We haven’t heard much about the 100 U.S. special forces sent to Uganda last year to help catch Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army- until yesterday when this article appeared on the Associated Press.
The article reiterates the problem with catching Kony lies in his ability to slip easily across the porous borders of Uganda, Congo, Sudan and the Central African Republic (C.A.R.). Now, thanks to US technology and expertise, and enthusiastic, unprecedented cooperation between the various countries, the LRA is being tracked and the noose is tightening.
Activity is currently concentrated around the town of Obo in the C.A.R. Conditions there today are much like they were in Gulu, Northern Uganda for decades as people were terrified by Kony’s roving marauders. Farmers do not stray more than five kilometers from town. People fear saying anything that might be heard by LRA spies. US-led local troops apparently freed a group of people recently captured by Kony – so the man remains determined and dangerous.
There are huge resources behind the capture of Kony – more than $25 million in U.S. aid and millions more from other donor nations. It boggles the mind to think that if Kony were not an issue, the investment of those funds into enterprises throughout the region would work to alleviate poverty. The Youtube movement called Kony 2012 is having zero effect on the capture effort.
As for the marauding rebel himself, it is estimated he has between 150-300 followers still with him. Even as small bands are captured, Kony stays on task. “I can still be effective if I have only 10 men,” he says. Here’s hoping he has zero men and ends up in prison by the end of the year. What a waste. Thanks to Ralph Cervantes for finding the AP story.
It is one thing to hear about Kony 2012 from people in the West – virtually all of whom are void of even the basic facts of the situation involving Uganda, Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army. It is quite another to hear from people in Uganda who have lived with this idiot in their midst and are thriving in the aftermath of his idiocy.
In a column in the Ugandan New Vision newspaper today, the film was decried as a scam. You can read the full column HERE, but here is an excerpt:
“In fact, let me be blunt by saying that even if Invisible Children had dedicated less than one-tenth of the funds raised from around the world with their first film, it would have significantly improved the lot of thousands of children in northern Uganda. They did not do that. Despite what Invisible Children has claimed in the media about the good work it is doing in northern Uganda, the San Diego-based organisation is merely in it for itself, and not for children in northern Uganda.” - Opio.oloya@sympatico.ca
Here are words from Stephen Oola, a Kampala-based lawyer with Refugee Law Project and originally from Gulu, reporting from Voice of America:
"The people of northern Uganda are not looking for the kind of international military action Invisible Children is trying to rally, a fact that the video’s makers blithely ignore. Couldn’t they consult? Couldn’t they include some local voices? People on the ground do not buy the messages, and they don’t want that help," he said. "Even if Invisible Children thought they were helping, that is not the help people want.”
Kony 2012 is, for those who haven’t followed the phenomenon, is a film by the same people who produced Invisible Children. It has now gained more than 100 million views worldwide and perhaps as many tweets and has raised some $9 million. As stated in my previous blog, it is a brilliant promotion of a film based on a non-issue imploring people to do something that will most likely not make any difference – except raising money for the producers.
Only time can anything stop this phenomenon. We can only pray the growing positive reputation of Uganda has not been soiled because of this stupid stunt.
Since Monday, March 5, the film KONY 2012 has gone viral on the Internet with, as of this writing, more than 64 MILLION views. Also promoted under the name "Visible Children,” the film depicts the atrocities committed by Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) over the last 30 years, mostly in Uganda, and urges viewers around the world to push their governments to find this man and bring him to justice.
The exploits of the LRA were documented in a film called Invisible Children, produced by the same people and shown to thousands of high school kids around the world. The film generated millions of dollars in donations.
But the LRA was put out of business in Uganda in 2006. And the film is still being shown.
In my opinion, this film – KONY 2012 – is the sequel, the next attempt to exploit young and naïve people to join a cause that needs no joining. The premise is that by making Kony famous and taking to the streets, somehow the UN will step up efforts to capture Kony and bring him before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The film producers claim that their efforts are responsible for the U.S. sending 100 special forces troops to Uganda to help in the capture of Kony.
First, let me say the film is brilliantly done. And the producers’ ability to promote their product/cause is just possibly the most astounding and inspiring piece of work this old promoter has ever seen in his lifetime.
But here’s the problem with this thing: The premise of “the movement” is that if you get enough people yelling in the streets, the problem will be solved by somebody. If that worked, why wouldn't we have millions in the streets yelling for world peace?
But wait, there’s more. The producer keeps saying Uganda, Uganda, Uganda when referring to Kony. Kony hasn’t been in Uganda since 2006. If you access the producer’s Kony-Finder, you see the rebel has operated throughout central Africa in at least four countries. HE ISN’T IN UGANDA! When pushed by an NBC interviewer today, he admitted Kony is believed to have less than 200 followers. “Soldiers…” he corrected. “And that’s 200 abducted children…” he added. Last reports were Kony is living like an animal in the jungle with 200 ragged followers. THEY ARE BARELY SURVIVING… NOT ABDUCTING CHILDREN. And finally, it has been reported only 32% of the NINE MILLION DOLLARS collected so far on this project goes to help Kony’s victims. The producer says, “Oh, we have a different model of charity… it’s message, movie, mobilization.” What the heck is that? IT’S NOT A CHARITY.
This whole thing sounds like the perpetrator is on an adrenaline high funding a movement just to make noise and, well, line his pockets. As long as Kony isn’t caught, the movement continues to stir the hearts of young people and naïve celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey and Justin Bieber and generate donations. And if Kony is caught? I wouldn’t be surprised if the film goes on for years.
Maybe you are stirred by the message. I think it’s a brilliant, brilliant scam.
It was mainly the attraction of seeing mountain gorillas in their native forests that caused the choice. CHECK OUT THIS AMAZING VIDEO OF AN ENCOUNTER WITH WILD GORILLAS. But there were the other things as well – the national parks full of wildlife, the good hotels, improved roads, white water rafting on the Nile, climbing to the snowy peaks of the Rwenzori, the safe environment for trekkers and backpackers and the stability of the nation. This is a major milestone for Uganda which was one of the world’s top tourist destinations before independence in 1960, a status that caused Winston Churchill to call Uganda “The Pearl of Africa.”
Most people following Lonely Planet will most likely spend their time in Uganda with professional tour companies or guides who are highly personable and knowledgeable. The net experience will be good since the pros understand what it takes to give a pleasing tourist experience. People met along the way will enhance the experience because of course the Ugandan people are naturally welcoming and pleasant.
But outside of the professional tours, eco-lodges and large urban hotels, I have to say there remains a huge void in hospitality service. In the last three weeks, frequenting restaurants at all levels, I’ve regularly encountered laziness, resentment and downright stupidity among servers. One restaurant owner argued with me that I needed to pay in full with my order because the place was often crowded and they couldn’t control people running away without paying. We were the only people in the place. One waitress showed me to a table and then pulled out a wet rag to wipe it down, flipping it my way. While I waited for my table to dry, she came around and draped a table cloth over it and into my lap. Eventually the coffee came. Once it did, a guy came around swabbing the floor on his hands and knees, all of which contributed to a delightful breakfast experience. Like, they couldn’t have been ready for clientele BEFORE the doors opened?
Everyone agrees there needs to be training of hospitality workers but who is to do it if even restaurant owners don’t understand the concept of service? The owners are often foreign-born Middle-Eastern or Asian who treat their help like cattle and hide behind their cash drawers. I find it ignorant and deplorable and, even with the immense leeway I give people in Uganda because it’s Uganda, how can people operate with such an innate lack of common sense about service? Can’t they treat people as they would like to be treated? A friendly smile, a warm welcome, someone who understands English in this English-speaking country and wishes me a good day… is it too much to ask? Ask me next trip.
PS: The next best locations named were Myanmar (Burma), the Ukraine and Jordan.
You read my piece on street kids in Kabale. That was the problem. Here is the solution. His name is Patrick Tushabomwe and this man is dedicated to getting every street kid off the streets of Kabale. Estimates are there are only 95 of them so the goal is achieveable but the work will not be easy.
On January 4, Patrick opened The Shepherd Centre in Kabale town, in a rented house, and in the presence of board members, supporters, government officials and clergy. It was a great event, particularly because there are 14 young boys under his care. The facility offers housing, counseling, parenting. The kids get to go to school. It’s a good start.
Patrick’s heart was broken for street kids more than five years ago. He started seeking them out just to let the kids know someone cared. He provided soap and some food for them at Christmas. He learned where they stay, how they live, and began to understand the family situations that would cause them to be tossed onto the streets. Even while he underwent intense discipleship and evangelism training in the ABIDE program for Juna Amagara Ministries, he thought of the kids in Kabale. Even while he earned his bachelor’s degree, Patrick planned facilities for the kids.
Eventually he found some backers from the U.S. who caught the passion and now Shepherd Centre can provide safe shelter, parental love and discipline AND reconciliation services for families. None of this easy or cheap but great progress has been made. The goal? Zero street kids in Kabale. However long it takes. Whatever it takes. That’s what Patrick says and I believe him.
To support to The Shepherd Centre, click HERE. Check them out on Facebook HERE.
It is a simple fact of life in Uganda that not all children go to high school. It is something of a miracle that they go to primary school thanks to a program put into place in the mid-1990s called Universal Public Education. Funded by a one billion dollar grant (1.7 trillion Uganda shillings), the program ensured schools would be built and staffed throughout the country. That was done, yet today, there is a shortage of qualified teachers and class sizes are huge, up to 150 kids per class.
To go beyond primary school requires fees which are often not available, and qualified test scores from the students. Even if parents can come up with the fees, with such large class sizes, the learning level is low and most children do not qualify. Therefore, the end of Primary School is a celebration. It is a day when parents say, “Yay, you made it! Good luck; you’re on your own now– go tend the goats.”
Yet, in the hills of Kishanje Highlands in the far southwest corner of the country, something of a phenomenon occurs at the end of the term. Kids in the New Times Primary School kids almost ALL qualify for secondary school. Why is this? Classes are small, teachers are better than average and there are mentors to help kids with homework. These kids can all realistically look forward to earning an “A” (advanced) level placement in secondary school (See Ritah in her new maroon A-sweater). Many will go to university on a government scholarship.
So here are the kids of Kishanje, proud to parade down the hill in their miniature caps and gowns. Primary school is behind. Now the hard work begins.
After more than seven years hard labor (well, three years hard labor and four years wondering how to put it together) I’ve just received copies of my new book on Uganda called They Call Me Mzee: One Man’s Safari into Brightest Africa.
Called “a remarkable story of discovery,” the book charts the cultural and spiritual ife of present-day Uganda. Part memoir, part travelogue and part investigative report, the reader will learn about how the AIDS epidemic started in Uganda and spread throughout Africa. And, how Uganda is still the only nation in Africa to have arrested the disease. The report talks about the huge faith life of Ugandans, where it came from and what it means. There is much discussion from a personal perspective about the plight of orphans and how ministries, the government and the church are dealing with the ever-growing problem.
Most importantly, it is my personal story of discovering a place where faith underlies all. The people I meet, the visitors I take to Uganda and the lessons we have for each other are insightful, surprising.
Anyone who has been to Uganda, who is planning to go to Uganda or who supports the work in Uganda should read this book. You will laugh, you will cry and you will learn something of Africa you have never seen anywhere.
On September 4, 2011, two young, well-educated California men will begin a journey in Cape Town South Africa that will take them more than 8,000 miles up the spine of Africa to Cairo and then on to Jerusalem. They’re doing it for the adventure. They’re doing it on Honda XR 400 dirt bikes. They’re also doing it to raise funds to build the Juna Amagara New Times Primary School in Kishanje, Uganda. The event is called RideAmagara: Africa 2011. And you can learn more if you click HERE.
The riders are Nolan Gallagher, a small-town big-sky boy turned professional baseball player for the Seattle Mariners. A graduate of Stanford University, Nolan has given up baseball and when he returns from Africa, he’ll be studying for a degree in physical therapy. Stephen “Brownie” Brown is a missionary kid who’s lived all over the world. Also a graduate of Stanford, Stephen worked in corporate America after graduation but has decided, upon his return from Africa, to enter medical school.
Over approximately four months, the adventurers will cross borders into 12 countries: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopa, Sudan, Egypt and Israel. Their only plan is to make it before Christmas. There is no detailed road map. Accommodations are the tents on their backs. There is no support van. I don’t think there’s room for extra fuel. But they are equipped with Bibles. And immortal youth.
What, are they nuts?
There are no Interstate highways on this route. What about breakdowns? What about spare parts? What about hostile territory? What about pirates? What about those long lonely stretches of savannah where there are no people, only warthogs? What about all the different languages? What about the Sept/Oct rainy season? What will they eat? How will they protect themselves at night in a tent in the middle of nowhere? What about border crossings with surly and professionally uncooperative bureaucrats? Did we mention men with spears? Roaming bands of Arabic slavers? Tsetse flies, boa constrictors, thorny bushes, roads rutted like canyons?
Only the riders know the answers to these questions. And certainly they have thought about all of these things, right?
Meanwhile, Nolan and Brownie are asking for people to support the humanitarian reason for this ride. The goal? Raise $200,000 to finish a primary school and dormitory that will serve the needs of more than 500 children. As you’ll see on their website, the riders are seeking corporate sponsors, but also individuals who can pledge $ per mile traveled – or support for a rider – or just a donation. This is a worthy goal, as children in Uganda crave education and need it to survive. The best kept secret in Africa is… the solution to overpopulation AND poverty is education. This school will play a major part in all those roles. Currently operating in rented buildings, New Times students regularly rank in the top percentile of all students in Uganda. With improved facilities and dormitories, these Juna Amagara orphan children will blossom into outstandingly productive adults.
Nolan and Brownie are carrying a PocketFinder GPS locator so we can all follow them in real time. They promise to post frequently on Facebook (assuming they can find a computer). And hopefully they'll smile if they are on CNN. They request prayers for the journey. God willing, they'll make it to Jerusalem by Christmas.
The Government further observed that it was unfortunate that the Africa Union (AU) roadmap to a peaceful end to the conflict was ignored by both the rebels and NATO. Uganda was a member of the AU High-Level ad hoc Committee on Libya whose mandate was to push for a political solution to the conflict in Libya.
President Yoweri Museveni, a close ally to Gadaffi, attended some of the committee meetings. Oryem explained that the AU committee tried to bring the rebels, who had a strong-hold on Benghazi then, and the Gadaffi regime to the negotiating table, but in vain. He said Gadaffi welcomed dialogue, but the rebels and NATO demanded that the Libyan leader first steps down.
“We tried to market the AU roadmap to NATO and they insisted that it would work when Gadaffi steps down. We wanted a ceasefire, dialogue and debate on a new constitution. It is unfortunate that the roadmap was not followed,” Oryem said. The minister said much as Gadaffi had been a great friend, Uganda could not directly meddle in the affairs of Libya or interfere with the aspirations of the Libyan people. “That’s why we worked through AU,” he commented.
Oryem said the Ugandan mission will stay in Tripoli just like the Libyan embassy remains in Kampala. “Our staff are safe. They contact us and give us updates on the situation in Tripoli,” Oryem clarified.
The first week of April is a somber time in Rwanda, East Africa.There are no weddings or parties.Night clubs are closed.People speak in hushed tones.Greetings are especially warm.Families cling together like no other time
during the year, for this is the time the nation remembers the Genocide of 1994
when more than 1,000,000 people were killed in 100 days of terror.
The Rwandan genocide was intricately planned pre-meditated
murder.Its roots began at the turn of
the 20th century when France,
Germany, England, Belgium
and Portugal agreed among
themselves to divide Africa in to
colonies.Rwanda fell to the Germans who
began the process of changing two peaceful tribes, the Hutus and the Tutsis
into racial enemies.After World War I,
the Belgians became the masters of Rwanda and exacerbated the divide
by issuing ID cards for each tribe – “to be maintained across families in
perpetuity.”The Hutus, defined as
anyone with more than 10 cows, became the ruling class.The Tutsis, anyone with less than 10 cows,
became the worker bees.
Almost from the beginning, this system began to fail.The very idea of defining a cultural people
group by property ownership was folly.Yet, political and government appointments were made on such status and
caused deep-seated resentment that became kindling for conflict.
From 1985, the Hutus began to plot the extermination of the
Tutsis.Hate propaganda went on for years.Practice, mini-genocides were
staged in “the war” from 1990.The
hatemongering continued through 1993 to the extent that the UN sent
peacekeeping forces under Canadian Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire who became concerned
at the level of pending violence and petitioned the UN to send troops to
prevent it.UN Secretary General Khofi Annan denied the
General’s request, a decision he later publicly regretted.
On April 6, 1994 Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu
with a Tutsi wife, hwas returning to the capital city of
Kigali after holding reconciliation talks that would possibly prevent violence.With him was the President of Burundi.There were rumors that the militant forces of
Hutu who did not want reconciliation were unhappy with the President and
threats of his assassination were frequent.Yet, he decried any threats confiding to his generals that traveling
with another head of state would most likely protect him.However, on this day his plane was blown out
of the sky on its final approach to KigaliInternationalAirport.45 minutes later, soldiers blocked all exits
from the country and people began hacking their neighbors to death.
Charles Byarugaba, a Ugandan man who was living in Kigali and working as an
electrician at the time of the Genocide remembers:“I saw the plane landing and I saw the bullets fired from the ground. Soon after we heard the President’s plane
crash, Hutu militia went door to door exterminating families.We could hear the screaming.Children watched their parents shot and were
then beaten to death.Anyone with a
Tutsi ID card was killed.Catholic
priests called parishioners to church promising sanctuary and when it was full,
called the Bahutu who came with rifles and grenades and killed everyone, 10,000
in Nyamatu alone.Husbands killed their
Tutsi wives and half-Tutsi children.People escaped by hiding in latrines or under piles of dead bodies.I kept asking myself why? Why? Why?”
Byarugaba said he was reasonably sure his family would not
be killed because they were not Tutsi, but he was forced by the Bahutu at
gunpoint to collect the dead.“After
three days, the smell became so great, you could hardly breathe.We stacked the dead in culverts where
bulldozers covered them with soil.We
did this for weeks.”
Eventually the rebel army of Tutsis captured enough of Kigali that an escape route was opened to Congo.Byarugaba’s wife and three small children
took off on foot while he followed a week later.“All along the way, people died," he said. "Some of exhaustion and fear.Others were shot.I walked with death every hour for 200 miles
over 16 days; we ate food found in fields along the way and if we needed a
blanket or shoes, we robbed the dead.Once I reached Congo,
I was fortunate to find my family safe.We all hiked back to Uganda
to our land where we began digging potatoes for a living." Today, 16 years
later, the memories of those days are strong: "We only survived by the will of
God,” he said.
Elsewhere in Uganda,
people still remember the genocide vividly.Eva Turyashemererwa was a first grade student in the town of Kabale in 1994.“We could hear shooting to the south and the
town’s river ran red with blood.”Herbert Ainamani recalls, “Refugees came over the hills at Kashasha
escaping the killers.The local people
tried to help them but the Bahutu army pursued and killed many, even some
Ugandans, one of them my cousin.”
The genocide produced not just one million dead but 300,000
orphans, 2 million refugees and 500,000 women raped, many by soldiers who were
HIV-positive.It was finally ended when
the U.N sent 5,500 troops to the area.
There is no way to describe the horror but Rwanda is serious about
remembering, about encouraging reconciliation, and moving on.The first Genocide Memorial was opened in
1999 in the capital city of Kigali
and today, there is some form of memorial in every district. At the site in Kigali, the visitor walks
through a straightforward presentation of the incident, its history, its
reality and its aftermath.The photos
are chilling.Blood-soaked clothing
fills several displays.One is
encouraged to walk the grounds where 276,000 bodies lie in mass graves.Large public gatherings are held in sports
arenas where people are encouraged to openly grieve and pray and remember those
who did not survive.
Rwandatoday is peaceful, a shining star of economic growth
in Africa.It is a strikingly beautiful place of hills and lakes and volcanoes and
mountain gorillas, good roads and an international airport.President Paul Kagame is trying hard to
attract tourists.“Hotel Rwanda” is the
Milles Collines, a swanky business hotel.But ask Charles Byarugaba if he is tempted to travel 30 miles to the
south to see how the place has changed in 16 years and he says, “No.I am afraid someone there will recognize me
and arrest me.I cannot go back.”
