Are We Really “Saving” Africa?
Featured, Social Justice — By Penny Carothers on September 21, 2009 at 12:10 amThe Ultimate Solution Is Not Supported By Some Community Leaders
And you thought the Darfur thongs were in bad taste. At least they're largely invisible to the public...
The only way Invisible Children’s admirable goal of bringing the Acholi child soldiers home will be realized is if Joseph Kony is apprehended. Most experts on this matter conclude that ending Kony’s reign of terror will require his death. Invisible Children’s most recent advocacy and awareness raising efforts concentrated a great deal of energy and resources on gaining passage of Senate Bill 1067, a bill that aims to eliminate “the threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army to civilians and regional stability through political, economic, military, and intelligence support for a comprehensive multilateral effort to protect civilians in affected areas, to apprehend or otherwise remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield, and to disarm and demobilize Lord’s Resistance Army fighters (emphasis added)“ and and further support “comprehensive reconstruction, transitional justice, and reconciliation effort.”1. Essentially, the bill has two goals: 1) eliminate the threat posed by the LRA and 2) support reconstruction in the area.
Though it appears that the reconstruction goals are lauded by all, the military solution is not condoned by at least some of the Acholi people. The Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, “an interfaith forum which brings together Muslim and Christian (Catholic, Orthodox & Anglican) leaders in Acholiland, Northern Uganda and provides a proactive response to conflicts through community based mediation services, advocacy & lobbying and peace-building activities,” sent a letter to congress detailing their opposition to the bill. A peaceful solution focusing on dialogue is also being supported by the African Faith and Justice Network. (See their full letters to Congress here). A notable excerpt from the ARLPI document includes these words:
“We applaud the commitment of the bill [in the U.S. Congress] to bring about stability and development in the region. However, we as the Acholi religious leaders whose primary concern is the preservation of human life, advocate for dialogue and other non-violent strategies to be employed so that long term sustainable peace may be realized. Let us learn from the past experiences where we have seen that violence only breeds more violence.”
They refer specifically to the deaths and upheaval that came about after the US-backed Ugandan government’s response to Kony’s withdrawal from the 2008 peace agreement prompted the LRA to go on a killing spree.
“Military strategies launched against the LRA have time and again led to severe reprisal attacks on the innocent civilian community as illustrated during the recent 900 deaths during Operation Lightning Thunder.”
Again, as the African Faith and Justice Network states,
“In essence, AFJN believes that a military strike against Joseph Kony and the LRA is likely to be disastrous for civilians and abducted child soldiers, and is unlikely to result in Kony’s capture. The precedent set by Operation “Lightning Thunder” in December 2008 does not give us hope that there can be an effective military operation against the LRA and we therefore advocate for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Those who push for a military solution often cite the failure of peaceful alternatives; however, this ignores the clear fact that a military option also failed and that killing Kony alone might not be the end of the LRA.”
One must ask, when reading these documents, whether the Invisible Children staff was aware of opposition to the bill by religious leaders and others? And at whose behest did this bill become one of the most prominent goals of the organization?
In email correspondence with the organization relating to these questions, Invisible Children Uganda’s Public Relations Officer Erica D’Alessandro questioned the assumption that the disagreement by some of the community would translate into wholesale rejection, noting that there are conflicting opinions on the ground. She also stated,
“I have spoken personally with Bishop Onono Nelson, one of the founders for the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, and in a recent interview he stated this: ’I doubt a peaceful solution may be reached at this point. It is a mistake we normally make: going back to the peace talk. There is no more talking to be done. What is left? To sign the document. Will he come out? He will refuse. Unless God performs a miracle, he will not sign. How will it end wither way? It must end somehow, and yes, a peaceful means is easiest. But if a military solution will end it, it should be done. If the world were interested in rescuing the children, they will find a way to get to them. If they cannot, there is no other way out.”
Alessandro suggested that Bishop Onono Nelson’s opinion suggests that “perhaps some of the ALRPI opinions of the bill/best possible solution to the conflict have changed of late.” Clearly, there are differences of opinion (or perhaps changing opinions) among the ARLPI, but I conclude that the consensus among the organization is to eschew the military option given their letter to Congress in April of this year.
It is worth noting that an American solution to a Ugandan problem is not only opposed by some of that region’s residents, but the results of the final solution of the bill – further violent conflict – would upset the peace that the region has sought for decades – and Invisible Children helped bring about. Additionally, though it would be a multi-lateral approach including Ugandan, Southern Sudanese, Congolese and possibly forces from the CAR, embroiling the US military in the Great Lakes region of East Africa, an extremely volatile and hostile environment that has known conflict for decades, could rival Vietnam in its failure and unnecessary loss of life.
On a related note, it is an interesting and troubling phenomenon, this recent growth in the number of young people starting NGOs. I applaud the passion, the commitment, and often, the sacrifice of these individuals – including those who work or Invisible Children – but I also question whether this is truly the most efficient, effective, and sensitive way to put one’s skills and passion to work. Certainly, there is a place for it, but frankly, not as often as it occurs. Engaging in development work outside our culture, our nation, and our skill set (even with sensitive, knowledgeable oversight and mentoring) can have extremely negative consequences for those we are intending to help. My hope is that anyone with a passion for a place or a people would come alongside an established organization that has years of experience before considering starting their own.
—
16 Comments
Penny,
I think this may be the most important and provocative article the Writers Collective has ever published. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you also for the article’s integrity, fairness, and generosity.
Agreed. Burnside is proud to finally run this.
Wow. That was well written, and very thought provoking. Thanks for your honesty, Penny. I really appreciated that (it’s hard to say I enjoyed it…)
Wow- that was really informative and very well-researched. I’m glad you wrote it; it does make me think a little harder about the best ways to effect change in developing countries. One of my (very wise) college professors said that our tendency as people was to simplify stories and conflict and life in general, and that he was working to ‘muddy the waters,’ so to speak, to bring out the complexities involved in various (environmental) issues. I think he would really appreciate your article, because it does bring up some of the complexities that people prefer to distill down in ways that are harmful. Good job
(I’ll be sure to e-mail it to my prof!)
Good. Thank you.
As one who has been to Africa several times, and who has family there doing “mission work” (are we not all missionaries in our work?!), I appreciate this piece.
And I just have to agree: Yes.
Thought-provoking, knowledgeable, and full of insight-the girl has done it again! Nice job Penny. Your hard work is apparent in every line. I am so proud to see you pursuing your passion. “America’s solution to Uganda’s problem” is only made more obtuse by your use of specific campaign and lobbying examples-really drives the message home. Well done!
Penny,
First, you have single-handedly elevated Burnside Writers Collective to a status comparable to a serious, credible publication. I’m no longer sure if we will ever be able to see stories about basketball or beer here without thinking, “what happened to BW; they were once writing on the cutting edge of social justice issues?”. I may never have another piece published here for lack of meeting the new quality standard you’ve provided with this article!
Second, you’ve touched on a point I’ve been thinking about for some time. What is our responsibility in Africa when in fact we can’t seem to get Americans to even reach out to our suffering neighbors, literally next door or sleeping in the parking garage where we work. In preparing a sermon on James 1:27 last week, I realized that there was no way I would see success in getting people to answer a call to action when that would require them to think about distant Africa. Instead, I worked very hard to get them, maybe for the first time, to take a much small step. I called them to help our “orphans and widows” in our neighborhoods. It is my hope and prayer that after people have a life-transformation with efforts locally (and invite others to do the same), there will be an army of folks whose hearts are so prepared to help others in the name of Jesus, that we will no longer have to look to secular NGOs, but instead see millions of transformed Christians ready to serve, bless, and help the world (whether from the US, Africa, or anywhere).
Whoa, whoa…let’s not get too hasty here about cutting out all the beer/basketball articles.
Which gives me an idea for an article about beer AND basketball.
Thanks guys. I really appreciate your words.
I also want to thank Invisible Children, and specifically Erica D’Alessandro, for her willingness to spend the time engaging with someone who was questioning her organization. She spent a lot of time developing lengthy and thoroughly responses to my questions and critiques. She is the main reason this article actually has a hope of being accurate and fair. (And I hope she and IC feels that it is – if not, I’d love to hear why.)
Thanks again everyone for taking the time to read 4,000 words about this topic!
Penny, your piece is amazingly well researched and well written. Thanks for not only pointing out problems, but also for offering candid and practical thoughts on how to better approach these issues.
Penny writes “What does it mean to serve, to pursue social justice in Jesus’ name, to lay down one’s life, to care for the least among us? The answers to problems like world hunger, family homelessness, AIDS orphans, and child soldiers are incredibly complex – but our response can be very simple.”
Yes, that is precisely what I love about the Jesus of the New Testament – he acts, and calls us to act – simply, directly and faithfully.
And yes, our lives, interactions and the consequences of our actions are incredibly complex. For example, who among us does not have a cell phone? A key component of every cell phone is coltan. Every ounce of coltan, that we use every day, has been smuggled out of the Congo. And every dollar, spent on behalf of our cell phone usage has gone to a variety of terrorists, kidnappers, murderers and rapists. (according to Wikipedia, about 5.5 million people have died in the wars in the Congo since 1998).
So I circle back to the nearly eternal question “What would Jesus do?
Would Jesus use – or not use – a cell phone? Would Jesus refuse to wear clothing made in Asian or African sweatshops?
And of course, what would Jesus expect each of us to do?
I firmly do not believe that Jesus would want us to live under a cloud of guilt. In fact, quite the opposite, Jesus calls us to be agents of fully orbed liberation.
Some of us will do that as individuals, some will work with large scale organizations. And I am convinced that it is not the celebrities or the petitions that will manifest the kingdom of God on earth; it will be each transformed life. And yes, it begins with each one of us.
And yes, the harvest, and the need is great; beyond measure in fact, but the New Testament is the blueprint for how a small group with a vision can transform the world.
Consider those few individuals who have refused to leave the world as it was – from St. Francis, to Mother Teresa to M. Ghandi. There is nothing stopping us from initiating our own faith in action – except our own inertia.
The ultimate deception is that we can’t do anything.
Our small individual steps are the best we can do – and they truly are the best we can do.
Excellent article.
In thinking about the debate over whether to encourage taking out Joseph Kony by any means necessary, or to advocate for the non-violent solution of peace talks, it occurs to me that there is a third option: praying that Jesus would personally visit Joseph Kony.
It’s completely impractical and maybe even impossible, but it’s happened before. A man named Saul used to murder Christians. Until he met Jesus.
Penny,
I really appreciated this article. IC played a big role in motivating me to spend a semester in Uganda last year. I did so through my school and ended up at Uganda Christian University in Mukono. It did a lot to challenge my western savior complex. Your article deftly navigates a sticky issue. I’ve been invited to work with the IC chapter on campus and I’ve struggled to respond in a nuanced way (that is, balancing my inner Sachs and Easterly).
All this is to say – it is good to know that there are people like you working to elevate the conversation and push past the damaging stereotypes of all things African. There is so much more to East Africa than the war and poverty – or smiling children and grateful recipients of aid.
I also have to point out your comments on trade in the beginning of your article to say that it is SO REFRESHING to hear someone (outside of academia) portray free trade as part of the solution to poverty, rather than the source of all evil. Clearly the issue is more complicated, but I’d love to see an article or two on farm subsidies for readers without an economics background.
Keep up the good work! I look forward to reading your next piece and
Cheers,
Jonathan