Politics

Prince Charles’ Video Address to Rio+20

Posted by Mark D. Jordahl on June 22, 2012
Posted in: Environment, Politics, Video. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

Most of the world seems to have low expectations for what will come out of the Rio+20 environmental conference that is happening right now.

In this video, Prince Charles highlights how little has been accomplished since the Rio Earth Summit 20 years ago, and also how important it is for the world to take action NOW to address such issues as climate change and biodiversity loss.

This is an important message for the whole world to hear:

You can also see the video at the TreeViver blog: http://blog.treeviver.com/2012/06/22/prince-charles-talks-climate-and-environment/

-Mark D. Jordahl

Do Uganda and Rwanda Want to Annex Eastern DRC?

Posted by Mark D. Jordahl on June 15, 2012
Posted in: Articles, Politics, Regional. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Does anybody have any information to support the recent claim by Antoine Roger Lokongo in Pambazuka News that:

“Britain, America and the European Union are now caught red-handed and cannot claim not to be aware of the plot (of annexing eastern Congo to Rwanda and Uganda, encouraged by the Sudanese experience) that is being weaved by Rwanda and Uganda in the eastern DRC.”

It wouldn’t surprise me, although I am hesitatant to believe such a strong accusation that is made without references in a heavily-footnoted article.

What I do know for sure is that Rwanda and Uganda have been meddling in resource-rich Eastern Congo for decades. The instability in that region gives the leaders of both countries plenty of excuses to send their militaries across the border under the guise of “regional security and stability.”

The article goes on to make well-supported arguments that Rwanda’s national army has close ties to rebel groups in Eastern DRC.

Anybody know anything about this?

-Mark D. Jordahl

Do Uganda and Rwanda Want to Annex Eastern DRC?

Invisible Children Controversy

Posted by Mark D. Jordahl on March 8, 2012
Posted in: Articles, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Northern Uganda, Personal Observations, Politics, Regional. Tagged: , , , , . 10 comments
10870811 ori2 Invisible Children Controversy

Invisible Children (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

OK – after I sent out that last post, I got a lot of questions about whether I have changed my past views on Invisible Children since I chose to promote their video.

I should have been more clear. While I believe they do their work with the best intentions, I am not a fan of Invisible Children, and I would not, personally, send them money.

At the same time, I am a fan of raising awareness about Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army, and nobody else is doing it as effectively as Invisible Children. This video is worth watching even though they completely mislead people about how easy it will be to catch Kony if only people will watch the video.

I must admit that I am conflicted in my feelings towards them. There are a lot of reasons not to like them:

  • They twist information to boost their fundraising efforts rather than trying to put out current facts and educate people. I remain convinced that they want people to think the war still rages in Uganda because that is the country their fundraising efforts identify with. Even in this most recent video, they refer to Uganda as “relatively safe,” without coming right out and saying that the LRA has not been active in Uganda since 2006.
  • They take sole credit for the advocacy efforts of dozens of people and groups.
  • They simplify the issues in a very mainstream-media sort of way, which can lead to misguided activism.
  • They have never had their finances independently audited, and they have no board of directors. (updated 3/8, apparently they have done audits and have a 4-person board, but have no standing audit committee)
  • Most of all, they have a pretty lousy reputation in Uganda which, to me, is one of the strongest indictments.

And some big guns like the One Campaign (who asked their field staff not to promote Kony 2012 as a representative of One) and the Council of Foreign Relations have either distanced themselves or flat-out shot them down publicly.

Many of the criticisms being leveled against them are bogus. People are crying out about the fact that the top three staffers/founders are each making over $80k. Come on – they are running a $13 million operation, and probably are at it 80 hours per week. That is around average compensation for Executive Directors at organizations with half that budget, and we live in expensive times. If they were working for USAID or the US Embassy in Uganda, they would be making far more, with a benefits package that would blow your mind.

People also complain that they don’t put enough money into programs in Uganda. It is true that they are doing very little on the ground there, but that isn’t actually their main goal. They are a United States lobbying and advocacy group. The problem is, they pretend they are having a huge impact on the ground in Uganda rather than just being honest about it. This is one of the main reasons they aren’t viewed well in Uganda.

They seem to be kids on a joyride who are quite fond of themselves and are very good at what they do, which is media campaigns, not humanitarian work.

And really – is it just me, or is it downright creepy to wear a bracelet with Joseph Kony’s name on it as if he’s your boyfriend?

If Invisible Children would be more honest about what they do and don’t do, if they had a higher financial transparency rating on Charity Navigator, and if they made more of an effort to provide accurate, nuanced information about Africa, I could potentially become a fan since I ultimately support their goal of catching Kony. And really – what am I doing to help? At least they are diving in.

Here are a number of links that dive more deeply into the controversies around IC:

http://siena-anstis.com/2012/03/07/on-invisible-childrens-kony-2012-campaign/
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/should-i-donate-money-to-kony-2012-or-not
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble
http://texasinafrica.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-causes-badvocacy.html
http://innovateafrica.tumblr.com/post/18897981642/you-dont-have-my-vote

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, whether you agree or disagree with me. And feel free to send it on to others so they can add it to the mix of deciding whether or not to become active in the Kony 2012 campaign.

Mark D. Jordahl

Invisible Children Controversy

Kony 2012

Posted by Mark D. Jordahl on March 7, 2012
Posted in: Human Rights, Northern Uganda, Personal Observations, Politics, Regional, Video. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 comments

Invisible Children has come up with another powerful campaign, Kony 2012, and another powerful video that you can view here:

Kony2012.jpg 300x194 Kony 2012

While I am bracing myself for an onslaught of media making it sound like the war is still happening in Uganda, I am thrilled that there will be more awareness of the atrocities committed by the madman, Josephy Kony, and his Lord’s Resistance Army.

I have taken issue with Invisible Children’s perpetuation of the perception that Kony is still active in Uganda and that there are still “night-commuting” children in Gulu. At the same time, I have to give them immense credit and respect for the amount of visibility they have brought to this conflict that now ranges through Central African Republic, Eastern DRC and, by some accounts, South Sudan.

The video makes it seem pretty simple to capture Kony this year, just by keeping the world’s attention on him and keeping the 100 US military advisors in Uganda. I think it will probably be a little more difficult than that, given that the Ugandan army has been trying to defeat the LRA for nearly 3 decades, and the US did participate in a joint operation (Operation Lightning Thunder) in 2008-9 led by the armies of Uganda, South Sudan and DRC without success. The jungles of eastern DRC provide a lot of good hiding places for a small group of 200-or-so rebels, and they have a pattern of dividing up after an attack and re-grouping in a new location, making it even harder to track them down.

That said, I am glad that the United States is finally making a long-term military commitment to stopping such extreme human-rights violations. Also, having the military advisors there means the Ugandan army will have access to top-secret intelligence and military satellite images – things we weren’t likely to just hand over the keys to.

The things Kony forces his child-soldiers to do are beyond horrible, and beyond the comprehension of anyone who hasn’t heard the stories or talked to the children. I have written about some of my own feelings in What If It Was My Son? This is a man that needs to be stopped, and if public awareness around the world is one piece in the puzzle of stopping him, then I hope this video spreads far beyond the 3.5 million views it has had so far.

Mark D. Jordahl

Kony 2012

God, Guns, and Michelle Bachmann

Posted by Mark D. Jordahl on August 19, 2011
Posted in: Articles, Politics. Tagged: , , , . 2 comments

Well, now THIS is one way I never thought life in Uganda and life in the United States would collide.

You have maybe read about Michelle Bachmann‘s right-wing Christian staffer Peter Waldron. Her campaign credits him with leading the faith-based charge in Iowa this year that gave her a slight edge in the straw poll.

As so often seems to be the case with these outspoken preachers, though, he has an ominous back-story. He was arrested in Uganda in 2006 for running guns and ammunition. In a recent article in The Atlantic, Bachmann Staffer Arrested for Terrorism, you can read about the many theories about why he might have had assault weapons in his apartment in Kampala, suspicions of involvement with Congolese terrorists, and even the possibility that he was trying to set up a Christian political party to overthrow President Museveni.

Who knows what his real story is. I happen to know some people who lived near him in Kampala and went to his apartment one evening. The table was covered with pornography, and there were a number of attractive young ladies hanging around. I’m sure he was just talking to them about the evils of pornography.

One way or another, you have to wonder about a campaign that is being driven by people with such creepy backgrounds.

Mark D. Jordahl

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Ugandan Troops in Somalia Indirectly Supported by U.S. Funds

Posted by Mark D. Jordahl on August 11, 2011
Posted in: Articles, Foreign Aid, Politics, Regional. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 comments

Check out this recent article from the New York Times about the role the Unites States continues to play in Somalia: U.S. Relies on Contractors in Somalia Conflict. It’s a tricky tightrope to walk – people in the US vividly remember Black Hawk Down and the failure of our direct military efforts in Somalia in the 90s, but we also realize Al Shabaab is a threat to our security.

Many of our covert military activities abroad seem to involve ways to support wars that are being waged by others (like the Ugandan troops currently fighting in Somalia) while avoiding the domestic political fallout of engaging directly, and also trying not to invoke the vengeance of terrorists who might carry out retribution attacks on Americans.

This reality also complicates the world of foreign aid, which people often forget is designed to support our strategic interests rather than having an exclusively humanitarian goal. We are much more likely to turn a blind eye to Uganda using aid funds in inappropriate ways when they are fighting a war for us in Somalia.

Mark D. Jordahl

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Ugandan Troops in Somalia Indirectly Supported by U.S. Funds