, we have been in the house for 3 days and therefore we were not able to go back to school. The first day or so had been relatively calm around us, as many people are just longing and waiting for change. Now, on Thursday, people are getting riled up and they are tried of waiting. The current president, who is also in the running’s for another term, had promised that it would be quick and to the point. Now, many Zambians feel as though he is trying to play a game with them and they are getting anxious and impatient.
In our city today there were riots and people were beginning to break out! Many people began stoning and lighting things on fire such as cars and stores. There are a few cities that have been completely closed down because it is too dangerous for people to be out and about. The buses are not running and they are asking people to stay put. There have been threats made that if the president is not announced by 18:00 hours tonight, that students and other folks are going to break out in mass chaos. People are tired of waiting and many are getting worried that the government is corrupting the elections. The people have spoken and they are proclaiming that Zambia will be in fire if the elections get tampered with. Many of the people have boughten and brought their own pens to fill out their ballots with because they are worried that the ink provided by the government will bleed onto a different candidate or will make their ballot not valid. Corruption is key to the success of the presidency here, or so many believe.
As for Sara and I, we are ok. No matter what you read or hear from the news, we are just fine. Where we live is just outside of the city and therefore we are not in direct contact with the chaos. Hope Fellowship is taking great care of us and we have stocked up on water and food in case we need it. They have been very clear with us on what we must do (not leaving the house) and must not do (vocally support a presidential candidate). Otherwise, Sara and I have been somewhat efficient over the last three days but it is coming to the point where we are ready to GET OUT! We have planned out the after-school program for the next 8-weeks, created lesson plans for the next two, done laundry, watched a handful of movies, learned a lot about Zambia through consistent watching of the news as well as conversation, and Marvin leaves for school on Sunday, so it has been really nice to spend a good amount of time with him!
This will be a running blog seeing how we are not able to get Internet at this time. We are hoping that they will announce the winner tonight and things will be back to normal soon. We ask that you pray for peace and understanding; that God may have His way in these elections, as He is the only one that can create the CHANGE some Zambian people are looking for. Please continue to pray for us as well as the people of Zambia as many have been hurt and we are not sure what will come from the announcing of the Presidency. THANK YOU!
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It is official!!!! At 00:53 hours on Thursday night Friday morning they announced our new President Mr. Michael Sata! When they announced the winner the city began chanting and shouting. Everyone went to their porches and and started whistling and chanting "Don't Kubaba"!!!! We headed outside to where the party was and people were gather in numbers. The boys were running around the complex with drums and horns. They started ripping down Banda (who is the other candidate) pastors and burning them. It looked almost like a Indian Tribal Dance! They had this fire going of election propaganda and they were circling it dancing and singing. After a short time in our complex area they took off running. They ran all around town in numbers of the hundreds. They ran in the middle of the road simply going CRAZY! At about 03:00 hours (3 am), everyone was back home in our house and they were talking talking talking and I thought it would never end. I fell asleep on the floor and Marvin woke me up at 04:45 hours and showed me to my bed. The next day... Friday was spent all day watching the TV once again. This time it was actually interesting and exciting. The old president/also candidate said a good-bye message and then they issued in the new man!!!! It was really fun to watch and definitely be apart of the process but man.... did it take a long time! It is nice to have things transitioning back to normal and hopefully get back in the groove of things. I ask you still pray for the Republic of Zambia as people here have high hopes for this new president and I hope he can live up to them. We are not fully out of the clear but looks really great!
LOVE, SLE!
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