Friends For Peace In Africa

EXAMINING the burned-out remains of dozens of family homes, the actor James McAvoy finally realised the full and shocking enormity of the crisis enveloping northern Uganda. More than 60 families had seen their houses and all their belongings destroyed, as fire ripped through the disease-ridden camp in which they had been forced to live.

Their mud huts with grass-thatched roofs had been built just inches apart to provide them with as much protection as possible from the guerrillas in the region. But this density of flammable material in a domestic setting meant the risk of fire was immense, and the 27-year-old McAvoy was visibly distraught as he spoke to a man who had lost almost everything he owned. The man was searching through the ashes, and salvaged a single earthenware cooking-pot that could be used again. It was the only possession he had left.

McAvoy admits he had expected his visit to be harrowing, but not this bad. He had fallen in love with Uganda after spending two months here filming The Last King of Scotland. But that footage was shot on location in the relatively peaceful south of the country.

McAvoy was determined to try and give something back to the country in which he had worked. So, with the British Red Cross, he has visited the far north to view the humanitarian problems in the region. The United Nations has described this as "the world's most neglected crisis".

McAvoy, who was nominated for a BAFTA for his role in The Last King of Scotland, puts it a little more succinctly. "It's hell... f***ing purgatory," he says.