Archive for May 17, 2007
WHAT UGANDA THINKS, A VIEW FROM GROUND ZERO - ‘DISPLACE ME’ Part 3
May 17, 2007 by PT Rothschild.
Excerpt from the Mayor of Gulu, Norbert Mao’s speech on April 28th, 2007:
”We are living in a postmodern age, in the space age, in the age of very high technology, the age of the Internet. And therefore there is no excuse for poverty, war and displacement in this age. There is absolutely no excuse for the kind of suffering that we are witnessing in northern Uganda…”
”I thank you very much for wearing the beautiful shirts with the (red) X on it. 
You are trying to cut out war, cut out suffering. It’s a bit like the computer keyboard. There are two important buttons. One of them is delete – that is the X. And thank you very much for choosing to delete war, to delete displacement…Some other people use the button they call escape. There are those who escape responsibility…”
”Uganda is a country that has suffered a lot. You all know our history, you know about Idi Amin. Of recent, some of you have seen the movie ‘The Last King of Scotland’. That movie is based on the reality that we lived in Uganda. But we thought, with the going of Idi Amin, there would be no more suffering in Uganda. We were mistaken. Uganda has been very unstable because of greed…”
”The most victimized people are the people in Acholiland, where I come from in northern Uganda. These are the people who have been victimized since Uganda got independence in the 1960s. I don’t know why they are victimized but I believe no human being should be victimized. This current phase of victimization started around 1986 when a new regime took over the government, it overthrew a military regime, and the war started in northern Uganda which has caused more suffering than the suffering in Iraq. More suffering than the suffering in Darfur.
Many of you don’t know what is happening in northern Uganda. I don’t blame you. There are also many Ugandans who don’t know what is going on in northern Uganda. Because of television, many Ugandans know more about what is going on in Baghdad than what is going on in northern Uganda. The humanitarian catastrophe in northern Uganda has been neglected. The question is why? Is it because of default? Is it by design? But that is not the subject of my speech tonight. There will be another day to discuss that. The important thing is that the suffering must end and it is up to us to end it.
The Uganda government has been unable to protect the children from the rebels who have abducted the children, twisted their minds, turned them into killers and child soldiers. People like Jacob, who you have seen in the movie [‘Invisible Children: Rough Cut’].
The world has also been guilty of a conspiracy of silence. People have continued to suffer and no one seems to be bothered. The rebel group - so vicious, so capricious, and so malevolent – has unleashed a suffering on our people, which we cannot comprehend. The rebels have killed people, but that is just part of the story. 97% of the deaths in northern Uganda is a direct result of the conditions in the camps. The rebels are only responsible for 3% of the deaths. That is why tonight is very important because you are tackling the foundation of the suffering, the 97% of the people who are dying due to the conditions.
Now, like any other country, Uganda has got neighbors. We have Kenya, we have Tanzania, we have Rwanda. You would think that our neighbors should be the ones to come to our aid. That’s why I am so moved tonight to see that people who are so far away are the ones who are so concerned about the suffering of my people. You are thousands and thousands of miles away, but you are the ones who have showed that you care the most. Today, the world has united and here we have all sorts of people – black, white, yellow, I don’t know what other colors are there – and I’m sure God Himself* is here.
I would like to solute the symbolism of tonight. This is a world, which is notorious for the “I don’t care” attitude. I think the phrase which we hear the most is “I don’t care, I don’t give a damn, doesn’t concern me, it’s none of my business.” Today you have come to say you care. You have come to say you give a damn. You have come to say it’s your business.
The international community is now supporting the peace process in Juba. I have been to the rebels. I have met them. They have expressed the desire to talk peace. The Uganda government is willing to talk peace. And the Invisible Children and our great friends, the filmmakers – Laren, Jason and Bobby - have provided the glue to help us come together.
Our desire is to see peace, freedom and prosperity in northern Uganda so that Gulu can become a haven again. The displaced people should go home, but after more than 10 years in these camps they need help. They need material support from a country like yours. A country which is so rich, that sometimes I think it has more cars than people. We need the moral support of the USA. We need the moral support from a country that produced the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation.
So, standing here in the shadows of the Washington Monument, I say to you, the young people of America: stand up for the rights of other young people in the world. Give yourself to go and serve. Military service overseas is not the only form of service open to young Americans. You can come and serve to relieve the suffering of those in those camps. I don’t desire to make you feel guilty tonight; I only desire to make you feel responsible. Stand up to your true heritage. Tell the government of Uganda, let the displaced people go home. Tell your leaders in the Congress and the White House, let the displaced people go home. Write to them, call them, threaten not to vote for them if you must. Let them do something. Let the US government support the peace talks going on in Juba. Let us support the future of the young people, whose future has been snatched from them.
What you are going to see about life in the camps is not a movie; it is the daily reality of my people…. Tonight, you are going to feel their pain…. Tonight, you are going to share the agony of the displaced people. That is what we call humanity. Thank you for showing your humanity. Many of us know what it is like to have strangers embrace your cause. In 1979, it was the Tanzanians who helped us to kick out Idi Amin. Now it is young Americans who are offering us a way out of the suffering in the camps. After the fall of Idi Amin, two young people walked on foot from northern Uganda up to Tanzania - thousands of miles - to say thank you. I have traveled about 17 hours to say thank you to you, the youth of America.
You have heard the cry of our people and you have responded. As one of your presidents, John F. Kennedy said, “on earth, it is the job of man to do God’s work.” What you are doing is God’s work*. You are contributing tuition for people to go back to school. You are contributing money to provide shelter for displaced people. You are building dormitories for school children. You are providing money for health centers.
To Invisible Children, what can I say? You have triggered off the most powerful force on earth. A force greater than the atom bomb. A force greater than the volcanic eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, which sank the city of Pompeii. You have triggered off the force of love tonight.
I say, keep going. On my way here, I saw a bumper sticker on somebody’s car, and it was reading: “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. By all means, keep going.”
People of America, the cause of the suffering people in northern Uganda is your cause. You have said, “We want peace, we want the displaced people to come home, we want northern Uganda to become a haven again, so that the ordinary people can go and till their land.” We stand together with you. We the leaders of northern Uganda, we stand together with you and I’m sure everybody who matters is listening. I have come all the way to share your faith that every war has an end. Keep going. Thank you very much.”
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