Are Ugandans subsidizing the war in Iraq?

Uganda and Iraq have a special relationship. Thousands of Ugandans are making the trip to quaint military compounds in cities such as Baghdad and Tikrit in order to make ends meet, something they have trouble doing back home.

This is not exactly breaking news. Back in May 2005, the BBC held a brief forum on a law firm in Kampala that was recruiting young Ugandans to work as gaurds in Baghdad. The following year, reports of Ugandan guards being mistreated by Coalition troops were covered in CorpWatchand Xinhua(also known as the China View), and dismissed in the New Vision. Although the issue did not make headlines in Uganda, it does not seem to go away.

In September this year, the Daily Monitor published a story by David Herbert in which it was revealed that Dreshak International—a leading recruiter of Ugandan guards bound for Iraq—was being sued by disgruntled Ugandans for breach of contract. A few days later Herbert published some interviews with a few of the Ugandans who have been working as private security guards in Iraq. The story was (unknowingly) recycled by The Economist for their October 18th issue.

Let's talk numbers

It is unclear exactly how many Ugandan citizens have worked or are currently working as contract security personnel in Iraq. According to the Herbert article, Dreshak has over 1,000 Ugandan employees in Iraq:

These numbers differ from those cited in a Xinhuaarticle, which puts the number at over 2,000:

By either source, the current number of Ugandans in Iraq is larger than the troop numbers of any member of the multinational force in Iraq save for the U.S., the U.K., and Poland.

Money is the motivator

The recruits are tempted by ads promising salaries in the thousands of dollars. In reality, they make about $1,000 a month. Much of this money is remitted to Uganda where it is used to set up small scale enterprises. This is important for an economy that has few opportunities for even the educated, let alone those who have had little or no schooling.

Most of the recruits are police and army veterans. This is not surprising. Their wages are a joke, their work conditions despicable, and they are treated with contempt wherever they go. It would seem that for most of them then, Iraq is an easy choice.

An African affair

And it is not just the Ugandans that are flocking to Iraq. South Africa, that trusty producer of the fabled soldier of fortune, has been struggling to retain its security personnel. In 2005, the Telegraph reported that South African military began imposing leave restrictions to prevent its officers from seeking unofficial employment in Iraq. That article estimated the number of South Africans in Iraq to be between 5,000 and 10,000 men.

Are Ugandans subsidizing the war on Iraq

With almost 4,000 American soldiers killed in Iraq and approximately a trillion dollars spent, the Americans are feeling the cost of this war.

So far, the military has been willing to outsource some aspects of the campaign to private security companies (Blackwater anyone?). Uganda seems to be one of the most reliable sources of manpower for these firms. At $1,000 a month, our citizens are cheaper than the highly trained western ex-military types who earn as much as $1,000 a day. But there is no indication that these firms are passing on the savings to the U.S. government.

Should this be a political issue?

Even in an election year, this issue would not garner any political attention in Uganda. Those who choose to go and seek their fortune in Iraq do so as individuals; they are not sent by the government. And it's unlike that the families of the recruits will protest their involvement in the war; the families benefit from the remittances sent back to Uganda.

That said, there is no denying that the rulingNRM benefits directly when Ugandans are recruited to work in Iraq. By allowing its unemployed citizens to be recruited in such large numbers, the government is relieved of the burden of having to create 2,000 jobs. This convenience is shared with the rest of the population, after all, no one wants that many unemployed police and army vets looking for something to do. Not in Uganda; not with our history.

And this is what makes the relationship between Iraq and Uganda so very special. On the surface of the matter, it may seem that Ugandans are subsidizing the war in Iraq. But we seem to be getting something in return. Whether we are okay with the exchange, is another matter.