This is the year.

One of the best parts of doing research abroad is that it gives you opportunities to travel to “the field” a lot. We’ve spent at least a quarter of our trip outside of towns in the villages. Its an important experience, especially in a country like Uganda where over 75% of the population still lives in villages. The war disrupted village life greatly as people were forced into Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps by the government. This continues to be one of the most controversial strategies of the war, as the practice of displacement seems to have caused many of the most rampant post-conflict issues, especially high rates of alcoholism, domestic abuse, and a changed attitude toward hard work. However, since the IDP camp strategy was a government strategy, it has gone largely un-criticized by both national human rights structures, as well as international groups.  The majority of Northern Ugandans have now resettled back to their villages. Some have been forced to stay in...

We’ve had a very interesting last couple of days in Uganda. I haven’t updated this since we came back from Kampala, but we’ve been very busy trying to wrap up the research. Research trips to the field took us all the way to Kitgum (near the Sudan border) where we spent a week and were fortunate enough to speak to over 100 people there. After meeting a few more communities on the outskirts of Gulu town, we’ve now spoken to over 500 people and have another 100 people between a couple of focus groups and many in-depth interviews. It has been a lot of work but we really think the research is good and can hopefully make a difference in the communities we’ve worked with, as well as other post-conflict areas. Near Gulu, we were privileged enough to be invited by a self-created group of child mothers. Throughout the research process, we have avoided targeting individuals and therefore try hard not to target former child soldiers, or “vulnerable youth”, but rather talk to community members in...

Many international observers have applauded the opening of the Ugandan War Crimes Tribunal’s first case, the prosecution of Mr. Thomas Kwoyelo, as an opportunity to serve justice to the victims of Uganda’s civil war. Mr. Kwoyelo, a former commander of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), stands accused of twelve counts of war crimes. Unfortunately, in this sudden bid for justice, the complexity of the situation on the ground has been lost. Northern Uganda suffered a devastating 19 year war between the government and the LRA rebel group. As is common in many contemporary conflicts, civilians found themselves the targets of both sides. The rebels murdered and abducted thousands and the government forcibly moved the population into concentration camps, in order to offer better protection, but also to prevent collaboration between locals and rebels. War was destroying the lives and the spirits of Northern Ugandans. After three decades of continuous violence dating to the days of dic...

Its been a pretty crazy last couple of weeks and we didn’t have much time to stop and reflect. So I decided to just wake up early today and do just that, with the gospel music providing nice background music. We traveled a lot the last two weeks. After leaving Gulu to spend a week in Lira, we went to Soroti (in the Teso region) for a few days, then took a bus east to Mbale, and from there, boarded a bus for Eldoret, Kenya. After a few days in Kenya, we boarded a bus to Kampala, and from there, made our way back to Gulu. Traveling with public transportation in East Africa is always an adventure. Bus schedules don’t seem to exist, so you may board a “9 am” bus and not leave till mid-day. Never board a nearly empty bus because it is going nowhere despite the assurances of the driver. Buses in Uganda also have a tendency of blaring music, especially Celine Dion. There are also no regulations, or if there are there is no implementation of the law, on rules for where people can sit in the ...