The Ghost And The Darkness Essay Research

Paper

The Ghost and the Darkness The movie that I just watched, The Ghost and the Darkness, is set on the Tsavo River in Uganda. The International Movie Database offered no actual filming location, and I was not in the class viewing to obtain it. Uganda is located in eastern Africa and is a fertile land of upland plateaus and mountains (WRA). The country has an equatorial climate that is moderated by its altitude as well as the influence of Lake Victoria (WRA). Tourist visitors to Uganda are mainly rich independent travelers, drawn to the country s lakes and the Ruwenzori mountains, also called the Mountains of the Moon .

Set in 1898, the films focus is the attempt of a British Railroad firm to build a railway through the nation. Common to nations in east Africa (at least they once were, perhaps during the time of this film s setting), the lion is a fierce predator that in this film turns to taking humans for meals. The workers, who were native Uganda citizens, were the majority of the lion s victims (130 in total). These natives named the lions the Ghost and the Darkness (hence the title), believing that they weren t even real.

There is certainly potential for coexistence of humans and lions in Uganda, as the country is mostly rural. 88% of Uganda s population resides in the rural areas of the country, while the rest live in the very sparse urban areas (WRA). Today, there are no major national highways or freeways, and there are only 3,880 miles of national paved roads. The government is rebuilding the country s transportation infrastructure with the help of international aid.

Uganda is going through a period of economic strife. After almost twenty-five years ethnic tension and fighting, the country s overwhelming priority is economic reconstruction. Its main source of income is agriculture, as coffee brings in 93% of Uganda s export earnings. However, coffee is very vulnerable to world price fluctuations, and this makes for yet another major weakness in the economy. Its health system was also hit hard by the war, and is now slowly being rebuilt. Some areas have major problems with AIDS-related illness (WRA).

Peace has been established in Uganda since 1986, when President Museveni started his no-party democracy . This system has political parties represented in a broadly based government, but not allowed to campaign.