Tag Archives: Community Mobilisation

#CommunityVoices: Missing Persons Profile – Odongo Dennish

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

Odongo Dennish was 12 years old when he was abducted by the LRA rebels from CUT “A”, in Ngai sub-county in Oyam District. During the war, his photos and belongings were destroyed and today his mother requests the government to follow up the issue off missing persons.

Odong Denish (pdf)

 

#CommunityVoices: Missing Persons Profile – Obot Quinto

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

Obot Quinto was 21 years old when he was abducted by the LRA from Ngai sub-county in Oyam district in Lango sub-region. He was last seen in 2003. His father requests the government or any other stakeholder to continue with the search for his son and other missing persons.

Obot Quinto (pdf)

#CommunityVoices: Missing Persons’ Profile – Anyango Betty

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

Anyango Betty was 15 years old when she was abducted by the LRA from Ngai sub-county in Oyam district in Lango sub-region in 1999. Her brother Oyel Denis wants amnesty to be implemented so that missing persons like Betty can return home safely.

Anyango Betty (pdf)

#CommunityVoices: Missing Persons Profile – Oto Alfancio

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 – 

Oto Alfancio was last seen in Ngai sub-county in Oyam district when he was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army at only 15 years old. It has been 11 years since he went missing and his father, Odwar Richard, continues to search for answers to the whereabouts of his son.

Below is Alfancio’s Missing Persons Profile including contact information and a message from his father:

Oto Alfancio (pdf)

#CommunityVoices: God Is Not Fair At All (Part Two)

In the last #CommunityVoices the vehicle Atiku George was travelling in attacked and looted by rebels. After being hospitalised for months, Atiku was left in a wheelchair. We continue his story here.

As if that was not enough, while Atiku was just trying to pick up the pieces of his life, another tragedy befell him. On 8th March 2005, at 11pm after celebrating the international women’s’ day, the rebels attacked Dzaipi village killing and abducting an unknown number of people. It is common practice in the area that during dry seasons, most of the villagers prefer to sleep outside their houses on the compound as a way of dealing with the heat. It was during such a period when the rebels came and chopped the sleeping villagers using pangas and axes to death. The rebels attacked the home of George, killed his sister, tortured two of his sons Owala Nickson and Yata Dominic and abducted his 14 year old daughter Dorothy Onziya who is still missing up to date.

“This incident has really twisted my life in a wrong way,” laments Atiku as he thinks about the impact it has had on his life. Initially a wealthy business man, he lost all his property and money during the attack and on hospital bills making it difficult to take care of his family and pay fees for his children. Yet he requires medical attention as his remaining leg is continuously becoming week because of the foreign fragments that entered during the land mine attack. One month after the memorial, on our way to Adjumani, we learnt that Atiku is now bed ridden as his surviving leg has become to swollen with lots of pain. This requires surgery which he cannot afford. His two sons who were tortured by the rebels have since failed to recover and are having mental problems that has hindered them from going to school. Atiku is constantly traumatised and depressed because of his loss yet he does not know the fate of his daughter Dorothy.

“Honestly the rebels killed my sister, abducted my daughter whom I even don’t know whether is alive or dead. Then I have two mentally ill children as a result of the torture by the rebels whom I have to take care of in the state I am in. God is not fair at all.”

Atiku desperately wishes to get information about the fate of his daughter. “The loss of my daughter who is unaccounted for drives me crazy; I need accountability for my daughter,” he says. He hopes that government can compensate him for the loss of property to enable him to start a small business that can facilitate him to take care of his home and pay fees for his children.

“These children need to go to school yet I am their father and I cannot meet their needs,” laments Atiku. Because of the disability, he cannot do any heavy work and yet he requires urgent medical attention for a surgery to save his remaining leg and his life as he lies bedridden in his house.

Unlike other LRA affected areas such as in Acholi, Lango and Teso, in West Nile and specifically Adjumani District, there exist no civil society initiatives to help these communities recover from the effects of the conflict. It is no wonder that during the memorial prayers, Fr. Rapheal Ayiga, the parish priest of Dzaipi presented a memorandum to the Woman Member of Parliament for Adjumani district appealing for government and civil society intervention in the district to help the victims of conflict. He specifically mentioned the need for a rehabilitation centre in the sub county to support survivors like Atiku to aid their recovery. It’s my hope and prayer that victims like Atiku will find answers to the immense challenges that they are facing as a result of conflict in northern Uganda.

#CommunityVoices collects; preserves and makes accessible personal and collective accounts on experiences and highlights transitional challenges of communities affected by decades of conflict in northern Uganda. It’s our hope that this blog will serve as a medium for communities to share their experiences and for the public to appreciate the transition challenges that they go through

#CommunityVoices: God Is Not Fair At All (Part One)

41 year old Atiku George lives in Izapi village, Dzaipi sub-county of Adjumani District in West Nile. The only person in the congregation with a wheel chair because of her disability, Atiku had come to attend a memorial prayer organised by St. Peters’ Dzaipi Catholic Parish on 18th May 2013, to honour those who were killed during the insurgency in Adjumani and West Nile and to pray for the return of those who are still held in LRA captivity and for the victims of the conflict. Being the first memorial prayer of its kind in the district and probably in West Nile sub region as a whole, Atiku was visibly emotional as the congregation marched to lay wreaths on the graves of those who were killed and buried in the church, one of whom was his sister. However, it was not only because of his sister that tears were rolling down his face, but Atiku was remembering all the suffering he has had to face to date in the hands of the rebels.

Before 2005, Atiku was a prominent business man in the area, who used to trade in general merchandise. He would acquire goods from Kampala or Gulu and resell at a profit in Adjumani town and Dzaipi. On the fateful day of 16th May 2002, while he was on his way to Adjumani from Gulu, where he had gone to purchase goods for his business, the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by a landmine planted by the rebels in an ambush as they were approaching Pawel, just before Attiak on Gulu-Adjumani road.

“The road was too muddy because it had rained a lot, so the driver decided to dodge the muddy area and pass through the water that had logged. Unfortunately the LRA rebels had planted land mines in the water.”

The vehicle and its goods were scattered from the effects of the land mine, the rebels who were hidden in the nearby bush immediately started shooting and looting the items. Out of 15 people in the vehicle, 13 were killed on spot while Atiku and another person survived. On seeing the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers approaching the scene, the rebels carried the looted luggage and run away. With the help of the UPDF soldiers, Atiku and the other surviving passenger were taken to Lacor hospital. Because of the injuries he sustained, he stayed in Lacor hospital for four months after which he was transferred to Mulago hospital in Kampala where he spent another six months. This was one of the most trying moments for Atiku, as he lost his left leg during the attack and now has to move with the aid of a wheel chair.

#CommunityVoices collects; preserves and makes accessible personal and collective accounts on experiences and highlights transitional challenges of communities affected by decades of conflict in northern Uganda. It’s our hope that this blog will serve as a medium for communities to share their experiences and for the public to appreciate the transition challenges that they go through

#CommunityVoices: I Need Social Security for my Grand Children (Part 2)

In the last #CommunityVoices,  we began the story of mama Lwiji, whose grandson was abducted by the LRA and inadvertently led the rebels to his family’s home when he escaped.  The community’s story continues below…

Alum mama Oryema
Mama Oryema

As mama Lwiji was being beaten, other rebels gathered members in the village, (mainly the adults as they believed that the rebels would only target the young ones who had gone into hiding) and brought them to her compound. They started beating the people gathered using an axe and massacred 17 people in total, killing 15 on spot, while the other 2 died later after they failed to access medical help in time.

A short young man killed my husband and many other people in my marital home. I survived because I made an alarm “agee we” that identifies me to my birth clan. They asked where I come from, I told them that I come from Alokolum and they told me I would survive with my co-wife because I am not a member of this place by birth.

Mama Oryema, a survivor

Seven of the deceased were from mama Lwiji’s home while ten from a neighbouring clan known as Nam- awal. Since then the relationship between the two clans has soared as they blame mama Lwiji’s family and clan for the misfortune brought to them by her grandson. In the Acholi tradition, blame was not apportioned to the individual who is believed to have committed the offence but collectively to his clan. The following paragraph as narrated by Doreen, one of mama Lwiji’s grandchildren shows the complexities of transition challenges faced by many families/communities in northern Uganda;

We started experiencing problems right away when the incident occurred; the clan members of Nam-awal robed our family taking away goats, bicycles and utensils which they claimed that they will use to bury their beloved ones who were killed because of us. They want compensation for all the people who died. Disunity has also cropped in our family as survivors have abandoned the home. Land boundary conflict is now very common among children who lost their parents in the massacre. Parents of Olanya are living in isolation with fear that they can easily be attacked by clan members who lost their dear ones since their son caused them death. Some of the children who lost both parents have become helpless and abandoned the village, gambling in urban centres.

Doreen Acayo, mama Lwiji’s granddaughter.

Olanya, who watched the rebels kill members of his family from his hiding place, self exiled himself to another community for 14 years only to return in 2011. He has since apologised to the clan members and asked to be forgiven, but members of Nam awal clan insist that his clan should pay compensation for all the people who were killed yet they cannot afford this payment. The family members pray that government comes up with a programme to help such families to facilitate reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. Mama Lwiji furthers requests government to ensure that this programme also takes care of orphans as a result of the conflict like her grandchildren and provide for them social security that will enable them to achieve a better future.

It’s therefore important that the transitional justice policy development process that is taking shape at national level pays attention to these complexities and daily transition challenges affecting communities emerging from the more than two decade conflict. The policy will only be relevant if it addresses such and other concerns of conflict affected communities.

#CommunityVoices collects; preserves and makes accessible personal and collective accounts on experiences and highlights transitional challenges of communities affected by decades of conflict in northern Uganda. It’s our hope that this blog will serve as a medium for communities to share their experiences and for the public to appreciate the transition challenges that they go through

#CommunityVoices: I Need Social Security for my Grand Children (part 1)

#CommunityVoices

#CommunityVoices collects; preserves and makes accessible personal and collective accounts on experiences and highlights transitional challenges of communities affected by decades of conflict in northern Uganda. It’s our hope that this blog will serve as a medium for communities to share their experiences and for the public to appreciate the transition challenges that they go through.

Mama Lwiji
Mama Lwiji

85 year old Abalo, referred to as mama Lwiji in her home in Got-ringo village, Alero Sub County in the present Nwoya District describes her challenges while struggling to take care of her grand children who were left with her as orphans amidst a protracted inter-clan conflict following a massacre that claimed the lives of seventeen people while she was watching.

Mama Lwijis’s grandson Olanya was abducted by the LRA rebels in 1996, but after a week he escaped from captivity the rebels followed him and killed 17 people claiming that Olanya escaped with their money. This incident has since caused intense conflict between mama Lwiji’s clan and another clan where ten of the deceased persons come from, yet mama Lwiji was left to care and fend for orphans whose parents were killed. This is a story that illustrates some of the complexities of post conflict northern Uganda which transitional justice processes should pay attention to.

As the month was coming to an end in September 1996, Olanya – in his early teens at the time – was home repairing the structure that housed his pigeons when the rebels caught him unawares. As a young boy, he was abducted together with other children found in the area and taken to the nearby rebel camp. While in the bush, the rebels entrusted Olanya with the looted items including money as they went on with their business. One week later, noticing this as a window of opportunity to escape, Olanya immediately took advantage and ran away with the bag containing the rebel’s money.

On this fateful day at 3:00pm on 30th September 1996, when he successfully escaped from the rebels, Olaya ran home to inform his relatives about his escape and the possible retaliation by the LRA. Indeed it was common practice by the LRA during the peak of the conflict to retaliate and punish the family or community of an abductee whenever he/she escapes. Heavier punishments such as killing were given for an escape with any LRA property like guns or money. Indeed the rebels did not waste time in following the escapee. While being interrogated by the rebels at her home, mama Lwiji who tried to protect her grandson by denying knowledge of his escape quickly received heavy beating from the rebels when they saw Olanya’s sandals at her door.

Read part 2 in the next installment of #CommunityVoices.

Introducing #CommunityVoices

#CommunityVoices                

“Experiencing Conflict in Northern Uganda”       

Years after the guns fell silent in northern Uganda; communities affected by conflict find themselves in a unique stage of transition with very different needs, interests and questions. One thing for sure is that each individual, family or community experienced the conflict in a unique, individual way; no two stories are the same.

#CommunityVoices collects; preserves and makes accessible personal and collective accounts on experiences and highlights transitional challenges of communities affected by decades of conflict in northern Uganda. It’s our hope that this blog will serve as a medium for communities to share their experiences and for the public to appreciate the transition challenges that they go through.

It will highlight a series of stories of missing persons, abduction, torture, child soldiers, children born in captivity, massacre experiences, etc. while the bulk will focus on the LRA conflict, experiences from other conflicts in the region such as UNRF II, WBF, HSM, Cilil among others will also be featured in upcoming weeks.