Prime
I watched him sell my watch
If it’s because I used the word ‘watch’, allow me to apologise. It wasn’t really a watch. I was talking about its cousin, the Rolex. Nanti some people without appreciation for food like saying that I over quarrel about rolexes so I didn’t want to start off on that foot!
He is one of my regular rolex guys, the kind I don’t have to tell how to make my rolex. I was in a bit of a hurry so I was glad to see he had no other customers. He had just pulled out the oil to pour onto his frying pan when out of the blue, a muzungu lady joined us.
“Yes, madam?”, my gracious rolex maker asked. “Can I make you a rolex now?”
Huh?
“Yes, please”, she said. “If you are busy, I will wait”.
“No, no, I’m not busy at all!”, he cried. Abegonotbusywhat?
And just like that, I wasn’t even there. I gave her the side eye. I don’t believe in giving side eyes (except when I’m staring at cleavages) so I tried to make this side eye count. She didn’t get it. I placed my fists over my hips and stared at the sky. I let a sigh of frustration escape my lips. She still didn’t get it.
Now it’s not that I like to quarrel (okay, it’s fun to do sometimes). But every time I have been in a queue and a service provider has accorded anyone special privileges for no reason, I am always the first to step in and put an end to that shame on our nation.
I failed to do that here.
It was my first time to come face- to- face with being delayed a service based on discrimination of colour. And wow - I felt really bad. I needed a friend whose shoulder I could cry on. But how was I to cry on the shoulders of this privileged white woman?
Because that is what privilege is. You are a muzungu seeing a Ugandan getting a rolex, you know your skin protects you from some facts of life in Uganda so you are blind to the fact that they were the first customer and proceed to enjoy the front seat to their movie without a care in the world.
So I stood there and watched him make my rolex. I watched her watch him make my rolex. She and I were both buying one rolex but hers had to be made-faster faster.
This rolex guy had succeeded in making me feel inferior for being from the same country.
