Lyrics (Translated from Acholi): Kony abducted my child Kony abducted my only child Kony abducted my beloved child I don’t sleep because of the pain of losing my son, my daughter, my sister, my brother and my spouse I leave my door open at night hoping that my loved ones will one day walk through back into my arms Who will give me answers? Who will tell me where my loved ones are? Who can give me information about their fate?
The Justice and Reconciliation Project is pleased to announce the release of Anino Ku, a song performed by the Families of the Missing group in Pece, Gulu and renowned Acholi artist John Oweka.
Anino Ku, which means “I don’t sleep” in Acholi, speaks to the challenges families of persons missing as a result of conflict face in northern Uganda. The Families of the Missing group was formed with the support of JRP in 2013 to rally support for the cause and has conducted community outreaches across Acholi sub-region in the past year to draw attention to the issue.
Anino Ku is released as part of JRP’s Right to Know campaign, which seeks to create awareness about missing persons in northern Uganda. Read more about the campaign here.
Limo Can Tek (of Pupwonya parish) performs a song and drama piece entitled “Kony Dwogo Lutino Gang” (“Kony return our children home”). This scene depicts an abducted person being forced to carry luggage after a rebel attack.
On 16 October 2014, Atiak sub-county headquarters hosted the post-participation event for the ‘Bearing Witness – Dealing with the past to create a better future’ project with the support of USAID SAFE. Through song, dance, poetry and theatre the six victims and survivors groups the Justice and Reconciliation Project worked with in 2014 showcased the post-conflict transition challenges and recommendations for the reconstruction of conflict affected communities that arose during the ten months the memory and truth-telling project was implemented.
See pictures from the event on our Facebook page here.
Members of Limo-can Tek victims’ group in Pupwonya parish, Atiak rehearse for the Bearing Witness post-participation event on 16 October 2014. The event will be held at Atiak sub-county headquarters and will feature song, dance and theatre to highlight post-conflict transition challenges and solutions identified during the project.
Join the community of Atiak on 16 October 2014 at Atiak sub-county head-quarters when it hosts an event to showcase post-conflict transition challenges and discuss recommendations for the reconstruction of conflict affected communities brought forward during the Justice and Reconciliation Project’s memory and truth-telling project, Bearing Witness.
Since the beginning of 2014, supported by USAID-SAFE, JRP has worked with the community in Atiak, Amuru District to pilot an informal storytelling and truth-telling process called Bearing Witness – Dealing with the past to create a better future. During the project, community members have shared their experiences and perceptions during and after conflict through informal story-telling circles and truth-telling dialogues. Bearing Witness marks the first time a community-based truth-telling process, which directly involves different sectors of the community, has been implemented in the region.
To conclude this process, this event will bring together six of the victims’ groups that participated in Bearing Witness, community members as well as key invited stakeholders to interact and share conflict experiences through the use of creative arts. The event will help advocate for victim’s demands for justice, allow for a mutual understanding of common challenges and provide the means to chart a way forward. It will also feature performances of songs, dance, poetry and theatre performances prepared by the participants in the project that depict their conflict memories.
See the programme below:
11:00 am
Participant’s arrival
11:00 – 12:00pm
Spiritual worship – Rt. Rev. Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola II
Welcome remarks – Area LCI
Presentation (song) by Atiak Massacre Survivors Association (AMSA)
Welcome remarks – Chairman LCIII
Opening remarks – Program coordinator JRP
Remarks by Board Chairman – JRP
Opening remarks by USAID SAFE team
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Presentation by Limo-can Tek (song) entitled ‘Kony dwog Lutino gang”
Presentation by Waroco Paco (Ajere dance)
Remarks by sub-county Chief – Atiak sub county
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Presentation by Lagada Yil (song) entitled “Ting ter”
Remarks by Area Councillor V
Presentation by Lacan Penino (song)
Presentation of an account of “Bearing witness” project – Community Mobilisation Team Leader, JRP
Presentation of emerged justice and reconciliation needs and recommendations – Chairman Truth Telling and Reconciliation Committee, Rt. Rev. Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola II
2: 00 – 3:00pm
Presentation by Rubanga tek (drama) entitled “Alany pa mony”
Presentation by Atiak Massacre Survivors Association (AMSA) (Poem) entitled “Lweny labalpiny”
Open discussion – how to deal with legacy of conflict in northern Uganda, how to achieve reconciliation and national unity
“What is our role in post conflict reconstruction” – Moses Odokonyero, Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC)
Presentation by Waroco paco (song)
3: 00 – 4:00 pm
Presentation by Limo-can tek (Drama) entitled “Pyem miny neko paco”
Presentation by Lacan pe nino (Funeral dance)
Remarks by USAID Mission
Remarks by Area MPs
4:00 – 4:30pm
Closing remarks by Guest of honour
Presentation of Otole dance by Lagada yil
MC- Obalo James –Radio Mega
For more information contact Isaac Okwir Odiya: Team Leader Community Mobilisation on Tel: +256 (0) 471433008 /+256 (0) 782509839 or E-mail: iokwir@justiceandreconciliation.com.
A dialogue is conducted in Atiak sub-county as part of the Bearing Witness project.
This year is a significant one for victims and survivors of the LRA/NRA conflict in northern Uganda. It marks the first time a community-based truth-telling process, which directly involves different sectors of the community, has been implemented in the region. Through Bearing Witness: Dealing With The Past To Create A Better Future, the Justice and Reconciliation Project, with support from USAID SAFE, works with communities in Atiak sub-county in Amuru District to foster social cohesion and reconciliation through a project that involves storytelling and truth-telling dialogues.
Atiak was chosen to be the subject of this ground-breaking truth-telling pilot because of the remnants of an infamous LRA massacre in 1995 and the two-decade long conflict in the region that the sub-county faces (Read JRP’s Field Note on the Atiak Massacre here). While active conflict has ceased, the wounds of the massacre and the experiences are far from healed. Since the end of the war, the community has been characterised by ongoing trauma, the stigmatisation of formerly abducted children, identity challenges for children born in captivity, and the issues arising from the reintegration of former combatants. Like most other conflict-affected communities, Atiak also seeks reparations as well as answers about the fate of those that went missing during the war. The question is how national transitional justice processes can be translated into community-centred approaches that are both relevant to the victims and survivors of the conflict and which address the challenges that they face.
Through Bearing Witness, we aim to promote the preservation of conflict memories, healing and reconciliation by creating forums through which communities can share and document their experiences through story-telling and facilitating informal truth-telling processes and dialogues. Because of these sessions, key issues which require interventions to ensure reconciliation and peace in both the community and region have been identified. Victims of conflict and alleged perpetrators have also been able to speak out about their experiences side-by-side.
At the end of this year, a ten member locally elected Truth-Telling and Reconciliation Committee will provide recommendations to local peace structures, local leaders and the community to respond the issues that emerged during the truth-telling dialogues. A joint community theatre carnival event will also be held in Atiak on the 16th of October 2014. This will involve drama, music, dance, poem performances by the participants in the storytelling circles to kick-start the process of addressing injustices and rebuilding relationships between victims and perpetrators, as well as inspire the audience with visions for the future.
Stay tuned to the JRP blog for more updates from Bearing Witness.
The Right to Know communicates the findings of a pilot study done in in Palabek Kal and Palabek Gem sub-counties in Lamwo District, to establish the circumstances under which people disappeared, examine past and present coping strategies used by the affected communities, evaluate surviving families’ needs, and provide recommendations for civil society organisations, the Ugandan government and international actors.
Overview
Increasingly, the missing victims of mass atrocities around the world are being formally recognised as a key impediment to genuine social repair and transitional justice. A recent conference organised by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) found that where a concerted effort was made to locate and identify the missing victims of mass atrocities some of these impediments were overcome. Going forward, the international community now recognises that the missing victims of past and ongoing mass atrocities are an urgent global concern that warrants a structured and sustained response that works in tandem with local government and civil society organisations. As such, the Government of Uganda and Ugandan civil society organisations, in collaboration with relevant sectors within the international community, have a legal and moral obligation to address the missing victims of Uganda’s recent civil war in order to promote genuine social repair and transitional justice in northern Uganda.
In line with these international developments, and building upon its history of working with families affected by the recent civil war, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), in collaboration with the families of the missing, launched the “Right to Know” campaign in 2012 to promote awareness of the plight of the missing and the anguish of their families. JRP has since completed a pilot study in Palabek Kal and Palabek Gem sub-counties in Lamwo District that establishes the circumstances under which people disappeared, examines past and present coping strategies used by the affected communities, evaluates surviving families’ needs, and provides recommendations for civil society organisations, the Ugandan government and international actors.
This policy brief communicates the findings of this pilot study, drawing upon individual interviews and focus group discussions with families of the missing, formerly abducted persons, cultural leaders and local government leaders. These categories of participants were chosen to gain a multidimensional understanding of the lingering challenges faced by northern Ugandans whose lives have been intimately impacted by their missing relatives. Specifically: the needs of the surviving families, their sources of information on the missing, the impact of their search for information on the community, and any cultural or governmental processes that have allowed them to move forward while living with ambiguous loss. It then draws upon outreaches conducted by JRP in communities across northern Uganda to gain a better grasp of the situation.
Key recommendations
This policy brief recommends that the Government of Uganda, in collaboration with the international community and civil society organisations (CSOs) in northern Uganda, should take the following actions:
Formally and publicly acknowledge the missing victims of war and related atrocities in northern Uganda as a prominent obstacle to social repair;
Ensure a comprehensive transitional justice policy framework and subsequent legislation that reaffirms forced disappearance as a crime against humanity and, within this legal prohibition, formally recognises the rights of the missing and their surviving families;
Establish an independent commission on missing persons to collaborate with surviving families to generate a centralised database and oversee search efforts;
Provide economic support and skills training for the families of the missing so they can better overcome their unique economic burdens; and
Support ongoing research in northern Uganda beyond Palabek toward identifying regional particularities related to the needs of families of the missing.
“We leave our doors open at night.” – Families of the missing march on the International Day Against Enforced Disappearances in Gulu, 30 August 2013
As a new intern for the Community Mobilisation department of JRP, one of my first activities was to visit the Pece Missing Persons Group (MPG). I was ready to watch and give feedback to a theatre performance, having no clue as to what I would become witness to. It soon became clear to me that there was much more than preparation for performance taking place. The rehearsals acted as a space for mourning, a space for exploration, a space for bonding & relating to one another. Rehearsals provided a supportive space where the family members of the missing were able to claim their suffering and set aside time to honor this suffering. In an environment where their anguish is belittled, or even denied, this space meant much more than I had originally understood.
The Pece Missing Persons Group (MPG) was formed in March 2013, with around 50 affected family members within Gulu Municipality courageously coming together to break the silence around the MPs issue. In line with the ‘Right to Know’ campaign, JRP’s Community Mobilisation department and the MPG conducted three community outreach events in the month of August, which were attended by local government officials and the general public. The purpose of these outreaches was to use creative performance as an advocacy tool to raise awareness and to generate community dialogue. The three outreaches culminated on August 30th, the International Day Against Disappearances.
The passionate performances of the MPG brought a personal touch to all of these events. In watching the drama, one was taken on a journey of the tireless search for missing children abducted during the war. In listening to the songs, one was invited to feel the intense pain and uncertainty of parents waiting for their missing children. In experiencing the recitation of poems, one was further enveloped by the overwhelming anxiety and grief shared by affected family members and awakened by the pleas ‘for someone to listen, for someone to help’.
There were moments given to those MPG members overcome with emotions to openly grieve during performances. Some members would join in with high-pitched calls, while others buried their faces in their hands. One could not help but hear the wails, see the tears, and, consequently, feel this outward expression of grief. The shared pain among these affected family members was so palpable in these spontaneous outbursts that it spread from performers to audience members, creating an emotional interchange that is so rarely seen in a public space.
Many audience members spoke of being ‘transported’ back to the horrific experiences during the insurgency. The performance also seemed to grant permission for those watching to share their own personal stories and struggles as discussion ensued. The devastating effects of the MPs issue poured out; trauma, suicide, school dropouts, forced family separations, social abuses, loss of rights, etc.
Closely following a desire to know whether loved ones are dead or alive, marked by repeated requests for the creation of a reliable database on the status of the missing, many people demanded compensation from the government to account for the high economic costs of losing family members. The failure of the state to fulfill its duty in protecting its citizens was often cited to justify this demand for compensation. Continued peace talks, the active pursuit of foreign assistance, official recognition of the MPs issue, and a public apology were all presented as government obligations.
Reflecting on the month’s events, I can’t help but feel deeply moved by the MPG. They not only invested their time and energy, both physical and emotional, but also risked immense vulnerability in front of friends and strangers alike. The lengthy and passionate post-performance discussions were a testament to the group’s unyielding dedication to the project.
Against all odds, these affected family members maintain and act on their belief that justice can and will be served. This enduring hope stands as a lesson for us all.
30th August 2013 marks the International Day Against Disappearances. The issue of the disappeared strikes at the core of one of the largest unaddressed legacies of Uganda’s turbulent past. In northern Uganda, as a result of different conflicts, the most recent being the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army, people disappeared in West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso sub-regions. To date, the vast majority of the family members of the missing are unaware about the fate of their loves ones. In most cases, they don’t know whether they are alive or dead.
As the world commemorates the lives of people who disappeared, this August, Justice and Reconciliation Project is highlighting the profiles of persons still missing as a result of conflict in northern Uganda alongside their families and friends, and to ensure that the does not forget about their tragic plight.
MISSING PERSONS PROFILE
Oming Geoffrey was abducted by the LRA from Ngai sub-county in Oyam district when he was 21. He was last seen in 2002 and his brother suggests amnesty as the solution to finding him.
30th August 2013 marks the International Day Against Disappearances. The issue of the disappeared strikes at the core of one of the largest unaddressed legacies of Uganda’s turbulent past. In northern Uganda, as a result of different conflicts, the most recent being the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army, people disappeared in West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso sub-regions. To date, the vast majority of the family members of the missing are unaware about the fate of their loves ones. In most cases, they don’t know whether they are alive or dead.
As the world commemorates the lives of people who disappeared, this August, Justice and Reconciliation Project is highlighting the profiles of persons still missing as a result of conflict in northern Uganda alongside their families and friends, and to ensure that the does not forget about their tragic plight.
MISSING PERSONS PROFILE
Ojok Naman was 14 years old when he was abducted in Aduk village in Oyam District by the LRA. He father simply wishes that his son would return home.
