Yesterday, our team traveled 100 km northeast of Gulu town to Kitgum town. In a mid-size bus which seats four across (including a seat that folds down into the aisle) they packed us in 5 across. so a bit tight. The road however was not as bad as the one from Kampala.
The further north in Uganda, and thus closer to the Sudan, the more vulnerable the area feels. Before reaching Kitgum we passed at least a half dozen IDP camps. Mostly, when passing the camps we see many children and few adults. The adults, we've come to learn, leave the camp first thing in the morning to walk or bicycle (though most walk) to an area in or near their original homestead to start to till the fields. This morning when we left Kitgum, we saw just that. Women, their babies on their backs, a hoe or spade over their shoulder and a bundle on their heads, headed out from the camps. School is almost out for the term so more children will join their mothers in the fields in December and January.
While in Kitgum we met with a retired Anglican Bishop who is actively involved with the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Iniative. This group is ecumencial and has representatives of all the Christian denominations in the area and works closely with traditional elders. They have been deeply involved in the Juba peace talks. The Bishop was very honest with us and while he told us of the relative calm of the past year and of people beginning to return to their homes, he also told of us the government atrocities that were committed and how the peace talks do not include holding the government accountable for it's human rights violations. Rather the international community is focused on the rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army. He also spoke of restorative and transformative justice in the traditional practice and said how this is not possible without addmission of wrong doing and ultimately forgiveness by the survivors or victim's families and the entire community (this is very simplified but I will go into details about this process in the future) . He said that Museiveni, the president of Uganda, is not committed to peace as he is not prepared to enter into this type of justice nor to see himself as having been a perpretator of crimes against humanity. It's such a complex post conflict situation and one that appears to be tenuous at best, regardless of if the peace agreement is finalized. The Ugandan government's position is backed by the US and the UK, neither of whom are committed to a dialogue peace process. It's frustrating to know our western governments complicity and I struggle to imagine how to engage, but do think I may pay a visit to foreign affairs Canada when I return and I may just be asking everyone to write letters if and when a date is set for the peace talks.
Today we are back in Gulu.
29 November 2007
26 November 2007
Ofoyo
Ofoyo – it is a Luo word, spoken by the Acholi people here, that has several meanings as both a greeting (hello and good bye) as well as thank you. Ofoyo ba - an enthusiastic hello. We learned it yesterday and when we started to use it were greeted with wide, evidently pleased smiles.
Yesterday (Sunday), my team mates, B, J and I headed 30 km south of Gulu to Manikulu to meet with an Italian ngo, Operation Dove (OD). OD works closely with CPT in Palestine and is similar in its ideology. They have projects in kosovo, Palestine and northern Uganda. We shared some absolutely delicious espresso (instant coffee just doesn’t cut it after a while) while learning about their work in northern Uganda and they then invited us to join them as they visited two families who they have been assisting in near by villages. (our initial plan for a day off to the Murchison Falls National Park didn't pan out as logistics became quite difficult)
The first stop was 15 km into the bush in OD’s 4 wheel drive – a 4 wheel drive which was necessary to get us through a mud patch on the dirt road. It’ likely the road is very difficult to negotiate, if not impassable, during the rainy season. We stopped near a path to the side of the road and then walked in, about another 20 minutes to the family compound we were visiting. We were accompanied by one of the son’s who lives nearby. We met an elderly couple who had left an IDP camp approximately a year and half ago to reclaim their land. The compound contained 3 small mud huts, about a dozen chickens and a few goats. The woman sat on a grass mat in the shade of one of the huts, next to her 3-month-old grandson. The baby’s mother had died not long after giving birth and the father had also died some time ago. The grandfather used a cane to get up from his chair, where he’d been sorting seeds that he hoped to plant. As the provider for the family it was hard to imagine him, leaning heavily on his cane, as being in any condition to till a field, plant and harvest it. Their children are grown and while they care for their parents, it is not enough. Now they have this grandchild to care for. The baby, at 3 months, weighs only just over 2 kilos (sorry I don’t know how many pounds that is, but it’s absolutely tiny).
OD is helping families that are returning to their homesteads with specific needs. In this case, someone had approached them about the health of this orphaned baby boy. The grandparents struggle to care for him – they are not able to pay for the milk needed to feed him and when provided with the milk they do not prepare it properly nor clean the bottle as thoroughly as is desired. OD took them to the hospital in Gulu a few days ago and the doctors said that the baby could survive if it was properly fed. OD will provide the milk, one litre/day, which is to be mixed with milk, boiled and cooled before being fed to the baby throughout the day. This visit was to give these instructions, including utensils for preparing the milk and feeding the baby. The couple does not speak English so their son was interpreting these instructions and promised to try to get them to understand what was needed.
This was a very moving visit – this couple, in their advanced stage of life, were trying to re-establish themselves on the land and now, to care for this new baby. It is what is done, but what happens next?
After we left this family, we traveled to another village compound – again by dirt road and then walking into the bush – I can tell you, as we walk through the bush, the grass is higher than my head – this is partially why the rebels were able to get so close to villages and camps in order to abduct children. It is very easy to get lost in the bush. As we continued to this compound, we found a family that OD was helping to rebuild their huts – which had been destroyed during the war. The family was making the bricks (soil mixed with water, shaped into cinder block sized bricks and then baked in the sun) and two huts were finished and two halfway completed. Cut grass was drying nearby which would be used to thatch the roofs. When a hut is completed, ashes from the cooking fire are mixed with cow dung and presumably water to create the plaster like exterior of the huts, which seals the hut. The exterior often has some design or coloured pattern or stripe as decoration as well.
Both families we visited today, were very welcoming to us and appeared happy to show us how they lived now that there was peace, even as they continue to struggle, to re-establish crops, to rebuild homes, to find safe water…
Ofoyo
Yesterday (Sunday), my team mates, B, J and I headed 30 km south of Gulu to Manikulu to meet with an Italian ngo, Operation Dove (OD). OD works closely with CPT in Palestine and is similar in its ideology. They have projects in kosovo, Palestine and northern Uganda. We shared some absolutely delicious espresso (instant coffee just doesn’t cut it after a while) while learning about their work in northern Uganda and they then invited us to join them as they visited two families who they have been assisting in near by villages. (our initial plan for a day off to the Murchison Falls National Park didn't pan out as logistics became quite difficult)
The first stop was 15 km into the bush in OD’s 4 wheel drive – a 4 wheel drive which was necessary to get us through a mud patch on the dirt road. It’ likely the road is very difficult to negotiate, if not impassable, during the rainy season. We stopped near a path to the side of the road and then walked in, about another 20 minutes to the family compound we were visiting. We were accompanied by one of the son’s who lives nearby. We met an elderly couple who had left an IDP camp approximately a year and half ago to reclaim their land. The compound contained 3 small mud huts, about a dozen chickens and a few goats. The woman sat on a grass mat in the shade of one of the huts, next to her 3-month-old grandson. The baby’s mother had died not long after giving birth and the father had also died some time ago. The grandfather used a cane to get up from his chair, where he’d been sorting seeds that he hoped to plant. As the provider for the family it was hard to imagine him, leaning heavily on his cane, as being in any condition to till a field, plant and harvest it. Their children are grown and while they care for their parents, it is not enough. Now they have this grandchild to care for. The baby, at 3 months, weighs only just over 2 kilos (sorry I don’t know how many pounds that is, but it’s absolutely tiny).
OD is helping families that are returning to their homesteads with specific needs. In this case, someone had approached them about the health of this orphaned baby boy. The grandparents struggle to care for him – they are not able to pay for the milk needed to feed him and when provided with the milk they do not prepare it properly nor clean the bottle as thoroughly as is desired. OD took them to the hospital in Gulu a few days ago and the doctors said that the baby could survive if it was properly fed. OD will provide the milk, one litre/day, which is to be mixed with milk, boiled and cooled before being fed to the baby throughout the day. This visit was to give these instructions, including utensils for preparing the milk and feeding the baby. The couple does not speak English so their son was interpreting these instructions and promised to try to get them to understand what was needed.
This was a very moving visit – this couple, in their advanced stage of life, were trying to re-establish themselves on the land and now, to care for this new baby. It is what is done, but what happens next?
After we left this family, we traveled to another village compound – again by dirt road and then walking into the bush – I can tell you, as we walk through the bush, the grass is higher than my head – this is partially why the rebels were able to get so close to villages and camps in order to abduct children. It is very easy to get lost in the bush. As we continued to this compound, we found a family that OD was helping to rebuild their huts – which had been destroyed during the war. The family was making the bricks (soil mixed with water, shaped into cinder block sized bricks and then baked in the sun) and two huts were finished and two halfway completed. Cut grass was drying nearby which would be used to thatch the roofs. When a hut is completed, ashes from the cooking fire are mixed with cow dung and presumably water to create the plaster like exterior of the huts, which seals the hut. The exterior often has some design or coloured pattern or stripe as decoration as well.
Both families we visited today, were very welcoming to us and appeared happy to show us how they lived now that there was peace, even as they continue to struggle, to re-establish crops, to rebuild homes, to find safe water…
Ofoyo
24 November 2007
quick update
This will be short as my connection today is slow and the old sticky keyboard makes this a difficult process.
In Gulu we've been staying at St. Monica's Tailoring School for Girls. Six nuns (Sacred Heart - I believe is the order) are at it's helm, with two serving s teachers (the other 20+ teachers are local Ugandans) and one is the principal/director. All of the students here were effected by the war. Some abducted as soldiers, while most were abducted as what are known as "war wives" - taken by the Lord's Resistance Army to serve as their cooks and also as concubines. Many of the girls, when they escaped, now had a child or two in tow and they are not yet 18. Some do not have families to return to and those that do may not be accepted back. This school is their refugee. The sisters help build bridges with families, provide housing and day care for the young mothers and their children, as well as for the other girls. And with peace talks pending for the last year, there is a calm that hasnt' been felt in Gulu in over 20 years and the girls sing and dance and appear to be so happy. In addition to schooling, the girls here receive trauma counselling (as do the nuns before they come here). As they are in the middle of exams we have not yet met any of the girls formally, but they are friendly and welcoming to us. It's an amazing place to be staying while in Gulu.
Tomorrow is a day off for our team and we hope to work out a way to visit Murchison Falls National Park (google it for info) to see some Elephants, Giraffe's and the like - if we can work out transportation - tourists only go via Kampala - no one has come from Gulu or north in decades. Will see what comes of it!
PS - please feel free to use the comment section of the blog as I will check the blog before I check email if internet is slow so am more likely to respond. thanks!
In Gulu we've been staying at St. Monica's Tailoring School for Girls. Six nuns (Sacred Heart - I believe is the order) are at it's helm, with two serving s teachers (the other 20+ teachers are local Ugandans) and one is the principal/director. All of the students here were effected by the war. Some abducted as soldiers, while most were abducted as what are known as "war wives" - taken by the Lord's Resistance Army to serve as their cooks and also as concubines. Many of the girls, when they escaped, now had a child or two in tow and they are not yet 18. Some do not have families to return to and those that do may not be accepted back. This school is their refugee. The sisters help build bridges with families, provide housing and day care for the young mothers and their children, as well as for the other girls. And with peace talks pending for the last year, there is a calm that hasnt' been felt in Gulu in over 20 years and the girls sing and dance and appear to be so happy. In addition to schooling, the girls here receive trauma counselling (as do the nuns before they come here). As they are in the middle of exams we have not yet met any of the girls formally, but they are friendly and welcoming to us. It's an amazing place to be staying while in Gulu.
Tomorrow is a day off for our team and we hope to work out a way to visit Murchison Falls National Park (google it for info) to see some Elephants, Giraffe's and the like - if we can work out transportation - tourists only go via Kampala - no one has come from Gulu or north in decades. Will see what comes of it!
PS - please feel free to use the comment section of the blog as I will check the blog before I check email if internet is slow so am more likely to respond. thanks!
22 November 2007
Traveling to Gulu
so yesterday, we were up early for a team meeting, packed up - leaving some things at the guest house until we return next week, and started calling contacts to set up meetings in the northern districts we planned to visit and then headed to the central bus station after lunch.
The way buses heading out of town work, is similar to my experience last year in Hebron - once the seats are all full, the bus leaves. So we got on a bus at about 2:15 or so and it was nearly full - not completely full. And then we sat, in the heat of the bus with vendors coming to the windows constantly with food and all sorts of items for sale - until finally more people came at about 4 pm. Once the seats were filled (5 seats across - 2 on one side of the aisle, 3 on the other) the aisle was then filled with cargo, boxes and bags of all sorts - large and small, that didn't fit underneath the bus. Getting out would prove difficult. Finally we were off - it was now 4:15 or so and rush hour in Kampala. Absolute chaos. The roads are shared by minibuses (14 passenger vans), boda-boda's (motorbike taxis), bicycles, trucks and private cars and pedestrians all in the mix. I was happy when we cleared traffic and wer on the main highway north - there is only one. We had good authority that the bus ride was 4 hours at about 100 km/hr but that the pot hole filled road would be bumpy. Well - we arrived in Gulu at 10:45 pm, after encountering road construction, huge potholes and speed bumps and a few stop offs along the way. There was an occasional smooth stretch of highway where it was possible to go 100 km/h and then they sure did! but after being jammed in the bus and bumping through endless and deep potholes, I was grateful to get out - climbing over all the boxes in the aisle to walk to the girls school where we will be accomodated until Monday, when we continue our travels.
I can no longer complain about Greyhound!!
That said, the trip itself, was spectacular - we passed through areas of dense sub-tropical forests, agricultural land, marshes and open fields. Villages along the way - at first the children on their way home from school in the uniforms and then as night fell, small fires as the women cooked their evening meal. With nearly a full moon it was so well lit and beautiful to see. When we finally crossed the Nile - which I'd been waiting to see - it was stunning, a wide, fast flowing, mass of white water radiant in the moonlight. I look forward to seeing it by day.
We arrived at the school for girls at 11:30 to find two of the nuns awake and with warmed up food for us and tea before we called it a day and slept very soundly.
Now we are in Gulu - and after a meeting today with the Refugee Law Project, tomorrow continue a series of meetings with NGOs.
Signing off as I head back to the girls school for a team meeting and supper with the Sisters.
The way buses heading out of town work, is similar to my experience last year in Hebron - once the seats are all full, the bus leaves. So we got on a bus at about 2:15 or so and it was nearly full - not completely full. And then we sat, in the heat of the bus with vendors coming to the windows constantly with food and all sorts of items for sale - until finally more people came at about 4 pm. Once the seats were filled (5 seats across - 2 on one side of the aisle, 3 on the other) the aisle was then filled with cargo, boxes and bags of all sorts - large and small, that didn't fit underneath the bus. Getting out would prove difficult. Finally we were off - it was now 4:15 or so and rush hour in Kampala. Absolute chaos. The roads are shared by minibuses (14 passenger vans), boda-boda's (motorbike taxis), bicycles, trucks and private cars and pedestrians all in the mix. I was happy when we cleared traffic and wer on the main highway north - there is only one. We had good authority that the bus ride was 4 hours at about 100 km/hr but that the pot hole filled road would be bumpy. Well - we arrived in Gulu at 10:45 pm, after encountering road construction, huge potholes and speed bumps and a few stop offs along the way. There was an occasional smooth stretch of highway where it was possible to go 100 km/h and then they sure did! but after being jammed in the bus and bumping through endless and deep potholes, I was grateful to get out - climbing over all the boxes in the aisle to walk to the girls school where we will be accomodated until Monday, when we continue our travels.
I can no longer complain about Greyhound!!
That said, the trip itself, was spectacular - we passed through areas of dense sub-tropical forests, agricultural land, marshes and open fields. Villages along the way - at first the children on their way home from school in the uniforms and then as night fell, small fires as the women cooked their evening meal. With nearly a full moon it was so well lit and beautiful to see. When we finally crossed the Nile - which I'd been waiting to see - it was stunning, a wide, fast flowing, mass of white water radiant in the moonlight. I look forward to seeing it by day.
We arrived at the school for girls at 11:30 to find two of the nuns awake and with warmed up food for us and tea before we called it a day and slept very soundly.
Now we are in Gulu - and after a meeting today with the Refugee Law Project, tomorrow continue a series of meetings with NGOs.
Signing off as I head back to the girls school for a team meeting and supper with the Sisters.
20 November 2007
heading north
So with the Royal visit looming, downtown Kampala is utter chaos - taxi's jacking up their prices and traffic is nightmarish. With many road closures expected and most of the NGOs we'd hoped to meet involved in the commonwealth meetings in some form, we have decided to head up to Gulu (about a 4 hour drive north of Kampala) tomorrow (Wednesday). We will leave our relatively comfortable guest house and arrive tomorrow to stay with a group of nun's who run a school for girls and begin a round of meetings with human rights orgs in Gulu and also possibly Kitgum, the district neighbouring Gulu. Among our meetings we will also likely be out to visit one or two of the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camps. The people we've met with here in Kampala have all tried to prepare us as they, locals and internationals alike, have been quite traumatized by their visits to the camps - even those who visit on a regular basis.
Our meetings today were very informative and we left one meeting with a stack of literature on the situation of human rights defenders in the region, that will likely be my reading for the next few days. In some ways I feel as though I am back in a classroom and need to discipline myself to keep up with all of the work! Next I need to type up all the meeting notes I took today and I am grateful that we rotate that responsibility - one of my least favourite tasks.
Meeting with the groups in Kampala, I feel a bit like we're "inside the beltway", getting a perspective of people working on similar issues but from a different point of view. I look forward to travelling in the region and getting information on the ground.
Everyone has said it is now relatively safe to travel up and in the region we'll be, however we were advised that two UN relief workers were killed two weeks ago in a robbery ambush. However, we will not be traveling by private car (rather in a large, packed local bus) and will not be in the same area, though near it. While this restricted travel for a few days, it is still considered safe, with usual caution, to travel.
We will be in the north until early next week.
May we have safe travels and I hope to write from Gulu in the next few days.
Our meetings today were very informative and we left one meeting with a stack of literature on the situation of human rights defenders in the region, that will likely be my reading for the next few days. In some ways I feel as though I am back in a classroom and need to discipline myself to keep up with all of the work! Next I need to type up all the meeting notes I took today and I am grateful that we rotate that responsibility - one of my least favourite tasks.
Meeting with the groups in Kampala, I feel a bit like we're "inside the beltway", getting a perspective of people working on similar issues but from a different point of view. I look forward to travelling in the region and getting information on the ground.
Everyone has said it is now relatively safe to travel up and in the region we'll be, however we were advised that two UN relief workers were killed two weeks ago in a robbery ambush. However, we will not be traveling by private car (rather in a large, packed local bus) and will not be in the same area, though near it. While this restricted travel for a few days, it is still considered safe, with usual caution, to travel.
We will be in the north until early next week.
May we have safe travels and I hope to write from Gulu in the next few days.
19 November 2007
Kampala
So a week after my departure from Toronto, here I am - sitting in Kampala at a lattitude just north of the equator, but at an elevation that makes for a delightfully temperate climate. It has been raining nightly, though often the ground is dry by 7 a.m. when I sit in the garden of the guest house, enjoying the silence before my colleages join me and the incredible view of the city from where we are staying.
After several days delay for one of my travelling companions, all four of us were finally together on Friday, but the delay was welcome for those who needed the time to let their bodies adjust not only to jet lag but also to anti-malaria meds. Luckily, I have had no difficulty with either!
The talk in Kampala since we arrived has been CHOGM 2007 (http://www.chogm2007.ug/) the gathering of the Commonwealth (53 heads of state and 5000 delegates convening in Kampala). The Queen and, I presume, her husband, Prince Charles and Camilla are scheduled to arrive tomorrow and it's all anyone talks about and why a lot of internationals are in the city. Talk about timing. Public holidays have been announced for this coming Thursday and Friday and street closures for security purposes may be obstacles for our non-royal purposes. However, we hope to travel north by the end of the week.
I'm not sure what I can really say at this point as to this point we have only met with one NGO and a north american based one at that. We'll be meeting with local NGOs this week in Kampala and then with groups in Northern Uganda. From now we should have more reliable access to internet.
The country itself, is stunning. The earth, red as brick. All manner of birds (more than 1,000 varieties in the country) distract me continually and while I've been able to get some good shots with my snazzy new digital camera, and I will post some soon. Everyone we meet here is very welcoming and friendly and I so look forward to meeting people in different parts of the country.
We have two mobile phones so should anyone want to give a call (no charge for incoming calls!! what a concept!) let me know via email and I'll send you the number.
That's all for now, this is more just to let everyone know we did indeed all arrive, we are all healthy and I hope to have another update soon.
The talk in Kampala since we arrived has been CHOGM 2007 (http://www.chogm2007.ug/) the gathering of the Commonwealth (53 heads of state and 5000 delegates convening in Kampala). The Queen and, I presume, her husband, Prince Charles and Camilla are scheduled to arrive tomorrow and it's all anyone talks about and why a lot of internationals are in the city. Talk about timing. Public holidays have been announced for this coming Thursday and Friday and street closures for security purposes may be obstacles for our non-royal purposes. However, we hope to travel north by the end of the week.
I'm not sure what I can really say at this point as to this point we have only met with one NGO and a north american based one at that. We'll be meeting with local NGOs this week in Kampala and then with groups in Northern Uganda. From now we should have more reliable access to internet.
The country itself, is stunning. The earth, red as brick. All manner of birds (more than 1,000 varieties in the country) distract me continually and while I've been able to get some good shots with my snazzy new digital camera, and I will post some soon. Everyone we meet here is very welcoming and friendly and I so look forward to meeting people in different parts of the country.
We have two mobile phones so should anyone want to give a call (no charge for incoming calls!! what a concept!) let me know via email and I'll send you the number.
That's all for now, this is more just to let everyone know we did indeed all arrive, we are all healthy and I hope to have another update soon.
01 November 2007
before i go
As I prepare for my upcoming CPT delegation to Uganda, I thought I'd take an opportunity to share some of the news I've been reading on the current situation as it relates to the peace process. Here are links to two BBC articles on talks happening this week.
Uganda rebels release peace dove http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7072701.stm
Why peace is coming to Uganda now http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7072834.stm
For background information on the 20 year civil war in northern Uganda, use the links on the sidebar of this page.
Uganda rebels release peace dove http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7072701.stm
Why peace is coming to Uganda now http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7072834.stm
For background information on the 20 year civil war in northern Uganda, use the links on the sidebar of this page.
Also, below is a map of Uganda to give you an idea of where I'll be spending my time. We'll be spending our first week in the capital of Kampala before heading north to Gulu.
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