Some of my favorite things

This American Life Pod-casts

Idealist

building blanket forts in my living room

Vinyl records

Child Soldiers and Christian Rock

I recently came across the Fall Out Boy's music video  "I'm not a lawyer".  Filmed on location in Gulu, the video exposes the MTV generation to the horrors of the 20 year civil war in Northern Uganda.  Apparently Fall Out Boy was turned onto the plight of Ugandan child soldiers by the not for profit group Invisible Children. 

I first watched Invisible Children movie while living in Uganda.  With excitement I reached out to some of my college in the emergency management and aid fields.  To my dismay I received the following email from Matthew Emry, the Senior Program Officer for Conflict, Post-Conflict, and Emergency Relief for the American Jewish World Service (AJWS):

"I am very familiar with the film Invisible Children and wanted to give you some background information about it. Do with this information what ever you want.

All the footage of the child soldiers was not of the LRA. It was most likely stock footage of Sierra Leone, but the film makers are trying to pass it off as footage they shot in Uganda

The film violates several core child rights principles when interviewing children affected by conflict. The entire child rights circle at the UN and many prominent NGOs are outraged by the abuses of these principles, including re traumatization, protection of children's identity and securing their safety and support. My mentor was consulted during the editing of the film, she yelled at the makers for three hours. She also asked to not have her name affiliated with the film. Several of the boys interviewed could actually make a claim for asylum under US asylum law due to the film makers' abuses of these security and human rights principles.

The film's focus is as much about the "bravery" of the three college students as it is supposed to be about the situation

Many key facts about the war are mis-stated or are left out all together…it's advocacy message is missing large essential pieces

Finally, the film is heavily supported by the far-right evangelical movement in California (the three boys are strong evangelicals). All the proceeds from the film are being used to pay for the work of these three men and the building of an evangelical feeding center in the north.

Admittedly, the footage of the night commuters was very compelling and the overall visual quality of the film was good…but……

There are other films. You should visit Witness.org and act for children."

So, while I am pleased to see that Fall Out Boy and Invisible Children highlighting this humanitarian nightmare, I encourage those compelled to get involved to pursue other avenue for donation and advocacy. 

Karamoja

On to happier topics…my major project at work has been organizing the Uganda Social Forum, a spin off of the World Social Form. It's an "open meeting place for reflective thinking, democratic debate of ideas, formulation of proposals, free exchange of experiences and building linkages for effective action by civil society groups." Basically, all of the NGOs in Uganda have been invited and we are hosting the event at the national football (soccer) stadium. I'm really excited because both the Batwa and the Karamojo tribes will be their.

The Batwa (AKA pygmies) have traditionally dwelled in the Ugandan forest, making their living for sustainable forestry and hunting. During the recent establisher of the Uganda National Parks System, international donors demanded that all people inhabiting the forests had to move. Essentially, the have been marginalized almost to the point of extinction and the remaining 2500 live in camps, bordering the forest. They are a major tourist attraction so by showing up in their community you get a song and dance show, I'm told it's reminiscent of Sea World. So I'm very happy they are coming to this event on their own terms and I will be able to talk to them like human beings.

Also, I'm very excited to interact with the Karamoja, a tribe that believes all cattle (in the World) belongs to them, are stereotyped as blood drinking naked savages. They do drink blood, but its cow's blood, usually mixed with milk, what could be so bad? As nomads who depend on their cattle for sustenance, the Karamoja often steal cattle from their neighbors. They also don't believe in political borders and roam freely between Northern Uganda, Kenya, and Southern Sudan. During the recent drought/famine/war in southern Sudan, the Karamojo traded their cattle to starving soldiers for guns. They thus entered the lights arms trade by reselling these weapons to Kenya and Saudi Arabia. But they also have a rich history and culture and I can't wait to meet them.

First steps at Step by Step Orphanage

Last weekend Laura (my housemate), Marina (a Canadian lawyer we have befriended), and I went to visit an orphanage/community center/church on the edge of Kampala. The orphanage serves 175 children-all under the age 10-most who lack shoes, clothing and food. Most are suffering from malaria because they cannot afford mosquito nets and many were infected with the HIV that killed their parents. A nurse who had been working with them in her spare time gave us the contact before she the county. We are trying to help them to register as an NGO and teach them some basic organizational development and grant writing skills. What they really need are notebooks, pens, clothing, shoes, mosquito nets, health care, and school fees. We are trying to work on getting one of the goods donated and finding money to pay for the rest.  Above is a picture of of some of the children at Step by Step Orphanage.

LRA, pet chickens, and tree houses

Life in Uganda has settled into a routine: gorgeous weather, report writing, attending meetings, kickboxing and lots of travel. Our traveling has been curtailed as of late by the rapidly deteriorating security situation. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for the Lord's Resistance Army's (LRA) top 5 commanders including Joseph Kony, the insane leader of the LRA. You can read more about this at www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/10/mil-051007-irin04.htm. 

The ICC's action effetely ended the the rebal's option of seeking asylum in a foreign country…forcing these desperate men to fight or die. This, obviously, has infuriated the LRA, who has retaliated by finding new ways to terrify the Acholi people of Northern Uganda. Let me remind you that the LRA's atrocities to-date involved kidnapping more than 20,000 children (most under the age of 13), drugging them, and often forcing them to kill/maim/rape their parents and/or siblings. Children frequently recounted how the LRA forces them to him to hack his sister to death with a machete, and then disembowel her, wrap her intestines around his waist and walk almost 40 miles to southern Sudan (where the LRA had not of its military strong holds until recently).       

So, in a effort to display its renewed hate for humanity, LRA has executed some Ugandan aid workers in the North and, just today, kill a British tourist in a game park. You can read about this at www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/464878 .

But let me assure you that I am not headed in the direction of the fighting, which has been contained to the northern districts for the last 15 years. We are being extra careful and AJWS just has its head security advisor meet with us. There is absolutely no evidence that any violence will move south. If fact, Ugandans in the south virtually ignore the conflict, and act surprised if I bring it up in conversation. 

I'm am telling you about this not because I want to make you nervous about my life in Kampala but I believe that it is very important that you know about the war in the north which has been waged for over 19 years by children. I can't decide what is more terrifying, the war or the fact that the international community completely ignores it. Either way, know that I am safe, very safe, and am thinking through any plans to travel out of the area.

It really is crazy times here in Uganda.

We are buying a pet chicken at the market today. I have been campaigning for a turkey so we can slaughter it at Thanksgiving but some of my fellow vegetarians feel uncomfortable about that idea.

Laura and I spent last weekend in Kibale National Park. We stayed in a tree house overlooking a marsh. We were told that elephants often visited the tree house this time of year. What we weren't told was that we would be sharing the tree house with spiders as big as your hand and about 30 bats. It was good times but we did see an elephants and lots of monkeys.

I should wrap this up and attend a meeting. I will leave you with one final thought… Halloween in Uganda is just like the US. Think Japanese food, Psycho on mute, and 50 Cent. Scary.