A Look Back

This evening, I leave the country of Uganda. It’s hard to say at this point how the past 4 months have changed me or what I will miss. I believe that these realizations will come more gradually as I am reacquainted to those things which were formally my norm. As a way to look over my experience here, I return to the very first journal entry I wrote on the plane rides that brought me to this country:

23/24 January
Somewhere over the Great Britain

“How will the next 3 1/2 months pass? Have I learned enough from Tamale, Ghana and will I open myself enough this time? How will this affect my studies, my pursuits, my life?...

Challenge: Find the beauty, ingenuity, expertise, uniqueness, and inspirational qualities of Uganda. Don’t be angered, saddened or frustrated by that which does not match your standards. Use your discomfort as a reflecting pool to determine the source of your discomfort, to give insight into the culture, your culture, and yourself.

I am here foremost to listen, observe and learn. Too many people come to this continent to “teach” and “help.” At the moment it is quite possible that the most help I can do is to listen and learn. Too often action is prized without the vital qualification of understanding. What can I bring back from this country that can benefit and improve people all over the world?

Q: Why Africa?
A: I want to challenge global perception of this continent. How is it that this huge continent which is where humanity began can be condensed in a few hundred years of history and one great land mass? Why is its culture condensed to dance, song, violence, superstition and death?

There is so much here for the rest of the world to learn, but we’re too busy dictating “development” plans to take the time to evaluate what exactly is to be “developed” and to what end.”
_

So did I meet my challenge? Again, it’s hard to say while I still am in the country and when I am preoccupied with the thought of seeing my family and friends back home so soon. I would say that I am happy with what I have learned and experienced in the country and that as a whole, the experience was much more positive than that in Tamale. I am proud of my final paper on persons with albinism and the research that I was able to perform. Outside of the academics, I am happy that I was able to learn how to live and feel comfortable in a foreign country. So far, I have no regrets except for not learning how to cook more Ugandan food. I would count such a trip a success. However, the real success comes from translating this experience into daily life back in the U.S. (and of course doing this without becoming a self-righteous and pretentious snob).

Here goes...

"Oppression Through Omission: The Case of Persons with Albinism in Uganda"

The following is the abstract from my research paper completed for my final grade. I wish I could somehow post the whole paper, but if you are interested in reading it, please email me at allenk@beloit.edu.




The condition of albinism within the context of Eastern Africa presents a puzzling and troubling question to the Human Rights community: how does a state protect a marginalized minority that is undefined by Human Rights statutes? This paper looks into what the specific and unique challenges are facing persons with albinism, particularly in Uganda, and how current Human Rights documents do and do not address those issues. The paper also explores the possible reasons why the issues surrounding albinism are only recently being discussed.

The paper incorporates interviews from a variety of relevant authority figures, selected by their work with albinism, disabilities, and/or human rights. The researcher familiarized herself with a broad range of Human Rights documents, using the most relevant to explain their limitations in addressing the issue of albinism in East Africa. Publications regarding the issues of albinism in recent years were used within the primary stages of the research. They proved less helpful later on, as most available information is regarding the hunting of albino persons in Tanzania, Burundi and the Congo.

Persons with albinism are particularly vulnerable in East Africa due to a combination of environmental and sociological factors, which have served to repress this group and prevent mobilization. Since most of the challenges faced by albino persons are not directly caused by their medical condition, it is difficult to define these persons within a specific category. Vulnerable groups such as race categories and minorities are unable to incorporate the biological aspect of albinism. In researching the possibility of fitting Albinism under the disability category, the researcher found an interesting discordance between international and domestic disability theory, which prevents albinism from being officially recognized as a disability in Uganda. Most of the problems facing persons with albinism can be linked to a lack comprehensive and accessible information on albinism that is currently available.