Old woman who wanted to beat me with a stick

January 31, 2008

© 2008 Greg Kendall-Ball

One afternoon, after lunch, I was just walking around Gulu taking shots of the streets and buildings. This old woman came running up to me waving her big walking stick at me and yelling at me in Acholi. Being not yet fluent in the language, thankfully the woman who runs the cafe I had just eaten in came and translated. Apparently she thought I was trying to take her photograph, and was demanding 200 shillings (less than 25 cents) for some soap. I showed her the street scenes I had just shot, and that she wasn’t in any of them (she was mildly impressed by the LCD screen), and then we struck up a bargain: I’d give her some soap money if she would pose for me. Thankfully, she put the stick down, and I avoided a good braining.

Posted in Africa, Black and White, Life