Ethical Deliberations

You bring up an issue that has been discussed on various TT branches several times.

There is no right or wrong answer. The answer for you is a personal choice and whatever you decide is correct for you.

The two most discussed considerations are that 1) there is pretty much no country in the world where someone couldn't object to some policy, situation or event that falls into a catagory that a reasonable person might find objectionabe. If we only traveled to countries that had perfect social structure we couldn't travel (or stay in our home countries for that matter). 2) The money we inject into a country as a result of our travel mostly benefits people who are removed from the governments that create these social injustices so you're really punishing the wrong people. The family that owns the inn where you'd sleep now has one less room generating revenue and he has no connection with the government that created the law you object to.

On the other hand if enough people protest a policy such as this it might cause change and that's a good thing.

You decide. Good luck.

Ethical Deliberations!

I believe Mount Kilimanjaro is enough immense for everyone to figure out the gap between ethics and homosexuality! Internationalizing homosexuality is a violation of humanity.

Laketraveller,

“The money we inject into a country as a result of our travel……..”

You sound extremely naïve to an extent that the most idiot traveler on the planet wouldn’t dare to make use of your nonsensical! When you travel and you spend money while upon or in an African country like anywhere, you buy services or produces/products in return in money in local currency in most parts indeed, right! And no African country obliges travelers to present themselves at their borders with us dollars or the bloody british pound! To put me in your bloody brain, when you do shop at your local supermarket in your country what do you think you are injecting them with?

Mate, injecting reflects investing, financing, funding! Renting a hotel room and buying a pack of chewing gum at a local shop is that what you perceive to understand about injecting! Ohr sorry, I have forgotten about safaring!

I'd say, satisfy your personal desires because, as laketraveller correctly states, every other country you opt for will still have their own "unethical" issues, and if they don't, they won't have the same attraction/lure as what drew you to Uganda in the first place. Go have fun, benefit the local economy, leave the country, then probably post a protest somewhere online denouncing parliament's barbaric decision.

Uganda has a wonderfully strong civil society which ensures good quality orphanages, good examples of sustainable development using local populations (such as Mabira Forest) and amazingly helpful people.

Not everything there, people or things, are perfect, but if you go, you can support the things which do work by finding out more/supporting them/raising awareness of them, so you should definitely go.

Well, if the objection is to the death sentence, don't go to Texas either. Barbarism is everywhere. If the objection is to the way they penalize gay sex, I think they have a right to pass a law that probably reflects traditional family values in the country anyway, and most of the population would endorse it. Take off your western, liberalist spectacles and try to see something from another angle. We should stop trying to impose our ideas of political correctness on other cultures. Wow, I think I'll definately go there now :)

I don't think the law will pass; I think it will be dropped, as they already harshly penalize homosexuality and some see no real need to increase the penalty. In fact it was a group of American evangelists who got this whole thing started in Uganda, so in effect, westerners are also behind this proposed law.

I've been to Uganda for a short time, and judging from the number of prostitutes I saw in the two bars I visited I find it laughable that homosexuality is the big concern.

Anyhow whether to go or not is entirely on your own conscience. I don't think the law will see the light of day, and I don't think it will be enforced if passed.