Originally posted at:
http://blog.oneamericacommittee.com/story/2006/10/2/13493/8571My Trip to Uganda
John Edwards in Diaries
10/03/2006 at 6:09 EST
I'm here in Kampala, Uganda on the tail end of a three day trip. I came here with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), an extraordinary organization that's doing great work in Uganda and other parts of the world. If you want to know more about them, go to their website at www.theirc.org.
We came to Uganda because of the huge humanitarian crisis in the northern part of the country, caused by the long civil war that has gone on, and by the atrocities committed by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel army/terrorist group, that among other things abducts children, turns them into soldiers, forces them to commit atrocities, or in some cases turns them into sex slaves.
A little background - we had a tough time getting here. We started in NY thinking we were going from NY to Brussels, to Entebbe, Uganda, but because of flight problems, we ended up changing planes in NY, flying to Brussels, then on to London, then on to Nairobi, then finally Entebbe. For two nights the only sleep we got was on airplanes. As soon as we arrived in Entebbe we went to a hotel, took a shower, and then flew to northern Uganda - Kitgum. We flew on small, prop planes and landed on a dirt runway in Kitgum. Not only was the runway dirt, but the roads were dirt too, and very rough. We went to an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) campaign outside Kitgum - IDP's are the same as refugees, but they have not crossed a country border. Many of the people in this camp have been stuck there for several years, some for twenty years. When we got to the camp we were greeted by a crowd of people singing, banging drums, and welcoming us. We had performances by a women's group and a children's group, then we proceeded to my favorite part, speeches. Most of the village had gathered in a tree covered area where we met. I spoke for a few minutes and a translator told the crowd what I was saying. I then sat under a tree with three adult IDPs and lots of children. They told me the stories of what they've been through and what there hopes were. I met a little girl, about a year old, whose mother said she had never smiled - her father was killed by the LRA. I touched her cheeks, tried to get her to smile, and it ALMOST worked. I toured the camp, and the living conditions were awful - open sewage, little water, malnourished children. There were also kids there that had been abducted by the LRA, forced to commit atrocities against others, including their own family, but had escaped and come back - the entire place made a huge impression on me. I will never forget it.
The next day we flew on a slightly larger prop plane to a shorter, dirt runway in Lira - another region of northern Uganda. We went to many places, including another IDP camp where we spoke in a crowded building with children peering into the windows from the outside. We visited the home of a family who had recently returned from the camp - there I saw a young girl who was an orphan that had been taken in by the family - her name was Lilly, and her parents had been killed by the LRA. She was about eight or nine years old, carried a baby in her arms, and one on her back. She's about the same age as my daughter Emma, and the look in her eyes was as different as night and day from Emma's - it was heartbreaking. She was providing childcare for these babies instead of going to school.
We then went to Kira School, which is run by the IRC. There a young girl performed an extraordinary poem. After that a young 14-year old boy performed a song that he had written. It was amazing. He had lived on the streets for 13 years, and a year ago had been taken in by the IRC in this school. The song was about how happy he was to have a life now. We then briefly visited another camp, and headed back to the dirt landing strip. The airplane barely took flight just before the end of the runway.
Today I met with President Museveni and talked about what we had seen, how important it is to have peace, and what we can do to help with both the peace process and all the suffering in northern Uganda. The President wondered why I wasn't in a bigger car. I told him our car was fine.
Tonight we are leaving after 11 pm to fly back to the states. With any luck it won't take the same amount of time to get home as it did getting here - over 40 hours.
What's happening in northern Uganda is a great opportunity for America, and our online community to make a real difference. Now is our moment, and we must act. Please help us spread the word.
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