Abduction, Recolonization, and Cash
Abduction, Recolonization, and Cash:
The Costs of Literacy in (Post)Colonial, (Post)War Uganda
Michael Wessells, in Child Soldiers, Peace Education, and Postconflict Reconstruction for Peace, suggests that literacy is essential in helping former child soldiers reintegrate into civilian life and build positive futures. In an attempt to assist with former child-soldiers’ reintegration into society, I traveled to Palisa District, Uganda, where I taught 350 children in a one-room-school house. There, I taught literacy skills, which in Uganda consist of English language proficiency in reading, writing and speaking. However, the consequences of their literate development were rather steep, and the costs were many. In this presentation, I explore the costs of literacy for Ugandan children, including:
Cold hard cash: While primary education in Uganda is, in theory, free, many children are unable to attend classes due to lack of finances for such items as books, pens and pencils, and mandatory uniforms (without which, students are not allowed into the classroom). Secondary education is a luxury that few can afford, but, as one student stated, “Without education, I have no chance of a good future; I will become only a digger.”
Recolonization: All formal education in Uganda is conducted in English, therefore, Ugandans must adopt the language of their colonizers. To be successful in this setting, they also adopt pseudo-British sensibilities at the expense of their tribal heritage.
Abduction: In Uganda, seventy-five percent of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is comprised of abducted children. Many of these children were/are abducted from the classroom or on the way to school because LRA leaders intentionally prey on school children, assuming that they are intelligent and will make better soldiers.
In choosing to live in the village with my students, I was able to develop relationships that are ongoing. In this presentation, I will share my personal experiences teaching students who, regardless of the cost, are desperate to obtain “those skills, knowledge, and practices that are needed to function successfully” (Freire). I will also supplement my presentation with photographs of and writings by my students.