April 15 2012

By the end of second decade of the twentieth century missionary education in Northern Uganda was well under way. This was especially so in the Acholi Sub Region. Two missionary bodies were engaged in opening up educational space throughout Northern Uganda, one Roman Catholic, and the other Anglican Protestantism. The education system they set in motion was within the circumstances and the limitations of the time, a model any country would have been proud of.

For hours they trekked for kilometers in a situation that brought them close to danger.  Given what it was at the time in Northern Uganda, anyone could have shot them dead and that would be that.

Location? A remote corner of a crowded market place, a lonely village road, or perhaps a deserted school yard on a Sunday afternoon; youth must and will always find a way. Now that they have and are there, they size each other up, they let their eyes speak for them. Like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in the thriller in Manila they circle each other round and round. That’s Acholi love.  The way it used to be. Before Kony and the Uganda People’s Defense Force, the UPDF, entered Acholi land and turned the world upside down.

It seems every time that someone of note criticizes the policies of the Israeli government, that person - be he or she a Jew or Gentile - is instantly branded as an anti-Semite. In this way, the Israeli government immediately succeeds in shifting the discussion from its policies to vilifications of others. As a result, many public figures are fearful of speaking out.