The Den Haag Gulu Walk 2008

As I was writing an introduction to the Amsterdam Gulu Walk tomorrow, I thought it prudent to give you a report of what happened last year in the Hague where the Den Haag Gulu Walk took place on 25-Oct-2007. It started at 1430 hrs from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague. The walkers went through the town centre via the parliament, market to Holland spoor train station in The Hague. They continued through the peace palace and end at the ISS. 

Pearl of Africa foundation, an organisation for Ugandans living in Netherlands was responsible for organising the Den Haag Gulu Walk in The Hague. It started with around 40 people but by the end of the programme, 50 people had registered. 

Most of the walkers attired in orange T-shirts and caps walked while singing, blowing the trumpet and whistling. Some people in the areas we passed through joined the walk. A walk document given to bystanders and delivered in mailboxes along the route. The walk document was colourful and was in both English and Dutch. It briefly explained the walk.

The Gulu walk of 2007 was part of the Global effort to raise awareness and funds for the emergency humanitarian support for the parentless, helpless, homeless and hopeless children who had been walking tens of miles every day in search of safety, food and shelter between the jungles and towns in Northern Uganda for the last twenty years. The children remained caught up between the government, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and other rebellions between the people of Northern Uganda and the Government for the last twenty years.

The Walk of 2008 however, the emphasis was on support for the ongoing peace talks and resettlement. 

The Den Haag Gulu Walk had Ugandans of different tribes and political affiliations from the Netherlands and Belgium. Unlike last year we did not have representatives from Uganda. The walk took about 2 hours going through densely populated areas of the Hague shopping centre.

Unlike previous year  where we were supported by 2 police officers, this time we were escorted by the many police who later described our walk as very peaceful and orderly compared to other such-like demonstrations involving immigrants! 

At the corner café near ISS where we assembled after the walk, a keynote address was given by WSO Akwero. He explained the  Gulu walk history as an event that started with just two people in July 2005 and has now grown into a worldwide peace movement. GuluWalk continues to have global reach and has been featured in media outlets all over the world, with GuluWalk co-founders Adrian Bradbury and Kieran Hayward being recognized in 2005 as Newsmakers of the Year by Maclean's magazine

He gave a background of the Gulu conflict history outlining how Uganda has been at war for the last 20 years. Approximately 2 million people were living in camps in Northern and Eastern Uganda.  They suffered quietly until Jan Engeland, then U.N. under-secretary general of Humanitarian Affairs,  exposed the catastrophe as the worst humanitarian crisis, the forgotten war worse than Darfur and Iraq...! 2 decades of armed conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government in the Northern Uganda caused some nearly two million civilians to be displaced from their homes. Ordered into so-called protected camps, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) face heightened insecurity, appalling living conditions and the lack of means of subsistence. Abuses against these communities are rampant; the LRA has committed war crimes and gross violations of human rights including the abduction of over twenty thousand children, widespread maiming, rape and murder against the civilian population. These attacks have led to secondary displacement in which up to forty thousand children commuted nightly from the camps to sleep in the relative safety of town centres.

While the LRA have been perpetrators of these crimes, the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF), the national army, has also committed human rights violations against civilians that include arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, torture and rape. The UPDF, whose mandate is to protect civilians, has not only failed to prevent attacks and abductions by the LRA, but has also perpetrated grave abuses against civilians in a climate of impunity

In 2006, Halima Namakula graced the Amsterdam Gulu walk, Youths from Youth Service Initiative in Utrecht, Ugandans from Sweden and Germany and some few Ugandans from the Netherlands. There were more non-Ugandans who participated in the walk than Ugandans!

The peace talks have brought the belligerents on table to discuss peace. A cessation of hostilities agreement was signed last year and there has been some semblance of Peace in Gulu. Some people have returned to their homes from the internally displaced camps. However, the victims seem not to be represented.

Pearl of Africa the organizers of this walk joined Gulu Walk Canada in order to contribute in its small way to support the peace talks and fundraise for the returnees. Pearl of Africa also has a project  in Gulu to build a day care centre for the children of former abducted girls to enable them return to school or seek employment. 

 

 

Drivers of change

             Ali Balunywa, recognised in the Netherlands 

                as an inspirational African Diaspora

The NCDO, HIRDA, MWPN and Africa Diaspora Policy centre organisations came up with the idea of recognising te most imspirational African Diaspora.  10 African Diasporans were identified. The decision was arrived at after considering their different efforts like building schools, empoering women, stimulatinmg entreprenuership, teaching and other such tasks. 

What sets apart these Africans from the rest is not only their steadfast commitment to peace and development, but also the fact that they are experts by experience. The list includes: Ali Balunywa from Uganda, Bioli Ikele from Congo, Debritu Lusteau from Ethiopia, Juliano Da Silva Rodrigues from Angola, Mekka Abdelgabar from Sudan, Sulaiman Bangurra from Sierra Leone, Rachael Tocklu from Eritrea, Stella Ismail from Somalia, Stephanie Mbazondere from Burundi and kon kelei from sudan.

On Wednesday 23 September 2009, the organising organisations organised the Africa Diaspora night in the Dutch capital of The Hague at the Nuthuis centre in the city centre.The programme was divided into 3 parts. The introduction was given by the hostess of the evening; Amma Baddoo-Asante followed by recital of a poem by Ali Balunywa.

Part one included powerpoint presentations by Rachel, Sulaiman and Stella. This was followed by a shortbreak before the second part. This included presentations by Stephanie, joseph and Bioley. And the third part; Debritu, Mekka and Ismail Awil of Oxfam Novib. In between the parts 2 interviews were conducted by the hostess and her guests were Kon Kel;ei of Sudan and Julie Ndaya of Congo.

The presentation methopd used was the Japanese Takahashi method were a presenter is given only 5 minutes to make his presentation. The methgod is easy to do  and it helps the presenter get organised and keep him/her on track. It provides a clear visual support for the audience and helps to make the content more memorable.

The media was well presented at the function. Already some newspapers and magazines like the Amsterdam bulletin and IS magazine had run these stories. Many websites have also picked the story. Roughly 150 people attended the function. After the presentations, as is the custom drinks and informal networking closed the function.

African Diaspora for African Development

 A poem by Ali Balunywa

Chairman Pearl of Africa (www.pearlofafrica.nl)

 Recited at the Africa Diaspora Night in The Hague in honour of the Africans who an inspiration to others. 

The theme of the night is security and development

The consequence of that is stability and improvement

No security means conflict and disagreement

No development means instability and discontent

 

The members in the audience tonight

Are Africaners whose significance is their might

Their supporters full of radiance are in sight

And the organizers whose importance is great

 

A glance at the countries presenting tonight

Is a look at the continent’s fighting might

The peoples in these nations bleed from the conflicts

For the finances in these states fled with the politics

 

Billions are wasted as Ethiopia fights Eritrea           

Millions are executed as Sudan and Congo fight for Utopia

Clans exterminate each other in stateless Somalia

As Uganda and Burundi douse the tasteless hysteria

 

The average African lives in abject poverty

As the community’s lack of opportunity creates insecurity

And the population’s illiteracy leads to unawareness

Yet the citizen’s ill health is a sign of sickness

 

Europe and America enjoy peace, tranquility and security

Followed by development, growth and prosperity

Africa and some Asian countries wallow in conflict and obscurity

Followed by ignorance, disease and poverty

 

What makes the African Diaspora the solution to the glitch?

They’ve gained the skills and resources for combating the hitch

The experiences of the filth in the south and the best in the west

Qualifies them to engage the south in the development quest

 

Challenges of Development Cooperation organizations are applauded

Changing and reforming governance, socio-economic expansions

Through trade, not aid. Partnership, not handouts or contributions

And consolidation of achievements in security and development

 

The Africa Diaspora has now mastered the development lingo:

Mobilization, organization, migration, collaboration and communication,

Alliance building, capacity building, networking and monitoring

Subsidies, resources, remittances, estimates and results

 

Engagement, assessment, empowerment and involvement

And finally conferences, workshops, seminars and forums

All for the sake of looking for change in mother Africa

The change that we all believe in and God help Africa

 

Almere, September 20, 2009