Dear Family and Friends,
In thinking about the privileges of my recent time in Uganda I also find a very sober mood composed of contrasting stories of beauty and terror, mixtures of horror and the utmost bravery, of deep poverty yet a land and people of abundant potential. I have to find ways to handle these somber feelings. Listen to this story:
"You can shoot me if you wish, but I am going on into the Bush." These were the words of Onono Onweng, the Anglican Bishop of Northern Uganda to the Ugandan military roadblock. They had told him, "You cannot pass under any circumstances."
Only a week before one of the people existing in a makeshift refugee camp in the Bush country of NW Uganda had made the difficult journey out of this devastated area controlled mostly by the LRA, "The Lord's Resistance Army." He came to the Bishop asking for help. His words: "Thousands of my Acholi people have been driven from our homes in the Bush and now we are starving and dying with disease. Our food has been
taken, our livestock has been killed and our homes burned. We are suffering rape and murder."
Bishop Onweng decided he must go and see for himself. The only road into this remote area was a narrow track recently bulldozed many miles by the army in their efforts to combat the LRA. After a brief explanation of his determination, he proceeded to drive around the blocking armored personnel carrier. Instead of shooting, the captain order two of his men to go with the Bishop.
The messenger was totally correct. People were in utter poverty, starving and dying of multiple diseases. It was an area of horror. The Bishop with the help of many others, including faithful Solomon Okeny , began bringing food into the area. Wells were dug for safe water - their pump handles were worked almost constantly. With the help of Medical Assistance Teams (MAP) a village health clinic was set up about a year ago. Several heroic men and women came to serve in this Village Health Clinic.
It took about two and a half hours for us to navigate that long bumpy road in our four wheel drive vehicle. Jungle and brush land crowded close. Cicadas sung lustily in the areas of thick brush. Two monkeys scurried across the road and disappeared.
On arrival at the camp, Omee II, children with big tummies and thin arms and legs ran to meet us, but in general their mood as well as that of the adults was less joyful than we'd encountered in most camps. However, they were sweeping the ground between closely packed grass roofed huts with small hand brooms. Much good had happened, but it was
yet a needy area. These people have nowhere else to go. Most of their homes in the Bush have been destroyed.
Later we had the privilege of sitting with Bishop Onweng in his most unpretentious home. While his good wife served us tea, we listened and questioned. A picture on the wall showed him being honored by UNESCO with a world peace prize. One year previously he had journeyed into the Bush hideout of Joseph Kony in the Congo. Kony had told him, "It is time now to talk peace around the world. It has been like a cock fight,
which now must end." But Kony was also demanding money for retreating to the Bush.
The Bishop described the impact of these twenty years of fighting as terribly affecting the young and old as well as those in between. He listed these results:
"There is aggression for no reason at all. Suicide is common. HIV and AIDS have added to the problems. When there is fighting among the youth, killing is not a problem for them. Many men have now run away from the IDP camps. Drinking (home made) is a large problem. Cultural and moral values have been lost! They have no respect for themselves or others. Many children have been produced during the war. They roam the camps. Most do not have the thousand shillings needed to go to school, (About 75 cents). There are many child mothers. Many have died giving birth. Where are the men? Off drinking! There is no value for God in their lives. They say, 'Your God is off sleeping. Where is he?'
"However, the people have a strong spirit to survive. Some have been in camps for ten years. Some have created small businesses to help make their lives better. We do see joy. (He pointed to a picture of laughing kids on the wall.)
"Several NGOs are doing counseling. But much more is needed. There are small educational and trade schools. This is an area in which our N. Ugandan Diocese is working. We plan to include training in small plot farming also. We need much more assistance. Our people are in such an extreme state of poverty. Much of our assistance must come from other parts of the world."
We listened with much sympathy to this heroic man and wife. Now you can understand a bit of our feelings. Perhaps you can understand why Lou, when asked to stand up in his home church in Maine and tell of Uganda, found that he could only weep. This is why I find myself struggling to handle inner sadness. May you too be moved with compassion for the hurting people of this world, both close to yourself and far away.
Sincerely,
Ken Magee