Background

This first entry is intended to provide some basic background information and to direct my readers to other resources where they can learn more about Northern Uganda. I am trying to get the basics out of the way so that I can get to the stories and personal insights.

What am I doing here?
I am in Uganda care of the NSEP Graduate Fellowship, which is sponsored by the American Government. The funding goes directly towards my travel, living, language (Swahili, but may soon be Acholi), and other miscellaneous expenses. The aim of my fellowship is to evaluate the role of Ugandan women in resolving the conflict in Northern Uganda and to assist local organizations in building their capacities to include women in peace building efforts. This all sounds good on paper, but we shall see how things transpire on the ground!

Where I’m living and where I work:
To start, I will be living and working in the town of Gulu, which is located in the District of Gulu in Northern Uganda (about 4 hours from the capital city of Kampala). I will be based at the University of Gulu’s Center for Conflict Management and Peace Studies (CMPS), but also offering my services and skills to local organizations. I will figure out more of the logistics once I get myself from Kampala to Gulu in a few days, but I am tentatively planning to teach a few courses or seminars on gender and conflict. I look forward to seeing the town and figuring out my living arrangements. Thus far, I have been told that there are frequent electricity shortages and that housing is hard to come by, due to the influx of organization personnel working on the conflict. Could be a good challenge, so I will be sure to post an update soon.

Brief introduction to the Northern Uganda conflict:
It is difficult to give a concise explanation of the conflict, so this is the bare minimum. The post-independence era in Uganda has been hallmarked by the brutal regimes of Milton Obote and Idi Amin. Yoweri Museveni, who has been the president of Uganda since 1986, is credited with bringing the country stability, development, and some degree of democratic development (despite the fact that Uganda remains a one-party state). However, a brutal conflict in the northern region of the country continues to undermine this supposed “success story”. The Northern Ugandan conflict began following Yoweri Museveni’s seizure of power with his National Resistance Army (NRA). The conflict was initially in protest to the government of Museveni (he violated an agreement he had made with the previous president, who represented constituents in the north), but has transformed over nearly 18 years into a brutal conflict where civilians are primarily targeted for violence. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the name of the rebel insurgency, is led by Joseph Kony, who not only lacks a coherent political agenda aside from removing Museveni, but also he wants the Ugandan government to be based on the Ten Commandments. This is ironic given the extensive human rights abuses perpetrated to achieve these means. The conflict is further complicated by regional dynamics. LRA rebels are frequently sheltered in Southern Sudan, as the Government of Sudan has supplied arms and support to the LRA and the Government of Uganda provides support to the Southern People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Southern Sudan. Thus, opposing governments supporting each other’s rebel movements have enabled the conflicts in both Sudan and Uganda. What is most important to know about this conflict is its extreme brutality to children and women. Tens of thousands of children have been abducted and subjected to forced conscription or sexual slavery to the LRA. Thousands of children commute to the town of Gulu (and other towns) nightly to avoid abduction from their villages. Up until now, the Government of Uganda has dealt with the LRA through brute force without a real effort to settle the dispute at the negotiating table.

If you are interested in reading more background information about Northern Uganda (and I hope you are!), please click on the link for Incite Change Network (ICN) or http://www.incitechange.org, the organization initiated by myself and two colleagues, Michelle Crincolli and Kerri Kennedy (and we have been selected to receive pro bono support from the AU Washington College of Law to get incorporated). I have compiled a brief backgrounder with general information and a map of Uganda. If it is not available right now, it will be very soon. You can also check out the news. Good sources for Africa are BBC online (http://www.bbc.co.uk), AllAfrica (http://www.allafrica.com), and UN news (http://www.irinnews.org). I always have my eye out for news on this region, so I will pass along relevant articles. I realize this may be a bit over the top for some of you, but I want to do my best to make resources easily available, as it is my own personal goal to get more people to pay attention and care about what happens in Africa.

Also, I have a BLOG from when I was in Rwanda last year if any of you want to check it out or refresh your memories on some of the goings-on (http://kigalirwanda.blogspot.com). I am hoping to get to Rwanda in October, as I am anxious to see some old friends and to satisfy some nostalgic yearning to lay my eyes on the land of a thousand hills.

AND when I get really BLOG savvy or when I get some tech support, I will attempt to post some pictures.