(Outside of Lacor Hospital in Gulu, where thousands of children sought refuge as night commuters during the height of the war.)
Dr. Hackett and Patricia arrived in Uganda late Friday night, so we greeted them at their motel in Ntinda. On Saturday, we spent most of our time catching up and planning for Gulu. That night we revisited the delicious Indian restaurant on top of Garden City, Nawab. Jeff Korondo, Winnie, and Sarah (both from NUGEN) joined us, and Jeff had his first taste of Indian food.
On Sunday, we went to an Anglican church service in Kampala. We misunderstood times and accidently went for the Lugandan service instead of the English one. We stayed for the worship of the English service and sat behind very entertaining girls near my sister’s age. One, slightly younger, mimicked the adults, and we loved watching her.
Sunday night we all went to the Ndere Center, a cultural center between Ntinda and Kisaasi. There we watched traditional dances from Uganda, and because the MC is an Acholi, there was a special emphasis on the North. On several occasions, we all went out to dance and speak about Knoxville Jazz for Justice. Jeff Korondo joined us for the night and danced when Acholi dances like the la raka raka were performed. We were delighted to see that another Acholi musician was also in the crowd that night, Bosmic Otim. On our last night in Gulu in July, we went to his album launch at the Acholi Inn. It was a divine appointment linking with him and the MC that night.
Monday, we went to Parliament to say goodbye to our clerks and introduce them to Dr. Hackett and Patricia. We first met with Esther from FAWEU, an organization that helps support girls education. According to Esther, “We can take as many girls as we want, but it’s more than just paying fees.” FAWEU, like NUGEN, originally underestimated the need for counseling and mentoring to achieve success for the girls. In many cultures in Uganda, girls get married early because their family needs the money from their marriage dowry. There is a pressure to get married even before age 17 or 18, and many people think that beyond 25 years old is too old to get married. The “worst has been in the northeast actually. Drop-outs rates are highest.” It’s an especially difficult situation to keep girls in school within the cattle-keeping communities because tribes like the Karimojong value the dowry cattle so much. As a result, FAWEU has begun offering more vocational training programs instead of higher education (university). Girls who get married so early often have families to care for before even graduating from secondary school. In their eyes, university takes too long to see the fruit of labor, but with vocational training they have an income for their family within the first year.
After taking pictures with my clerks Esther and Louis, we left Parliament and visited a Member of Parliament across the street. Honorable Odonga Otto is an opposition MP from Aruu County in Pader District. Pader is an Acholi district that borders Kitgum and Gulu. During the war, Pader was heavily affected and to this day receives much less assistance than Gulu District. During our extremely educational meeting with Otto, our eyes were opened to some of the obstacles to being a part of the Opposition. In Uganda the ruling party is Museveni’s party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM). In Parliament, there are a total of 332 seats for Members of Parliament, the equivalent of our senators or representatives. The NRM occupies 213 of those seats, where as the Opposition has 95 seats, of which 37 are Independents. I am unsure where the remaining 24 seats fall in the political spectrum (making the grand total 332). Honorable Otto is a member of the “Official Opposition” party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). He has been the front-runner in anti-corruption campaigns, and in our time as interns in Parliament, we heard him speak in committees and in plenary sessions about bribes that MPs were receiving from the government to support the controversial Land Bill amendment. He often called for closed sessions and committees meetings, free of the media, to discuss the bribery, saying that he had had threats on his life for calling against the corruption.
In our meeting with him, I learned of his support for an international initiative called the Global Alliance. This movement, of which there is an active chapter in the United States, calls for governments to create Ministries and Departments of Peace. In Uganda, the task of peacebuilding falls to the Ministry of Defence, but even the connotation of the word “defence” suggests a military component to peace-building and peace-keeping. In discussing this, Otto said, “I need to walk into a building and see the Minister of Peace.” A Ministry of Peace and a Department of Peace would have the sole task of strengthening the culture of peace within Uganda. This would presumable include community sensitization campaigns and dialogue to reduce present conflict and prevent future tensions. In the small amount of research I have done on the Global Alliance’s Uganda website and US website, I am extremely keen on this movement. Otto is going to connect me with the frontrunners in the United States, so that I can be more educated on both the movement in America and in Uganda.
After leaving his office, we invited Honorable to lunch with us at Café Pap on Parliament Avenue. This lunch became a 6-hour event, and important people came and went throughout the time our group sat there. For example, Otto introduced us to Frederick Ruhindi, Uganda’s Deputy Attorney General. Cathy Piwang of Child Reach Africa also joined us and brought Chief Justice James Ogoola. It was so great to see him again, and he calls Erin. Holly, and I by our Samir names.
During our meetings with both Honorable Otto and Justice Ogoola, we were able to questions regarding justice in Northern Uganda, peace and reconciliation. Otto foresees a Traditional Reconciliation Act working to create guidelines for the processes of forgiveness and justice. He thinks that elements of mato oput (the traditional justice mechanism in Acholiland) should be integrated into some Western mechanisms, like courts, and that laws and formulas should be formulated to ensure fairness. He fears that unless a process like clarifies how prosecutions should be carried out, there will be double jeopardy. A perpetrator shouldn’t be tried in the high court and also by a bishop.
Justice Ogoola was also very insightful into the difficulties Uganda is now facing as an era of restoration and reconciliation begins.
“In my view, war was easy to manage, but peace is much more complex,” said Justice Ogoola.
It’s estimated that it will take 50 years to recover the 21 years of war in Northern Uganda. Justice recognizes that a truth and reconciliation commission is just the beginning of peace.
“We are in court to set up our bit which is to set up special courts.” Like Honorable Otto, he foresees the need for a balance or hybrid between Western and traditional justice. But admitting the difficulty of the task ahead, “It’s not easy,” said Justice.
Ogoola is very much for restorative justice, as opposed to punitive. I imagine Joseph Kony recognizes that his best bet for amnesty or forgiveness lies in a trial in Uganda with men like Justice Ogoola spearheading the process. If tried in the International Criminal Court, Kony faces charges of crimes against humanity, and the Western system is very unlikely to incorporate the concept of forgiveness central to traditional justice mechanisms.
Today, Monday, March 24th, the observers and government delegation of the peacetalks between the LRA and the government are heading to Juba in hopes of signing the final comprehensive peace agreement by the end of the week. The major hurdle involves the presence of the ICC changes. Kony and LRA are insisting that Uganda dismiss ICC jurisdiction and agree to try Kony and top LRA commanders in Uganda.
Last night we had the pleasure of meeting with Archbishop Odama at his residence in Gulu. Today he and Bishop Ochola also head to Juba, where they are key cultural and religious observers and advisors to the peace process. Dr. Hackett brought books on the role of religious leaders in peacebuilding and inter-religious dialogue, and we were able to present them to Archbishop before his trip to Juba. Last night he was very wonderful in explaining to us the importance of this week’s activities. All of the components of the peace agreements have been signed, with the exception of the final comprehensive agreement. Now, with reports that Kony has moved from Garamba, DRC to the Central African Republic (CAR), the situation has become even more delicate. It is unclear whether he will be present for the signing which is estimated to take place on March 28th or 30th. I particularly liked the Archbishop’s perspective that he sees the peacetalks as not only healing for Northern Uganda, but as vital for the whole region. He said this he has a wider perspective than just Uganda. Once this peace deal is final, it will begin an era of peace and rebuilding in eastern Congo, southern Sudan, and CAR, in addition to Northern Uganda. I admire Archbishop Odama and Bishop Ochola so much. Their wisdom and determination is such a blessing not only to Uganda but to the greater international community.
Also worthy of noting, on Monday after having such a productive day talking with Esther, Otto, and Justice, we all went to a Chinese restaurant in Kisementi for dinner. Top Acholi musician Bosmic Otim joined us, and we recorded incredible footage of him talking about music in Northern Uganda. He mentioned how the marginalization of Northern Uganda stretches across the spectrum to include music. Northern musicians have an especially difficult time getting sponsorship like musicians in the south, and therefore do not get the same level of national and international exposure. They also are not played on the radios. Bosmic also spoke about how important music is in healing. We will be using some of this interview on our Knoxville Jazz for Justice DVD that will be launched Summer 2008. The DVD will include footage from Northern Uganda shot July 2007 and Spring 2008; interviews with Jeff Korondo, Bosmic, and other musicians; interviews with the NUGEN executive talking about counseling and girls’ education; and footage from the 2007 Knoxville Jazz for Justice concert at World Grotto. We hope it can be used to raise more funds and awareness on our project and Northern Uganda. Continue following our website knoxjazzforjustice.org for updates on the launch.
0 comments:
Post a Comment