HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1998-05-13, Page 23S
Telling his story
While enjoying a moment to relax outside Blyth Memorial
Hall, George Bwanika Seremba expresses his excitement
at being part of this years Blyth Festival season in Wilbur
County Blues. The actor and playwright is also presenting
his internationally acclaimed autobiographical story Come
Good Rain, to the Blyth stage this Tuesday for two special
performances.
Buck & Doe
for
Charles Gulutzen
& Terri Baskett
Friday, May 22/98
Blyth Arena (Floor) - 9 pm - 1 am
Music by D.J.
"Sound Proof - Calvin Kerr
Lunch Provided $5.00/Ticket
Age of Majority Required
Bus Available
for details call 523-9652
'MK
fi DOE
CHRIS POLAND
CINDY McCALLUM
501' May 23rd
Music by DJ
Lunch Provided
Age of Majority
9pm - 1 am
For info. or tickets
call 527-1633
527-0668
MATTHEW
GOOD BAND
on their "underdogs" tour
with special guests
"STARLING"
Start the Victoria Weekend off right!
Thursday, May 14 with the
OPENING ACTS START AT
10 P.M.
(After Seinfeld)
TIX 57. advance 810 at door
One of Canada's Best Bands!
THIS IS A
FABULOUS SHOW
Hwy. 8 West. Chrit,ri
482-1234
40th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
The family of
Harvey & Betty Bradshaw
invite you to their parents'
40th Wedding Anniversary
Celebration
on
Saturday, May 23, 1998
at Belmore Community Centre
at 8 p.m. — Dancing 9-1
We kindly request
your presence only.
Please no gifts!
A donation box for Children's
Wish Foundation will be available
FRI. - THURS.
MAY 15 - 21
FRI. & SAT.
7 & 9:15 PM
SUN. - THURS.
8 PM
OCEANS RISE. CITIES FALL.
HOPE SURVIVES. _7174
rg PARENTAL GUIDANCE
DEEPIIVIIPIACT
tlOOP.,,POCImOVIO cors
LONG DISTANCE? CALL 1-800- 5-3438 FOR TOLL FREE MOVIE INFO
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a .' 524-7811 CODERICH
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1998. PAGE 23.
trt t E neainmen brings top hits
Hanover singer
1 to Wingham Hall
Man shares his story of survival
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen staff
Listening to George Bwanika
Seremba's story of survival told in
a voice as rich and smooth as a
frothy café lane, seems at first, a
little incongruous. So too does wit-
nessing the physical evidence of his
ordeal on a pleasant, sunny spring
day in Huron County.
But for Seremba, the healing is
complete. The therapy of writing
the play Come Good Rain was
therapeutic, its telling on• stage, as,
he has done over 200 times interna-
tionally and will for two perfor-
mances in Blyth May 19, cathartic.
And for audiences the play's mes-
sage of the strength of the human
spirit is one that inspires all.
Seremba's story begins in the late
1970s when the dictatorship of Idi
Amin begins to crumble. ''Simply
put it is a story of political dissi-
dence and survival," says Seremba,
who was at that time a university
student.
Amin's regime fell, and it became
apparent that Milton Obote, the
president who had first inspired ,
then later was ousted by Amin, was
probably going to succeed him.
"We were big players at an idealis-
tic age. I did not want to go back to
the nightmare of Idi. Amin. When it
became clear that Obote would be
re-instated I did not want to be part
of that. It was not an alternative to
me."
Taking part in rallys and demon-
strations, Seremba said he became
a "marked man" after he helped a
well-known politician escape.
On Dec. 10, 1980 Seremba was
abducted by soldiers. After what he
called a "kangaroo interrogation", '
during which he endured physical
and psychological torture, his exe-
cution was ordered that same night.
Seremba had just turned 22.
He was driven to a forest on the
outskirts of the country's capital.
Seremba refused to turn his back on
his executioners. "I wanted them to
remember me As someone who
clung to dignity and courage. I
wanted them to remember my eyes
when they woke up at night with
their wives beside them and think
how even a person on the verge of
death can tower above them."
Five bullets struck him, then
Seremba saw them raise a rocket-
propelled grenade launcher. "My
prayer was that my mother could
see my remains. I had seen too
many other mothers hoping against
hope that their sons would show
up, but their bodies were never
found."
Seeing the grenade Seremba
knew there would be no chance of
the body being saved, so as it fired
he turned, and rolling, fell down
into a marsh. Seremba hid neck
deep in water as the soldiers put
their guns on automatic fire. A hale
of bullets followed, but the fatal
one never came.
Believing him dead, or at least
mortally wounded, his assassins
left and Seremba, summoning his
strength, crawled to the road where
villagers, at tremendous risk to
themselves, carried him to their vil-
lage. As it turned out Seremba's
uncle was familiar to one of the vil-
lagers and arrangements were made
to move him home then into a hos-
pital.
With the soldiers now aware of
his survival, Seremba stayed with
his aunt, who nursed him. It is to
her he dedicated his play.
Through efforts on his behalf by
a Canadian missionary, Seremba, a
long way from fully recovered.
boarded a plane on Dec. 28. He
spent four years in Nairobi, before
coming to Canada.
In 1989 he returned to Uganda to
visit the villagers who saved him
and to extend his thanks. Seremba•
says his mother had told him over
the years that the villagers consid-
ered him an adopted son. "They
were keeping tabs on me. These
people had witnessed the atrocities
every day. They heard the gun fire
in the forest. I was the first to come
out alive. The people, like these vil-
lagers who stayed there and sur-
vived those years are the heroes of
my play."
It was actually the villagers who
inspired Seremba to pen. Come
Good Rain. "They asked me during
my visit why I had never told my
story."
Remembering the rain falling
that night in 1980, ''that gentle,
pure African rain", Seremba came
up with the idea for the title.
Knowing it was time to deliver
the goods, Seremba workshopped
the play in Toronto, then in Febru-
ary 1992, he performed it at The
Factory Theatre studio. Now inter-
nationally acclaimed, Seremba
says, Come Good Rain hasn't been
to Uganda, but it has logged a lot of
miles."
According to Seremba Blyth Fes-
tival's present Artistic Director
Anne Chislett was one of the first
people he,knew when he immigrat-
ed to Canada in 1984. "When I was
workshopping the play she was the
one person I relied on the most."
Seremba, who is also part of this
year's Blyth Festival summer sea-
son appearing in Wilbur County
Blues, hopes that his play Will offer
people a look at a country "they
once heard about. It's easy to look
at statistics, but now they are hear-
ing from one of those numbers.
This is my testimony."
"My joy is that I have lived long
enough to tell it, to hear people
laugh and cry. I've been blessed by
the audiences and their responses."
cp,PIT04
KEB
TWIN CINEMA
SURROUND SOUND STEREO
LisTowEI, 291-3070
STARTS FRIDAY
CINEMA 1 7 & 9:15 AA
CITY OF f'I c":as
ANGELS Meg Ryan
SUNDAY MATINEE AT 2 P.M.
CINEMA 2 7 PG
JOHN TRAVOLTA,
OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN
GREASE
SUNDAY MATINEE 2 P.M .
9 BLACK DOG AA
PATRICK SWAYZE,
RANDY TRAVIS
COMING WED. MAY 20
GODZILLA
A Hanover native who has
achieved success in the country
music industry will perform at
Wingham Town Hall Heritage The-
atre, May 15.
Jamie Warren, a country singer
who has earned Top 10 and Top 20
singles, will entertain the audience
with chart tunes such as Ready to
Run, What Goes Around, Watching
Her Sleep, Fallen Angel, One Step
Back and the Secret.
The Secret, which deals with
spousal abuse, has special meaning
to Warren. Learning that there was
not a toll free phone number
women could call for assistance, he
helped created the Warren Founda-
tion to raise money to support such
a service.
Tickets may be obtained by call-
ing the box office at 519-357-4082.
Ear