It seems every time I say I’m going to write more that fails
completely, so I will stop writing that now. In my defence the last couple of
days have been very difficult with the power situation, so any time I have had
power on my laptop it has been used for work, and work I seem to have a lot of
lately!
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| The beauty of the mountains in Karamoja |
It is really amazing to see the KDF office actually up and
running, with four people sitting here busy writing away every day. I know
there remains a lot to be set up when it comes to the ‘Pastoralist Information
Centre’, which will really become the hub of this office, but I’m impressed
with the progress so far, and I’m so happy I have been able to be here for the
setting up office phase! I remember coming here in December being a bit
confused as to what I was actually supposed to do, as there was no office, no
structure really, just Simon and Teba taking me around to various sites and
events and encouraging me to learn. My walk to Rupa to find the artisanal gold
miners and the day of traditional ceremonies in Kautakou still remains my favourite
‘office days’ with KDF. Hopefully I still have a few more of those days ahead
of me before I leave Moroto.
The last few days have been a mix of a lot of work and
random fun activities. A few weeks ago I asked Simon to bring me a football
from Kampala, after I had gone to watch some football with Teba and realized
that almost everyone playing were guys, well I guess I should say everyone
except for one girl who was off playing basketball next to the football pitch.
As my work out routine has been very limited here I thought it would be a great
idea if we could get a football and I could find some girls to play with. Again
so much happened in the last few weeks I hadn’t actually had time to do
anything about it until this Monday, but on Monday I did actually play football
here for the first time. Unfortunately the ‘big boys’ took our ball to play
with and Karo, Perie and I were left to play with the kids with their home made
ball, but I think from seeing the amount of smiles and laughter we had a lot
more fun playing. The kids were amazing, one little boy in particular, little
Edwin, he can’t have been more than 5, but he kept running off with the ball
and scoring these awesome goals.
Unfortunately he wasn’t on my team, but I had
Perie on my team who just wanted to score more than anything, although not sure
if that actually happened or not, but we ran until we were exhausted and then
some. So officially now my favourite after work activity, although hoping I can
wear shoes soon as I was running around barefoot playing after I put shoes on
not flip flops for the first time in like 2 months the other day and got
blisters all over. So hopefully after work today I will be running around the
pitch again, maybe we’ll be successful in recruiting some more girls, and also
hoping the guys will be a bit nicer and let us play with the actual football
today!
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| If only I could carry more than half a bottle of water on my head, not quite Karimojong yet. |
The past weekend was also one of new adventures. Karo had a
bonfire at her house and her and a friend held a bit of an impromptu concert
for around 15 people. It was so nice to sit around a fire under the stars and
listen to live music, not quite an experience I pictured myself having in
Karamoja, especially with two ‘muzungus’ playing music, but it was amazing
nonetheless. And the dance party that took over after the playing was equally
as entertaining, with Egyptian dancing from Muhammed and Perie doing some dance
moves I can’t even describe in words, it turned into a long night around the
fire. Although my favourite part of the night was listening to the music and
seeing everyone around the fire with the biggest smiles on their faces, making
you realize that it’s the little things in life that can truly make you happy.
So thank you to Karo for hosting a night I will remember long past my time in Karamoja.
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| A magical night of music and dancing |
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| The beauty of fire |
As my time here is quickly running out work is becoming more
hectic. Teba and I have a deadline of getting the land report, titled ‘Take Anything,
Leave our Land’ out by this evening. The report is a result of field research
that KDF members conducted in the areas of Kautakou and Namalu, two areas that
have been the sites of ‘land grabs’. In Namalu the prison grounds have been
expanded and this has caused over 300 families to be evicted from their land, families
who are now living under inhumane conditions, where 50 people have lost their
lives as a result of having to relocate and losing all of their food and assets
in the process. In Kautakou (where I took part in the traditional ceremony)
land has been sold by an individual for the creation of an industrial park
without the consent of the community which is using the land.
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| Kautakou protests 'land grab' |
Both cases are highlighting the difficulties the Karimojong
are facing in the emerging scramble for land in the region. Land rights have
never been an issue I have been especially involved in, but in Karamoja it is
impossible to avoid. Land rights are extremely difficult here because of the
nature of communities and especially in regards to pastoralism. It is not as straight
forward as it is back home in that one person owns a piece of land and if you want
to buy or sell that will be the person whom you must deal with, here
communities live and use the land together, and in many cases more than one
community is involved. So how do you protect the rights of these people? The laws
of Uganda do make an attempt at this, but I think the idea of communal land
rights is a lot more difficult in practice than the government acknowledges.
I can’t say I have any magical answer to the issue of land
rights in Karamoja, as I said I am still learning, but the process of writing
the land report with KDF has really opened my eyes to how important this issue
is. This is not just about pieces of land and assets, it is about people, their
livelihoods and the future of Karamoja. So as the report will hopefully be out
tonight, if not then at least in the next couple of days, I urge you all to read
it and help give a voice to the people who risk losing everything in the
struggle for land in Karamoja. They shouldn't be fighting this battle alone. If you are interested in the report leave a
comment or send me an email and I will make sure you receive a copy.
I would love a copy!
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