As a member of the Board of Directors of “Solidarity Uganda”,
I was angry to hear of the arrest and eventual release of Phil & Susan
Wilmot, the founders of “Solidarity Uganda.
Phil is a graduate of Messiah College.
His wife Susan is a native Ugandan.
Phil and Susan met while they both were students in Uganda. The two married and formed “Solidarity Uganda”
in response to the unjust treatment of many poor citizens of Uganda. Phil and Susan were arrested for speaking
out on human rights violations and the mistreatment of Ugandan citizens. Neither, Susan or Phil were ever charged with
a crime, but they still face legal proceedings in the near future. I want to use this space to share a message
from Phil after his arrest:
Not Yet Free: A
Statement from Phi After Arrest
December 13, 2014,
There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in
court, and detest the one who tells the truth.
You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their
grain. Therefore, though you have built
stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush
vineyards, you will not drink their wine.
For I know many are your offenses and how great your sins.
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and
deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil.
My friends, the times are evil indeed, but among you I have
found an exception to this rule. We had
no idea we had enough clout for so many allies (local and international) to
come to our aid like this, which really helped ensure our well-being.
I say “our” – not “my” – because I have spent six days in
cells with three concerned citizens of Uganda who are now among my closest
friends: Okullu Tonny Fred (student), Orach Vincent (neighbor), and Ocen
Ambrose (District Council V, Dokolo). My
beautiful and fearless wife Susan was also held in a cell for about 24 hours
with us.
So although there has been much concern as to why an
American citizen has been detained for more than the legally-alloted 48 hours,
we should be more actively questioning why anybody-man, woman, or youth (yes,
youth) – is being held in inhumane conditions, especially before being
convicted of any crime. Let us shift our
focus to the situation at large, rather than focusing on my personal arrest.
We Are Not Yet Free
While there has been much cause for celebration over our
release on police bond yesterday morning, to begin using terms life “free”
would distort our situation for several reasons:
1)
We are expected to return to Central Police Station
Lira (one of the two places where we were held and interrogated) on December 18th
at 10:00 a.m. local time. At this time,
we will be receiving more information about our case regarding whether we will
be taken to court.
2)
Plain-clothes government authorities are still
following us, especially those attendees of our informal dialogue on
peace-building, human right, public service delivery, and advocacy who were not
present in the meeting at the time of the arrest. Those who have been spending the past week in
cells are actually physically safer than those who have not.
3)
Members of our community have been threatened with
arrest simply for trying to visit us.
How You Can Help
Therefore, we ask all of you to continue monitoring our
situation and help us achieve justice in the following ways:
Support the organization Solidarity Uganda financially at http://solidarityuganda.org/monthly-giving-initiative/. Many resources have been used up during
this time, including large sums for transportation, communication, and
mobilizing various forms of support. We
have had some tremendous support via our friends through GOFUNDME initiative (http://www.gofundme.com/Phil-amp-Susan). This short-term support will help defray
many of the incurred expenses, but the long-term support of monthly donors is
now becoming even more crucial. This is
not something which happened yesterday and will be over tomorrow.
Stay tuned on any possible progress of our case through the
Solidarity Uganda Facebook page to see how you can help. I am hereby appointing a team of Megan
Clapp, Brett Foote, Nathan Richard Sooy, and Oyaka Makmot to streamline
communication with the social media public so that those of us trying to
reorganize our lives after our arrest are not bombarded with messages asking
for basic information which can be received through these individuals.
Share this statement broadly. If you are concerned about who to write to
this point, ask Ambassadoe DeLisi (US Embassy Kampala) to publicly as President
Museveni to uphold Article 29 of Uganda’s consititution, which protects the
rights to Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Speech and Conscience, Freedom to
Protest Unarmed and Peacefully, and Freedom to Form/Join Associations and
Organizations. Let’s use my “American
citizenship privilege” to advocate for justice here, since we know that much
government funding and support in Uganda comes from the US.
In Conclusion
There are many people to thank, but we must not yet formalize
this gratitude. Although our bodies are
not in cells today, the trials we face are far from over. The public support must continue – even grow
– if we are to achieve justice here in Uganda.
While there is still much more to say about all of these matters (which
will indeed be said), it is crucial for many reasons that we return to our
families and reorganize our lives, trying to rest and heal from physical and
psychological troubles we have faced this week. Don’t worry; our stories will be told. Until then, stay engaged. Penetrate the conscience of evildoers. Part from oppression. Protest injustice. Proclaim the truth.
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