The research teams collected data from children in focus groups. They transcribed the data. We have spent some time and energy last week analyzing the data. We are not finished - so the analysis will continue next week.
There are some interesting surprises, but you will have to wait to read the paper about those. Meanwhile, I will say that there have also been some interesting cultural differences in both meaning and experiences. There are things about the work culture for me to get used to, like the relaxed time element, the gracious tea, and the prevalence of men. Then in terms of understanding the children's responses, there are challenges for me. There is a confinement of the term "fighting" to physical acts like boxing, biting, beating, so a much stricter division between quarreling and fighting then we make in the U.S. where fighting is a broader term, but can include quarreling or verbal fighting. Then there are also references to context for which I have no experience - like men with spears. Now, I can kind of conjure up what a man with a spear might be like, but I had no idea what the "pouring" meant. I will leave you guessing on that one! It has been interesting to me to learn how powerful the concept of obedience is.
The location of the two schools are both marked by violence in different ways and eras. The school in the Mackindye district in Kampala is just adjacent to infamous army barracks used during Idi Amin's time for the most cruel of tortures and punishment. Just the name Mackindye has residue of violence of fear. The area is beginning to thrive, but it has taken a long time and many people still think of the area as crime-ridden and violent. The school in Gulu is marked by the war that was in that area. The Lord's Resistance Army was stealing youngsters in the area and turning them into soldiers against their only family. After the cease-fire many of those children had no where to go. Families were in disarray and the stability of the community had been severely shaken. Many of the children at the school are orphans or are members of child-headed households. As such, the school has designated adults to serve as "school-parents for children" and they meet regularly with them to provide advice and emotional support. This violence is much more recent than the Idi Amin violence, but both are in the lifetimes of anyone in my generation.
In fact, as I think about this research, I am struck, by how my own pre-conceptions of Uganda were really marked by these two big eras of violence. Of recent, Uganda has been considered one of the more stable political entities with decreased amounts of warring violence. However, as I write that, there is violence in the western side of the country and in the northeastern Karamajong area.
My friend Jessica Hirshorn posted a saying on her facebook wall a few weeks ago that said "Anything war can do, peace can do better." (If you are singing that phrase it means you know the "Annie Get Your Gun" musical.) As I age, I come closer and closer to the relentless understanding that peace is the higher moral fight. Learning to resolve conflicts without might and force is a big moral challenge for us as humans. It's a moral challenge in relationships, in communities, in nations, and across nations. For me, this research is an opportunity to learn at all levels. It really helps me think about Spiritual Peace, about peace with my loved ones (what does it mean, how do I listen?), peace in my community, peace in my nation, and peace here in Uganda and elsewhere around the world and across the world. I have always been known as a kind person, but I think I really want to move to being known as someone who shares peace, who lives peacefully, and who brings the voice of peace to the conversation. At least, we must consider peace as an option, it seems to me.Not just for the sake of the children, but certainly for the sake of the children.
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