[uganda] you can have my pig if you take my name

Following on from the Nobel Peace Prize and the scheme which won it, this one from al Jazeera is even more controversial:

For most Ugandan beneficiaries, the practical help beats any lofty philosophical statement. George Sabadu Hornsleth says he is grateful as he proudly indicates a neatly constructed wooden pen where his new piglet snuffles under the shade of a papaya tree.

The pig is a gift from a Danish artist. In return, George Sabadu changed his last name to Hornsleth, after Kristian von Hornsleth, the artist who gave him the pig. Hornsleth, who on his website sometimes spells his name Horn$leth, says the scheme, offering villagers of Buteyongera aid in the form of a pig or goat if they take on his name, is a commentary on the hypocrisies of society.

Its slogan: "We want to help you, but we want to own you." But the scheme has outraged some in the Ugandan government. Officials such as James Buturo, the ethics and integrity minister, have condemned the Uganda Village Project, which Hornsleth launched in June, as racist.

Hornsleth has mounted the resulting photographs in an exhibition in Copenhagen, depicting villagers showing their "identity cards" in the red, yellow and black of Uganda's flag and each with the name "Hornsleth". "It's a remark about hypocrisy, about Western and Third World relations, about aid against free trade," Hornsleth told Reuters by telephone from Copenhagen. The project also echoes corporate sponsorship deals.

Ugandan newspapers have filled up with letters and columns, some praising, but many angrily condemning the "pig-for-name" project, as an insult to poor Ugandans. But for villagers who have taken part, the benefits are clear. "We're so grateful for these animals," said Kabaalu Muyiwe Hornsleth, trudging through a field of banana plants towards her new goat tied to a tree in Buteyongera village, central Uganda. "Who cares about a name? We're poor and he helped us."

At the side of a dirt road cutting through central Uganda's lush green countryside, a big sign in Ugandan flag colours with the name "Hornsleth" painted on it pokes out of a clearing among rows of banana plants. To its side lies a neat village full of pig pens, each one fenced in with wooden poles painted red and black, and inscribed with Hornsleth's name.

Local press reported that Uganda's immigration department had rejected passport applications for over 100 Hornsleths wanting to go to Denmark to view the exhibition.

So, what do you think, people? The artist has a screw loose but does it matter? Is he spitting on their national sovereignty, making fun of them? Does it matter? This one’s quite a poser.

The article continues here.