Tanzanian Christmas

So hi from Tanzania now.

It's been a bit of a different Christmas here! I spent Christmas Eve in Ruaha going on a game drive, seeing lions, elephants and lots of giraffs. An amazing day that was followed by Christmas Day with another game drive where an elephant came close to charging on the car I was in. Thankfully did survive Christmas and now back in Dar, trying to do some research, but as it is so hot the pool is very tempting.

Just wanted to write a quick note to say merry Christmas to everyone who are keeping up with my blog. I've reached past halfway to the 1000 mark so thank u all for being interested in what I am doing here and learning a bit more about Karamoja.

I'm currently doing more research into the mining activities in the region. It's always struck me as a bizarre idea that countries that are wealthy in minerals are often the poorest, well at least if you look at the developing world. Coming from a country like Norway I know the blessings that can come from natural resources and it's hard to understand what a curse minerals really can be. I know I have a lot more to learn about the mining industry in Karamoja, but reading reports like the one from the human rights watch and then the response from one of the companies DAO is interesting to say the least. There is no doubt in my mind that Karamoja holds a lot of wealth, for a company to like DAO to say they will invest 90 million USD mining in the region points towards that.

Anyways as I am writing on my phone due to the lack of normal internet I will sign off now. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Years and I look forward to what the new year will bring :)

A little break

So it is getting closer to Christmas now and I have made it back to Kampala for a couple of days, before I am off to Tanzania. Kampala seems extremely hectic now compared to Moroto. I do like it though. Kampala will always feel as a sort of second home. The memories and the friends I have been lucky enough to have here will make sure it stays that way. So it is back to crazy boda boda’s, traffic jams and just so so many people everywhere!

Red Chilli Home Kampala :)

The ride down from Moroto was surprisingly easy, as I was lucky enough to get a ride with a UN vehicle heading to Mbale. Again the kindness of people in Uganda is amazing, and at the last minute everything came together, and as I’ve been a bit sick I was extremely grateful to miss out on the Gateway bus via Soroti.

I am trying to do some research now for a paper I am starting to write on the sustainability of pastoralism. I love the way Karimojong are so connected to their cattle and that their work and way of life is really who they are as people as well, so I think perhaps an important aspect for the future is to look at how pastoralism and the general way of life that this entails can coexist and thrive in a modern society. Because Karamoja will change. There is no doubt about that, but I don’t think that change has to be negative. Driving from Moroto to Nakapiripirit yesterday I got to experience the new road that the government has begun building in Karamoja, and it is very impressive when looking at the surrounding roads, and the rate of their progression is quite astonishing. A new road, if it connects all the way from Mbale, has the potential to bring many new opportunities to Karamoja.

So I will leave it at that today. I am unfortunately not feeling too great, so back to bed for some much needed rest now. Missing home today as Christmas is coming near, and Christmas to me will never really be Christmas without snow and my family close, but excited to be back in Tanzania and spend Christmas with some good food and lots and lots of research! Thanks KDF for giving me lots of work over the holidays ;)

x

Life in Motion - Let their voices be heard

So a little bit of a different post. I wanted to show a few clips from the other day, as I know it's difficult to capture the actual atmosphere of a place through pictures. I am sorry they are not the best quality as uploading with the internet I am using here is a bit of a frustrating task, but I hope it does show a bit of what our day was like on Sunday. 

Women dancing and singing followed by the fasting of the cattle by driving them in circles Animals and humans are connected, and so is the land, so this ceremony is performed with everyone linked together.

Video Credit: KDF - Two young shepherd boys dueling for their honor in a playful way

Hopefully you found the videos interesting. I will upload some more as soon as I get a better connection. As taking 2 hours to upload videos is getting at my patience level.

The last few days I've spent doing a lot of writing, preparing for some research projects I'm starting, as well as carrying on with the strategic planning for KDF. It's an interesting phase of the NGO to be a part of, the sort of launch you could say, although they have been around for a few years, but solely as an online platform. Now KDF will hopefully be able to be more visible and helpful to the communities they work with. It will be very interesting to see how they develop in the next few years. One thing is sure though, the people whom they work with and for, are grateful and in need of their assistance.

On other news the Kautakou land issue, which was the reason for the event on Sunday, has been referred to in the news.

The Monitor Article on Karimojong Protest Land Grabbing

The article shows a picture of a sign being held up saying:

 'We didn't know that you removed our guns so that you could come raid our land'

An interesting message as it highlights one of the key issues I have with the land grabbing in the area. There was no interest in this area when it was 'unsafe', then after years of harsh disarmament operations which included numerous human rights abuses, the land is finally looked upon as safe. As soon as this happens, everyone is coming to Karamoja to take part in the development of the region. The people have very little to say now, because they are no longer armed, and as mentioned previously the majority of the population here is illiterate. They do not know their rights, and their idea of land ownership is very different from what we in other parts of the world might think of as normal, this makes them very vulnerable.

The future of Karamoja is their future, they should be a part of it

I found myself the other day sitting with two women who were discussing the best possible ways for them to arrange peaceful demonstrations. The people here do not want to fight anymore. They simply want to be heard, let the Karimojong have a voice in the development of their region, and not just the elite, the average Karimojong is the one you see in these videos, they deserve to be heard.

Destruction or Development? Stepping on a fine line

Yesterday was a day like no other. I found myself taking part in a ceremonial day of dancing, fasting and feasting. I learned more about Karamoja, the culture of the people and the importance and interconnection of land, cattle and people.

A young goat herder tending to his animals

It all started Saturday afternoon when I was having a catch up meeting with Teba and Simon. We were discussing the various issues with mineral resources and further steps to take to try to highlight the issues of the exploitation of the region. We were then joined by two women from Kautako, an area just outside of Moroto. An area that now holds a large sign advertising for Karamoja Industrial Business Park. I had heard there was contention for the land, but I did not realize on what scale this was. The women were visibly upset that their land, the land of their ancestors, where they are buried and an area that holds such strong cultural, sentimental and historic value is now to be turned into an industrial park. Which most likely involves the building of factories, as the rumor is one of the main actors coming in is a cement company. This will not only destroy this piece of land, but will also further pollute and make the areas around uninhabitable. I say this because the people here are pastoralist, they live off the land, they graze their cattle in this area and they depend on what has until now been a non-pollutant zone for their livelihood. The women we were meeting with seemed to be at the end of solutions. They have been fighting to regain the rights to their land for a long time now, and no one has listened to them. They are fighting against money and power, all in the name of development. On their side are the people who live next to the land, illiterate pastoralists who do not claim land ownership as for them land does not belong to one person, it belongs to the community, to the people, to the cattle and anyone who might be making use of it. So how did this piece of land end up as an industrial park? Well it is not difficult to get elders, or one elder from one area who holds some claim to the land, as he is one of the people who uses it, to sign off on a piece of paper saying someone else now owns the land. This is most often done by taking advantage of the high illiteracy rate in the area, people simply do not know what they are signing off on, and as the Karimojong are very hospitable people they become easy targets for people with money and power, who do not hesitate to abuse the rights of the weak.

Elders begin to arrive for the day

So this meeting led to me waking up early on Sunday morning and getting ready to go to Kautako. The people who live there were preparing to make use of the last traditional means of asking for help from their land, from their god and from their people. This included a ceremony of animal sacrifice in the form of 2 cattle, a day of fasting for the people and the animals in the area and a traditional Akiriket with the elders to ask for advice and help in what is a seemingly hopeless situation for the people there.

I wasn't sure what to expect walking into this traditional ceremonial day, but whatever I had expected this was not it. It was a day of linking to the environment, seeing the beauty of the culture of Karamoja and understanding the strength and power that they hold in their traditional ways. I have never in my life seen so many people so involved and passionate about what they are doing, and the belief in how their tradition will carry them through the issues they face. I will add some pictures here now as I think the pictures and videos will explain more as I honestly do not think I can adequately describe in words the feelings I associate by being given the honor to take part in this day.

A bull has been appointed to be sacrificed, here the elders are negotiating with the owner

The owner has to be convinced to sacrifice his bull, a circular walk with song followed by more negotiations

The men have agreed and another man steps forward to offer compensation as well as the honor of killing the bull

The bull is killed by spearing and blood is drunk directly after the kill

The women have their own role in the ceremonial day and arrive in large groups singing

The women, young and old gather in circles

Everyone is fasting until the bull is prepared and prayers have been said. This includes the cattle who are herded around in circles while everyone joins in to sing and dance around the cattle

The local brew is consumed throughout the day ( can't say no to that)

Sacred cow dung is spread on forehead, chests and feet (joining in was of course a must) - then the remainder of the cow dung is spread on the cattle before they are released from their fasting

The animals were released from their fasting, and the elders prayed and discussed various issues including the land issue and how to deal with the new challenges that face them. Afterwards the meat from the sacrificed cow was distributed and feasted upon by those present. Earlier in the day, right after the sacrifice was made the intestines of the animal was brought to an elder who read the future looking at the intestines and giving meaning to what he saw. This was a day of sacrifice, learning and prayer for the people and for me. This was unlike any experience I have ever encountered, even through my many months spent in other parts of Uganda. 

Dancing and celebrating the cattle and nature while driving them in circles for fasting

The beauty of the Karimojong shone through on this day for me. I have always been fascinated by cultures that have not changed to adapt to the modern way of life. This is one of them. This culture has a power to it that you can only sense by being here. The people are strong, they know more than I do through my many years in school. Their knowledge is connected to their land, their cattle and their everyday life. Looking at the Karimojong from the outside (Western) perspective, it is easy to think of them as backwards, living in the past, illiterate people that need the help of the modern society. Yet that is as far from the truth as you can get. The people might not know how to write or read, but they know how to survive in one of the toughest regions, they know how to walk for days, how to find water in what seems like desert areas. They know every one of their cattle by name, their knowledge is not measured in words, it’s measured in the strength of the people and the fact that this culture and way of life has survived until now. I look at my home in Norway and our culture is non-existent compared to what I encounter here, the people here are connected to the earth in a way which we lost touch with a long time ago. It shouldn't be regarded as their weakness, it should be their strength.

Obviously there is need for some development in the area, but the people here know what they need and what they want. They want schools, and they want better health care, but they do not want cement factories and large industrial parks which will ruin the environment and essentially the Karimojong themselves, because the land is the people there, you take their land, you take their way of life.

Simon joins in on the jumping/ dancing, clearly towering over the others :)

Yesterday also gave me a great sense of respect for the guys that I work with. They do belong to the Karimojong elite, they are well educated and have good jobs. Yet they were so proud to take part in this ceremonial day and learn from the people about what is essentially their own culture. They acknowledged that because they have lived the ‘privileged’ life, they have lost touch with many of things that we experienced yesterday, and they are so proud of the culture and the people who live here. The strength of KDF I think lies in this. It is an organization formed by the ‘elite’ Karimojong, but the core of their work is the people who were never given the opportunities which they had. They work so closely with these communities to truly grasp what is they want from the future and how this can be done in a way which doesn’t trample on their rights. I am very grateful that I get to be part of this for a little while, and already just being here a bit over a week I have learned more than any other job or internship I have had.

A successful field day - Thank you Teba and Simon from Karolien and I, your passion is inspiring

I know many of you reading this are far far away from the situation that I am in here, but I hope by reading this you might think of Karamoja for a little bit. I hope you get a glimpse into the beauty that is here, and the uniqueness of the culture and heritage. Writing this blog is not just about letting you all know what I am doing every day. I want to do my part in getting the word out there for the Karimojong and the threat to their basic human rights that they are now facing. I do not want to leave this place and come back in a few years and see the whole area turned into a modern development. That is not what the people want, and if my writing can help inspire others to take a second look at this region then I am doing my part. The people here are strong, but they have the highest illiteracy rate in the country, and as such they need protection. What they can teach me here is far more valuable than anything I could ever contribute with, and I hope that for the future, projects and governments coming into this area will not just see what they can teach the people, but what the people can teach them.

I could probably keep writing for another 30 pages about my experiences yesterday and my views of this area, but I think that is enough for now. This will be my last week in Karamoja before Christmas when I am heading to Tanzania to spend the holidays there. So a lot of work to be done here this week before I leave, so I will sign off now and get to it. I will try to upload some videos in the next few days, as internet has been a bit of a struggle today so couldn't make it happen unfortunately. 

X Maria 

The curse of mineral resources

Today was a bit of a reality shock of sorts. Karamoja is a very mineral rich region, yet the people who live here have had little or no interest in these resources until the present time. People here are pastoralist, they live of the land and follow the patterns of the season for grazing their cattle, and this takes them across the beautiful Karamoja region and past many sources of great mineral wealth. Today I was able to see a little bit of this wealth, and what it could potentially mean for the people of the region.

Walking through Karamoja

I met Teba in town and we proceeded to walk for a few hours, past the settlement of Rupa until we ran into some artisanal miners right off the road. The search for gold here is conducted by digging holes and tunnels and then sifting through the dirt with water which is carried for kilometres by children. The gold, in small vials, is then sold on to traders who bring it to town, and then it is further sold on to Kampala. The digging of the holes to find gold and carrying water for such a distance seems so much work for what is perhaps not even a gram of gold, yet it is the income of the people here. This is not their traditional way of life, but as the market is now there they are adjusting as best as they can to profit, if even just a little bit. I was told on the other side of the mountain there is a big gold mine, but this mine is managed by an Indian company and little profit is given to the local population.

One of the little girls carrying water for use to sift gold

Artisanal miners at work

After seeing the artisanal miners we proceeded by boda to a marble excavation point. I have never in my life seen such huge blocks of marble, and when you look at the mountain it seems like the whole mountain is made up of it. The company who owns the place I am told is an Arab company that make use of cheap local labour (that said they had not been paid for 6 months) to get the marble out, and then it is sent with trucks to Mombasa and shipped out from there. I can only imagine the profit margin to be huge as the miners who break some of the stone into smaller pieces are paid the equivalent of 40 $ per truckload.

Huge blocks of marble

Discussing with Teba on the wealth that surrounds us

It is amazing to see a place with so much wealth hidden underneath the ground or in the mountain, yet the people have so little, and the little they have in the form of their culture is being taken away from them. I do believe there is hope for Karamoja, I think the great mineral wealth can be an enormous resource for the population. However it is important that their rights are protected. It is understandable that foreign companies will come to the region, but companies need to be held responsible for the way in which they conduct their business on Karimojong land. I know this is one of KDF’s many battles, and I hope that being here I can help, if even a little to get word out there that is happening. Karamoja has the potential to be great, but they need a lot of help, mostly in the form of management of resources and understanding of local culture. It is not a place that will develop over night or become rich within months, the culture of the people and their way of life would not permit this. My hope is that the Karimojong will gain from the mineral wealth which their land holds, and that the people who are trying to take advantage of the lack of control of the resources will be held accountable. The curse of mineral resources have ruined many countries and areas, I do not want to see Karamoja become one of those. 

Okay so it is Friday night so that was my serious thoughts of the day. I am a bit tired from the long walk, so I will sign off now and go have a beer and relax a bit before another weekend of more learning and work.

X Maria 

A walk through Moroto

A walk to Moroto - everything and anything can be carried on the head - Strong women

So at the moment I am sitting here struggling to learn the numbers for Ngakarimojong, before my second language class tonight at 6. I wish I could say I found it easy, but the language is very different from anything I’ve ever tried to learn. So here goes the first 10:

1 – Ipei

2 – Ngiarei

3- Ngiuni

4 – Ngiommon

5- Ngikan

6 – Ngikan ka pei

7- Ngikan ka arei

8 – Ngikan ka uni

9- Ngikan ka ommon

10 – Ngitomon

I have also learned a few basic things, like hello and thank you, but do feel like this is going to be slow going!

So after a morning of doing some work I spent most of the day walking around and exploring the town a bit. I had lunch, really good pizza, at Ekimomwor Café, 6000 UGX – Equals to about 2 dollars for a drink and pizza. So very affordable and tasty, also a nice treat saying hi to Maggie.

One of THE places to eat in Moroto 

Moroto as I said in a previous post is a bit of a peculiar town. A lot of NGO’s, UN agencies and a few mission projects, mixed in with what seems like villages crammed together to form a town. When walking the streets you meet so many people, and everyone stops, greets and shakes your hand before walking on, and usually a smile to my still learning greetings in Ngakarimojong. When walking into town I had a nice woman walk with me the whole way. She was on her way to the hospital as her granddaughter had been taken for vaccinations but had not returned so she was going to check on the baby. She also explained her life as someone who had worked for a long time in the health industry but now she was mentally ill herself so she was no longer working, her goodbye was said with a warning that next time she sees me she will probably not greet me as her mental problems will be kicking in, although as my name is Maria – mother of Jesus there was a chance she might remember. Very nice woman, so do hope she remembers me next time I see her!

Walking  to town

A stroll through town will take you to the Shell station – a  picture follows as the state of the Shell station looks a bit like something which has been through a war in the 50’s and not recovered, but all the same it is still open for business, so nothing bad to say about that.

Classic Shell in Moroto

On my walk out of town I was picked up by a man who was going to get water on the mountain, he asked if I would like to join, and as I had nothing better to do a ride in his land rover to the mountainside seemed like a good idea. We stopped off at the Karimojong cultural center, which is supposed to inform of the Karimojong history, culture and the geography of the area, rather it is a small room with some rocks, posters and some traditional clothing. An interesting idea, but I do think the Karimojong culture deserves something better than this room to represent their rich and diverse culture, but I suppose it is a start and I should not judge. Hopefully as a start it will be able to show the few visitors who are here a bit of the culture and heritage that make the Karimojong people so proud and unique.

By the mountain 

After the little stop at the cultural center it was time to collect the water. I am not quite sure what the water was for, but the Land Rover became full of jerrycans of water. Where the water was collected a few kids were playing. One had made a sort of wheelbarrow/stroller sort of contraption and was wheeling another kid around at great speed, unfortunately it ended rather quickly as the one kid went flying into a bush. Luckily kids are the same as wherever you are in the world, I picked him up, gave him a little cuddle, a blow on the hurt part and he was back to normal and running around again. I was dropped off back at the hotel with the promise of a trip to see some camels in the near future, the diversity of this region is amazing.

Fierce girl playing

Anyways now I must get back to my language practice as Perry is due here any minute and I can for the life of me not remember the first 10 numbers…. 

December but not quite Christmas

I can’t believe  it's December 8th already and almost Christmas time, life here seems so far removed from the shopping streets and Christmas parties at home. I do miss home and snow, family and friends, but it is nice to be away from the stress that always seems to follow the lead up to Christmas.

Christmas tree at Nakumatt village in Kampala

Last night I met my ‘to be’ language teacher, Perry. She works for a WASH project for Concern here in Moroto, and her commitment to her work and the development of her region is remarkable. She has promised to help me with some language lessons after work whenever she has time during the week. Our first lesson will be tomorrow, so today I will have to try to find a dictionary so I can be prepared. I know learning the language might seem a bit of a trivial use of my time here as I’m not sure how long I will actually be in the area. However I do think a part of understanding the culture and people here is rooted in being able to communicate in the local language. So hopefully I will be able to learn a bit and you never know it might be a useful skill to carry with me wherever I go in the world.  I have a long term goal of learning Swahili and some Arabic as well, so will see how it goes. I realize after my many years of French it might be a bit ambitious, but my motivation for learning is higher than it has ever been so maybe I will manage to stick with it this time.

So today I have spent most of the day going through various discussions had by KDF members and trying to analyse the most common themes and how it could be possible to highlight these in a way that might prove useful to people who have yet not been able to take part in the forum discussions. A main theme is clearly frustration, people here are angry with the appropriation of funds from the government, as well as misjudged NGO projects that could have the best of intentions, but without the true understanding of the pastoralist culture they risk alienating the people further. There has been a common theme in looking at the failures of Karamoja from the outside, pastoralism has become the scapegoat for why this region has supposedly lagged so far behind in development. Yet in reality pastoralism is the most adapted and sustainable way of life in the region. Those who have cattle know where to go when there is a drought or when there is an excess of rain, yet what has and is being done is limiting this mobility, and by doing so the Karimojong are put in an impossible situation. Numerous reports have concluded that Karamoja as a region cannot sustain its population on a pure agricultural basis, so why is pastoralism being blamed for the issues of the region? And why is there such a strong push to grow the agricultural sector?

There are obvious shortcomings with pastoralism in a ‘developed’ country. From the perspective of the government the pure safety concern of having cross border mobility is enough to argue against it also combined with decades of ‘violent’ cattle raids and resistance to government policies. Karamoja has also been the place of the lowest literacy rates and highest infant mortality rates in the country so it doesn’t take a lot to convince politicians and donors that a big change is necessary for Karamoja to join the rest of the world. Yet how can policies for a region be completely decided without the people of the region involved? This is the issue KDF is working with. The Karimojong want better services in the form of healthcare and education, yet they want to keep their culture intact and live in the most sustainable manner in which they know, through pastoralism.

In Moroto every sign post leads to an organization

Just walking around Moroto is like entering a bit of parallel world. The economy of the town is made up of approximately 80 percent NGO’s. Every compound is some NGO, with a name from Europe or the US. All those organizations that you now see on the streets back home asking for donations for projects for the poor in rural Africa are all here. This is where they are supposed to make their difference, and many do. Yet I am a bit cautious of how towns such as this will be able to implement a sustainable change in the region. It is my hope that KDF and other organizations are successful in getting the voice of the people through to the projects that are now being implemented in Karamoja.

Moroto town - the joy of gateway buses ;o

I have been thinking about what my role in being here is. I want to do more research into pastoralism, through talking to people here and getting a better understanding of how pastoralism can function in the 21^st century. I learned a lot from tonights discussion of the various cross border peace treaties aimed at resource sharing. This was always my main concern in regards to how pastoralism could function in a modern nation-state, but seemingly it works. The Jie and Turkana are doing it, so why cannot the rest of pastoralist societies be able to live together in a peaceful way where resources can be shared? I do think it is possible, and hopefully I will learn more in the weeks to come.

Some good news from my side, I passed my dissertation for my masters, and I am now officially done with university. That had to be celebrated with a couple of drinks tonight!

To leave you now with my co-worker Peter showing me his traditional hat – made out of hair…the traditional hats here are a must see. 

Peter in his pièce de résistance