War, Refuge and Self Soldiers, Students and Artists in Kampala, Uganda ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Aula der Universiteit op dinsdag 19 december 2006, te 12.00 uur door Ellen Geraldine Lammers geboren te Roermond Promotores: Prof. dr. J. Th. Schrijvers Prof. dr. Ph. Essed Faculteit der Maatschappij- en Gedragswetenschappen Members of the doctorate commission: Prof. dr. Ton Dietz, University of Amsterdam Prof. dr. Gerd Junne, University of Amsterdam Dr. Gaim Kibreab, South Bank University, London Prof. dr. Achille Mbembe, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Prof. dr. Paul Richards, Wageningen University Prof. dr. Mineke Schipper, Leiden University Printed by Thela Thesis, Amsterdam Cover design Nicole Teuwsen Paintings Vision of Hope by Yosief Endrias Habties, 2006 Portrait d’un Guerrier Traditionel by Daniel Kambere Tsongo, 2004 for Hani, Layla, Malaika, Demere, Amani and Sara may you be children of peace Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................i Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................v PART I ~ CONTEXTS CHAPTER ONE Refugees in Uganda: The Political, Legal and Humanitarian Context .................3 1. HISTORIES OF CONFLICT AND MIGRATION ............................................................................4 1.1 Sudan.................................................................................................................................................4 1.2 The Democratic Republic of Congo............................................................................................9 2. UGANDA....................................................................................................................................................13 2.1 Museveni’s NRA/M: new hope..................................................................................................14 2.2 The NRM government: growing criticism................................................................................15 3. ATTITUDES TOWARD REFUGEE SETTLEMENT: CAMPS AND CITIES.........................18 3.1 Refugees in Uganda ......................................................................................................................18 3.2 Urban refugees...............................................................................................................................19 Motivations for leaving refugee camps ............................................................................................20 The appeal of the city..........................................................................................................................23 3.3 Faults of the camp paradigm.......................................................................................................25 4. REFUGEE LAW, POLICY AND PRACTICE IN UGANDA .......................................................27 4.1 Legislation and status determination..........................................................................................28 The Control of Alien Refugees Act (CARA) ..................................................................................28 Refugee status determination.............................................................................................................30 4.2 Humanitarian and legal aid services for refugees in Kampala ...............................................32 Humanitarian assistance programs ...................................................................................................34 Protection and legal aid services........................................................................................................36 5. CONCLUDING REMARKS ..................................................................................................................37 CHAPTER TWO Young Men in Kampala: Daily Life in Exile...........................................................39 1. URBAN REFUGEES IN KAMPALA ..................................................................................................40 1.1 Numbers.........................................................................................................................................40 1.2 Nationalities ...................................................................................................................................41 1.3 Background, age and gender .......................................................................................................41 2. SURVIVAL IN THE CITY......................................................................................................................43 2.1 Kampala city...................................................................................................................................44 Kampala’s political history and urban economy.............................................................................44 2.2 Shelter..............................................................................................................................................46 Shelter and meanings of home ..........................................................................................................50 2.3 Food ................................................................................................................................................51 Food and dignity..................................................................................................................................56 2.4 Employment...................................................................................................................................58 The jobs they found ............................................................................................................................60 2.5 Security............................................................................................................................................62 Clandestine presence and the risk of arrest.....................................................................................63 Uganda’s foreign politics ....................................................................................................................65 Ethnic and political conflict...............................................................................................................66 3. CONCLUDING REMARKS ..................................................................................................................70 CHAPTER THREE Researching and Writing about War and Exile ...................................................71 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................71 2. DOING RESEARCH: CHOICES AND METHODS.......................................................................73 2.1 Research subjects: choosing and being chosen ........................................................................73 Choice no. 1: young persons..............................................................................................................73 Choice no. 2: young men....................................................................................................................75 Choice no. 3: nationalities ..................................................................................................................77 2.2 Challenges of urban research ......................................................................................................78 Meeting refugees and keeping in touch............................................................................................78 Representativeness?.............................................................................................................................80 2.3 Methodological choices................................................................................................................83 Long-term relationships......................................................................................................................84 Material and financial assistance........................................................................................................87 Advocacy and action ...........................................................................................................................91 3. EXPERIENCE, POWER AND KNOWLEDGE..............................................................................93 3.1 The marginalised?..........................................................................................................................93 3.2 The primacy of experience ..........................................................................................................95 Limits to communicating experiences of war and exile ................................................................95 Non-verbal modes of understanding................................................................................................96 Multiple identification and positionality...........................................................................................97