I stand today calm and strong at this very spot
Where my mother stood years ago – worried and distraught
Driving after curfew hours – and at breakneck speed
Stopped by soldiers on the way who saw her infant bleed

Speaking in Swahili – in her blood-stained clothes
Men armed with guns – twice her size – stood there comatose
“I have to reach the Doctor or my baby’s going to die”
Each word of hers drenched in blood they heard a mothers cry

She didn’t wait for answers but jumped into her car
Accelerating faster than a stunt car movie star
One hand on the steering wheel; the other on her child
Maternal love and nerves of steel somehow had reconciled

The Moon and Stars conspired in the still of the night
With a mother so determined – who wouldn’t give into fright
She whispered to her daughter and begged her not to go
How she mustered courage – I guess I’ll never know

I’m going to take you back in time to 1971
Obote’s reign had ended; Amin’s had just begun
What followed was an orgy of carnage and bloodshed
An appalling reign of terror – with 500,000 dead

The pearl of Africa was numb and smouldering in rage
For a brutal lunatic was armed to take the centre stage
70,000 Asians had 90 days to leave!!!!!
A land they loved and called their home – they were too shocked to grieve

The butcher of Uganda was ruthless and insane
Sadistic acts of horror – cruel and inhumane
I can’t forget the chilling screams despite the years gone by
The disused torture chambers reek of tales to testify

Choking back my tears I see my parents trying their best
To make sense of this madness in a nation that was blessed
I stand here at this very spot – under Ugandan skies
And see a land that’s healed and once more regained Paradise