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Alum attends youth summit in war-torn Uganda

The S&B talked to Charmagne Campbell-Patton about the Ugandan civil war and what Grinnellians can do about it

By Rebecca Taylor

Charmagne Campbell-Patton '03 yearned to travel to Africa as more than a tourist. An M.A candidate in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University, Campbell-Patton was accepted to attend the Global Kimeeza: U.S./Uganda Youth Summit at Makarere University in Kampala, Uganda. For 10 days, Campbell-Patton put her political science background to use as she participated in discussions with Ugandan students and leaders, creating a statement of purpose to present to the Ugandan Parliament and members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Global Kimeeza: U.S./Uganda Youth Summit intends to annually increase youth dialogue and advocacy for Africa.

S&B: What has your study of conflict resolution been like?

Campbell-Patton: We study different causes for war and the ways to achieve peace. You can work with top-level government leaders, at the middle with religious leaders and traditional leaders and at the grassroots level with different educational programs that effect change.

S&B: Does the U.S. government have any interest in Uganda?

Campbell-Patton: Uganda has been sort of cited as a successful development story and gotten a lot of foreign aid. In fact, the southern region has developed quite a lot and the AIDS rate has dropped. But the fact that a civil war is going on there is basically ignored.

[Ugandan] President [Yoweri Kaguta] Museveni does not want to bring attention to it because he doesn't want to jeopardize support from other countries that view Uganda as a success.

S&B: Did you ever discuss whether the U.S. should be involved in that reconciliation process?

Campbell-Patton: At a certain point we asked some of the Ugandans whether they wanted the U.S. to bring troops to Uganda and we [Americans] were surprised that they said yes. The reality is the U.S. doesn't have strategic interest and won't send troops.

S&B: Do you feel as though anything was being kept hidden from you during your visit?

Campbell-Patton: I don't think the people I was with were trying to hide things. They wanted us to travel to the north though the conference didn't plan for that as a whole. Most of the students thought it would be very important to see what was going on up there.

You can be in Kampala and feel like nothing is going on. Guys walk around with big guns but the city is very safe though a civil war is going on.

S&B: What were the differences in women's issues in the rural areas versus the urban?

Campbell-Patton: In the inner city there are more resources and special services. Women in the north face violence and rape ? often even the soldiers protecting them will ask for sexual favors.

The government has moved something like 94 percent of the Acholi people from their villages into temporary camps. The camps are not always safe. In order to farm, the people have to leave the camp and therefore farming is dangerous. They would starve without the World Food program.

In the south, women are more financially independent. I heard about the Bead for Life project. Some women were taught how to make beads out of old magazines and they've made earrings and bracelets, which they can sell. They've been able to develop a skill and market the skill in the US.

S&B: Describe someone you met at the conference.

Campbell-Patton: Jeoffrey Oryema, Executive Director of the Acholi Youth Peace and Reconciliation Initiative, works with youth on peace building and he does trainings with them.

He asks the kids what they think. He works from the bottom up. He doesn't just tell them what should be done, instead he works with them. It gives them ownership and encourages them to follow through. It sounded like it would really work.

S&B: What can students at Grinnell do about the conflict in northern Uganda?

Campbell-Patton: I think the most important things that people?at Grinnell can do?are raise awareness about what's happening and encourage people to come up with solutions at both the grassroots and government levels.

Two potential avenues for action are: one, host a?house party and show the film The Invisible Children ( www.invisiblechildren.org), which shows the toll the war has taken on?the children in [northern Uganda]; and two, write a letter to your member of Congress asking the U.S. to put pressure on the Ugandan government to?manage its resources more effectively?and address the war in the north?.

One possibility is that the U.S. can redirect?aid through humanitarian organizations?so that it reaches the people who need it rather than?supporting the government of Uganda.

-Interview conducted via telephone.

Sidebar: Conflict in Uganda

• The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group led by Joseph Kony, is fighting to establish an independent Acholi nation that would be governed by the Ten Commandments.
• According to the BBC, the LRA has abducted 20,000 children and displaced over 1 million people. Abducted boys are forced to join the LRA and girls are used as sex slaves.
• The conflict is occurring primarily in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. There have been widespread allegations that the Sudanese government assists in arming the LRA.
• Five LRA leaders have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), but no arrests have been made.

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