Endurance

The daily prayers blaring through the quad-directional loudspeakers at the local mosque called the faithful at 5:30 a.m. to arise and pray.  We are already awake, thank you very much, but we appreciate the reminder to pray, albeit directed through an alternate mediator.  And pray we did before we resumed the work at the prison.

A colleague of mine at the law school, Bernie James, sends out a Daily Word message with timely reminders and encouraging thoughts.  Before breakfast, I read Tuesday’s particularly apt version entitled “Endurance” and thought I would share it with the group before we set out.  Over breakfast, Jessie asked me if I subscribed to Professor James’ Daily Word.  She does as well and concurred that we should start the morning group meeting with it.  So we did.

Here is an excerpt:

“God’s mercies are new every day.  The promise most overlooked by believers is the assurance that Jesus keeps his own safe and “the evil one cannot harm them.” [1 John 5:18].

Therefore, endurance is my goal: to take care and be watchful.  Victory is not to the swift nor to the strong, but to those who persevere.  I am vulnerable when I let my guard down.  Thoughts and fears of what the future may bring is harassment from the evil one when he sees me weak and inattentive.

Jesus is keeping me.  This is my security and my rest.”

Endurance was, indeed, the word of the day, and God gave it to us in abundance.

Also that morning, one of our number had been stricken with a recurring wave of “Technicolor-return-to-sender” yawns.  Apparently, I was all cried out from yesterday because I was able to lead the morning prayer without heaving sobs.  We added our ailing team member to the prayer list, and continued to pray for the situation to which I alluded yesterday.  (Our prayers were answered in short order – the yawns subsided soon thereafter and the other situation has taken a decided turn for the better, though there is still lots of work for God to do for this to be resolved in a way that protects the best interests of the child at issue).

Our group again reformed into teams, with a few teams heading back to prison and a few staying behind to turn out final summary briefs.  Like yesterday, David led the group he and I were co-leading and continued to liaise with the prison officials, while I stayed behind and created forms and templates that would be used in the mediation/plea discussions that are set to begin Thursday afternoon.  David is truly the glue holding this entire enterprise together and is deftly managing the relationships with the exceedingly grateful prison staff.

In the late morning, I met with the judge to provide him his daily update.  He continues to offer us encouragement and gratitude.  I also met with the head prosecutor to brief him on the day’s progress.  I brought with me a sample draft of the summary brief the prosecution and defense lawyers will be getting for each case.  We created a snazzy cover page (originally designed by John Napier in January of 2010) with a photo of the accused and all of the docketing and police file numbers.  He didn’t even try to hide his pleasure with what we had prepared – he was quite impressed and eager to receive the full set of briefs.  (In addition to assisting the lawyers in resolving the cases on which we are working, we also hope to provide them with a set of forms and procedures they can utilize on a going-forward basis after we leave).

Meanwhile, back at the prison, three of the groups powered through the interviews, including a series of cases involving multiple defendants and allegations of ritual killings.

Telling us their stories

Post Interview Group Photo

Periodically, the warden reported to David that additional inmates have decided to take responsibility for what they have done and want to plead guilty to the offenses with which they are charged.  There are now more than 40 who have come forward, in addition to the 56 cases we are handling, which consists of a mix of those confessing to their crimes and those steadfastly maintaining their innocence.  We are so tempted to add this additional 40 to the group so we can increase the number of those who receive immediate access to justice, but because we don’t have the police files for those cases, we are unable to prepare adequate summary briefs.  We hope and pray that the templates and procedures we have developed this week will carry over into the coming weeks as the Uganda lawyers with whom we are working take ownership of this process.

After lunch, about half of our group fulfilled an earlier promise David and I had made to the warden of the Fort Portal Remand Home to come and visit the children detained there.  Uganda runs five juvenile remand homes that house those from 12 to 17 who have been arrested while they wait for trial.  The remand home here in Fort Portal is well run and managed, and the Resident Judge (the one with whom we are working) keeps the cases moving through the system reasonably quickly.  Nevertheless, many kids are imprisoned for six months or more while the investigation and case preparation moves forward.

Currently, there are 24 kids there – 22 boys and 2 girls.  The warden informed us that of the 24, 4 have already been sentenced and are awaiting transport to the Rehabilitation Center where they will serve the remainder of their time, 2 have been released and are awaiting their resettlement to home, and 1 is there under a care and protection order – she was abducted in Kampala and brought to Fort Portal.  She will testify next week against her kidnapper and then will be sent home to her family.  She is 12.

After a quick tour of the well-kept facility, we went to meet with the juveniles.  One by one, we introduced ourselves.  After each of us finished, they clapped or said some things in their local language.  The warden would interpret — “you are welcome” or “thank you for coming.”  When we came to Jessie, she told them about some of the challenges she faced when she was their age, and that she spends lots of time in juvenile prisons in the United States teaching them and leading a Bible study.  She told them she would be praying for them.  When she finished, they started chattering and clapping.  The warden laughed and said, “they say they love you very much.”

When we finished, it was their turn.  We went around the room as they stood and told us their names, ages, and home villages.  They then asked if they could sing for us.  Twenty-five minutes later, they had sung about eight songs as a full group, as small groups, and as individual performers, often seasoning things with a bit of local dance.

Next, it was game time.  They love to play “football” and a few of us agreed to join in.  The soccer ball I bought for them in March is well worn, but still holding air.  While the others got started with the game, the warden and I went back to her office to discuss a few things in private.

For starters, I wanted to know when the two kids were released and why they hadn’t been resettled yet.

“They were released by the court on May 27^th, but we have no fuel to take them back to their home villages.  They come to my office every morning and ask if today is the day they will see their families again.”

“When do you expect to receive funds from Kampala for resettlement?”

“We don’t know when the funds will come.  The Ministry doesn’t have any funds, but they said maybe by the end of this month.”

I have grown to trust this warden and I have experienced firsthand the challenges to which she alluded with the timeliness of fund disbursement.  I also knew who might be able to help.

Sixty Feet is an American NGO that for more than two years has been delivering medical care, psychological and spiritual counseling, material aid, and hope to Uganda’s imprisoned children.  They have also been funding the J-FASTER juvenile justice work on which David and I (and others) have been working in an effort to expedite the delivery of justice to Ugandan kids.  They are truly an extraordinary group of God-fearing and child-loving individuals who repeatedly demonstrate their unending compassion.  Check out their website here.

Well, after a quick phone call, the two kids who have been “free” for two weeks will now actually be taken home by end the of the week, thanks the to the generosity of Sixty Feet.  I can’t wait to tell them when we return to the remand home Thursday afternoon.

After my meeting with the warden, I joined the soccer game.  To the consternation of all in attendance, I was assigned to the “skins” team.  One of the kids was kind enough to tell me how to say “Great White Belly” in Rutooro.  My team came in second.  We lost 1-0, and the decisive goal was scored by Sixty Feet intern Aaron Murphy, whom we are lobbying hard to enroll at Pepperdine this fall, rather than the school on East Coast he is currently scheduled to attend.

Back at the hotel, the teams pressed dug deep into their well of endurance and worked late into the night preparing the summary briefs.

Nicole and Johnny hard at work

Dana and Harrison cajoling the printer into staying with us