By Shannon M. Murphy
Last week, One World hosted a screening of the documentary, “The Other Side of The World.” This documentary follows the current political conflict going on in Uganda surrounding the division between the north and south.
Focusing on the war waging between the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels and leader Joseph Kony and the president of the Republic of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, the documentary follows several Ugandan’s and the war’s effect on their lives.
The rebel army, formed in 1987, still actively attacks homes in the countryside, or highlands, abducting children on a regular basis. It is estimated that 60 thousand children have been abducted since the beginning of the war. One woman in the movie says the children are likely used “like human shields”. Another woman states that abducted children are killed when they refuse to obey the rebels.
Currently, the L.R.A is believed to be composed of over 80% abductees.
One Ugandan of focus from the film, Caroline, experienced such an attack on her house years before. She lost both her parents and her older brother. Caroline was fortunate and escaped with her younger brother. She was eight. She now travels miles into the town of Lira, which is protected by soldiers, to sleep in Noah’s Ark, a night shelter for children.
A teacher at St. Mary’s Aboke College outside Lira walked the documentary crew through the college’s sleeping quarters where, in 1997, the L.R.A attacked and over 140 students and teachers were kidnapped. 110 were eventually returned but the L.R.A retained 30 students, who have not been seen since the abduction.
Many Ugandans are concerned with the inefficiency of the Uganda People’s Defense Force, the Republic of Uganda’s national army. The U.P.D.F. is currently forty times the size of the L.R.A. and yet has been unable to stop the rebel army.
The military argues that it has the capacity to end the war, and many question why nothing has changed. One man said in the film, “I think this war is being used for political reasons”.
Between 1998 and 2003, the Ugandan army invaded the Northeast Congo, where it took control of gold-rich areas, which has added to the suspicions of many Ugandans.
In reference to this surprising fact, one man said, “that is a mystery we do not understand.” In fact, it is a mystery to many Ugandans, including those currently housed in displacement camps.
The film showed how Ugandan government has been responsible for moving 80% of the northern population of Uganda into such internal displacement camps, arguing that the army could not protect the people on their own homesteads and would be more effective if the people lived in large groups.
But, over 20 thousand children have been abducted from these camps. Rebel forces target the camps for women, children, and food supplies provided by the World Food Program.
One of the larger camps, Pabbo, currently holds 56 thousand people. Other camps, such as Amuru, Olwal, and Keyo hold 44 thousand, 17 thousand, and 8 thousand respectively.
Currently, over $190 million of the Ugandan yearly budget is used in defense spending. Western donors provide half of the country’s annual budget. Yet, neither the Ugandan government, President Museveni, nor the Western donors will take responsibility for the ongoing war.
“For me, the movie was really inspiring.” said Adrienne Webb ’11, “I felt that, as a film, it still left a human quality. I feel you could recognize the people as people, not just as survivors.”
“The movie clearly depicted the way things are in Uganda right now. In this movie, you could see the different aspects and different people’s points of view. I felt that it gave a clear picture. It was very inspiring. It teaches us that we should appreciate how lucky we are,” said Stephanie Ezeoba ’11.
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Editor's note: Articles that appear in the Last Word section are works of satire.
