Uganda: Beyond Kony 2012

"Effective political action must address, and seek to alter, the power relations that perpetuate the problem it seeks to solve. Often, finding a workable solution means changing how groups interact with each other, whether by increasing the power and capabilities of one of the groups, facilitating new forms of compromise and collaboration, or establishing new boundaries or safeguards. As many valuable critiques of Kony 2012 have pointed out, killing Kony or “bringing him to justice” does little to alter the situation in Central Africa, or the years of colonialism, exploitation, and political failure that allowed Kony to come to power in the first place. The actions of the campaign do not help those who have been terrorized by Kony take charge of their own lives or support a vibrant political system that serves their needs."

Sam Menefee-Libey, 

"Beyond Kony 2012: Atrocity, Awareness, & Activism in the Internet Age"

While the focus of my research in northern Uganda has nothing to do with Invisible Children's Kony 2012 campaign, it was, I admit, one of the precipitants for choosing the research question I did. In short, after watching the Kony 2012 video and consuming critique after critique, my reaction was, "what about the rest of the story? Rebuilding, rehabilitation, reconciliation." Thus, a research question was born. 


In addition to my research, I'm writing a paper on the critiques, ethics, and implications of  the Kony 2012 campaign for human rights activism and advocacy writ large. A friend recently brought Chris Blattman's fantastic blog to my attention, where I found this treasure of an e-book:


Beyond Kony 2012: Atrocity, Awareness, & Activism in the Internet Age (edited by Amanda Taub)


If you're at all interested in some measured and well-researched responses to Kony 2012, most authored by academics, practitioners, and journalists who focused on the conflict prior to IC's efforts, you can download the e-book for $2.99 on Leanpub.


Another recently discovered resource is the blog Making Sense of Kony with links to articles and analyses from around the world, including a host of African voices.

It is necessary that the weakness of the powerless is transformed into a force capable of announcing justice. For this to happen, a total denouncement of fatalism is necessary. We are transformative beings and not beings for 

accommodation.

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Uganda: Serendipity

Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.

Freya Stark

The other night, my first real "night on the town" in Gulu, I partook in "Mexican night" with a group of expats, went to a house party, and continued on to BJ's, the most popular bar/club in Gulu. Among the night's interesting happenings was an encounter with Jacob, a major subject of the original Invisible Children documentary. Jacob is no longer the twelve year-old who movingly breaks down recounting his abduction and his brother's murder by the Lord's Resistance Army. He's 21 and studying law in Kampala. He's also, as it were, a bit of a player, evidenced in the very direct attention he paid to a friend of mine that night. We chatted briefly, mostly talking about our mutual interest in human rights law. The encounter was so unexpected and the context so strange that it took me a solid 30 minutes or so to process the experience of meeting him.

To give further pause to my months-long cogitation on Invisible Children's Kony 2012 campaign, I spent much of my Saturday morning enjoying banana pancakes and conversation with an IC staffer who has worked both in IC's San Diego office and, for the better part of the past year, in Gulu. For me, our conversation was valuable in that it required that I take some giants steps back and listen before I addressed the issue. Our discussion hinged on her experiences working for IC, the impact of the widespread criticism of Kony 2012 on the organization, and our respective thoughts on those criticisms. For me, it was the most productive conversation on Kony 2012 (among many) that I've engaged in so far.

If perpetual consideration of IC's methods and the positive and negative impacts of the Kony 2012 campaign for the past two+ months has taught me anything, it's to get comfy dwelling in the gray. Practically speaking, those of us engaged in work that deigns to improve the lives of others need to acquire the ability to get very comfortable existing in the realm between black and white, where moral and ethical questions don't always have concrete answers and practical considerations sometimes trump hard-and-fast standards.

At the same time, something that I think has been missing from my graduate education has been an emphasis on the imperative of embracing constant self-reflection when engaged in questions of humanitarian intervention and the promotion of and advocacy for human rights. I wonder if professors get so comfortable in their silo-ed environments, full of kindred types, often far removed from the contexts and conflicts we're considering, that the primacy of ethical considerations eventually gives way, if it existed in the first place, to other topics of concern. Perhaps that's unfair. Maybe it is a failure for a school that professes to train professionals. I'm just not sure. I do know that I've gained more from conversation with my peers than from conversation with professors concerning this topic.

On a lighter note, this morning I had a chance encounter with four Americans I'd met Friday night. As I headed out of my hotel to a nearby cafe to do some reading, they were preparing to visit a dance troupe, associated with their NGO. The Child is Innocent pairs sponsors with students in northern Uganda to facilitate educational opportunities for those who would not otherwise have access. Kevin and Fred, two of the founders (Kevin is American, Fred is from northern Uganda), invited me to join them on a visit to a beneficiary who is about to graduate from teachers' college and founded a dance troupe comprised of youth from her neighborhood. It was an incredible treat to watch them perform. I took some video, which I'll post when I have better internet access. Until then, some photos...

Thanks for reading! 'Til next time.

One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.

Henry Miller

Uganda: Gulu

To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.

Freya Stark

Gulu is the second-largest city in northern Uganda.

Greetings, Readers, from Gulu!

Nile crossing - the de facto border between north and south Uganda.

I arrived Tuesday, in style as it were, since my cousin scored me a cush ride in an Embassy car that was headed north. It was lovely to get out of Kampala (which took about an hour) and head up through the hinterlands, which offered stunning views and a new take on Uganda. The topography changed markedly as we headed north, from verdant hills to more savannah-like terrain. The road was great until we were about 2/3 of the way, at which point it deteriorated markedly.

The trip was uneventful until we crossed the Nile at a bridge the effectively divides north and south Uganda. There are UPDF (Ugandan Army) officers permanently stationed at the bridge. I unwittingly asked the driver if I could snap a few photos of the impressive view of some raging rapids. He was hesitant because, as I later found out, it's prohibited to take photos due to the presence of a military installation up the hill from the river. Two UPDF officers approached the car, one looking particularly perturbed. The less-perturbed fellow spoke with the driver, explaining the reason that photography is prohibited, while the other officer attempted to grab my rather expensive camera through the window. Happily, the driver and second officer diffused the situation and quickly compared my photos to the portion of the view that was sensitive. Luckily, I hadn't snapped any photos including the installation, so was allowed to keep them. We continued on our way as I uttered profuse apologies for the driver, who laughed at me for being both naive and over-apologetic. All's well that ends well, in any event.

After arriving, I headed to a hotel recommended by a grad school friend living in Gulu. I then met up with a Peace Corps-era friend who is currently in Gulu, as well. The world is indeed small. We met some Ugandans and other expats for dinner - my introduction to what has proven to be a large and interesting international community in Gulu.

On day two, I met my hotel neighbor, a Canadian who works at the same NGO as my grad school friend. We hit it off immediately and ventured into the center of town for lunch. She hadn't been feeling great and, when we encountered my friend from Burkina Faso, he urged her to get a malaria test immediately. Fast forward two hours to me holding her hand while she had blood drawn, almost getting thrown up on, and, finally, relief at the diagnosis of a virus, not malaria. Talk about a bonding experience.

Since then, I've met more and more of the mzungu (expat) community here - students and researchers, like me, folks working for NGOs, and those who've made a home here and run businesses around town. It's been incredible. This community has, so far, informed my research as much as the wonderfully helpful Ugandans that I've met with.

More on the last few days to come. 'Til then, thanks for reading!

Roadside monkey.

Mango season!

Sunset view of Gulu from my hotel balcony.

Gulu twilight.

Uganda: The Good Life

Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.

Isabelle Eberhardt, The Nomad: The Diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt

Hello, friends!


It's been a fantastic week since I last wrote. I spent the end of last week running errands around Kampala, particularly securing my research permit from the National Council of Science & Technology. After filling out some not-unreasonable paperwork, I showed up at the NCST office and was floored by how fast and smooth the process was. Afterward, I sat down to talk with two young Ugandan bloggers who are the founders of Uganda Speaks, a site focused on promoting young Ugandan voices in addressing Ugandan issues. Our conversation provided a lot of food for thought, particularly regarding the intervention of the western world in Africa. That evening, I met up with a friend from undergrad for a delightful evening of dinner, wine, and great conversation. 


On Friday, I joined my cousins at a going away party for an Embassy staffer. I didn't meet her until the end of the party, only to discover that she's from Denver and graduated from high school with several of my friends. The party was a lot of fun and afforded the opportunity to talk with State and USAID folks and get some input on and reactions to my research topic. Hanging with my cousins and their colleagues has put diplomacy and state-sponsored development work in a whole new, very practical light.


Last weekend, we headed to Jinja and the source of the Nile with some of my cousins' State Dept and USAID friends. My cousins are serious campers and have rooftop tents on their Land Rovers, so our setup was impressive. We enjoyed two days of swimming, sitting around the campfire, and exploring the Nile headwaters by boat. The most striking aspect of the boat trip, aside from the knowledge that we were floating over the source of the world's longest river, was the array of birds--kingfishers, fish eagles, cranes, cormorants, pelicans, egrets, storks, ducks, hornbills, and so many more. Uganda is a bird-watcher's paradise.


As we continued down the Nile from the source, our boatman guide pointed out a huge pillar on a hill overlooking the source where John Speke, who "discovered" the source, once stood. Coincidentally, my cousin lent me Adam Hochschild's "King Leopold's Ghost," a fascinating, disturbing history of the Belgian Congo, the only colony ruled by a single man, and not a state, and the resulting int'l human rights movement that emerged once the atrocities committed by King Leopold's forces came to light. It's a great read for Africa and human rights enthusiasts, alike. 


It's been so wonderful to have the opportunity to relax, explore, read, and catch up with family during the first two weeks of my time in Uganda.  Having the time to sit still and move a little slower has impressed on me just how hectic life has been during the last year and a half of grad school. 3 jobs, an internship, a full course load, and an active social life have been hard to balance. It makes me to eager to move on to the next step and a more predictable schedule. 


Next week, I move on to Gulu, in the north, where I'll embark on my field research. 


'Til next time, thanks for reading!

Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer's paradise, a hunter's Valhalla, an escapist's Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. 

Beryl Markham, West with the Night

Camping in style

Lake Victoria

African Openbill Stork

Little Egret

The Source

Sunrise over Lake Victoria

Back to Africa: Uganda

The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands. The blood flows with the fast circulation of childhood.

Sir Richard Burton 

Greetings from Lubowa, on the outskirts of Kampala. I'm writing from a comfortable seat on the veranda of my cousins' house, with a beautiful view of Lake Victoria. The scene is resplendent with dense foliage including palm trees, banana trees, and flowering trees and shrubs boasting hues of brilliant white, violet, magenta, marigold, powder blue, and saffron. There is a subtle and consistent chorus of melodic birdsongs, punctuated from time to time with the honking call of an Ibis. 

It's been over four years since I left Burkina Faso after 27 months of Peace Corps service. This six-week trip to Uganda is my first return to the continent. I'm here in an entirely different role, as a visitor/tourist, student, and researcher. My six weeks will consist of visiting family--my cousin and cousin-in-law work at the U.S. Embassy--and research in northern Uganda, in collaboration with a U.S.-based NGO and an association of indigenous Ugandan civil society organizations.

After 24 hours of typically tedious but surprisingly seamless travel, I arrived in Entebbe three days ago. The first thing that struck me, in a deeply comforting way, was the hot, dusty smell unique to Africa, with subtle variations.  

I'll spend the first two weeks of my trip in Kampala with family, networking with contacts in Uganda, catching up with a college friend, and partaking in some weekend adventures, including a camping trip to Jinja and the headwaters of the Nile and some sailing on Lake Victoria. This is Africa as I have never experienced it - with the comforts of expat life, a driver to take me into the city for meetings and errands, consistent wireless internet access, and the wonderful hospitality of family. 

Yesterday, I ventured into Kampala for the first time to meet with a representative of an NGO association sponsoring my research permit application (DENIVA - the Ugandan Network of NGOs and CBOs [community-based orgs]). It felt at once vastly different and intimately familiar. Kampala is nothing like the west and north African cities I've experienced in terms of the level of overall development, but the roadside stalls, encompassing everything from restaurants to mechanic shops to purveyors of every good and combination of goods imaginable, are ubiquitous in sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the roads we traversed could easily have been in Ouagadougou, Accra, or Dakar. Isaac, the driver, provided a narration of Kampala sites as we traversed the city, passing Uganda's parliament, embassies, the industrial region of the city, and even a lush golf course.

Today, after enjoying a lazy, rainy morning in Lubowa, I'll head into Kampala to procure my research permit, meet with a young journalist, and grab dinner with a college friend. I'm excited to sit down with Rosebell, an up-and-coming journalist and blogger who writes on current events, culture, and politics and has authored and filmed some wonderful pieces in response to Invisible Children's Kony 2012 campaign. I hope that our conversation will lend some useful context, in terms of public opinion and youth activism in Uganda, to my research, which focuses on the capacities of NGOs and IOs to provide rehabilitative and reintegrative services for children formerly affiliated with fighting forces (CAFF) in northern Uganda.

Thanks for reading. 'Til next time.

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.

Martin Buber

Kampala

Downtown Kampala

Kampala traffic

Qaddafi Mosque

Kampala from Lubowa