Tag Archives: Let’s Talk Uganda

Let’s Talk, Uganda brings dialogues to Lango sub-region

A man participates in a 'Let's Talk, Uganda' dialogue in Gulu on 3 September 2016. Claire Kahunde/Justice and Reconciliation Project.
A man participates in a ‘Let’s Talk, Uganda’ dialogue in Gulu on 3 September 2016. Claire Kahunde/Justice and Reconciliation Project.

PRESS RELEASE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

BARLONYO, LIRA- Following three previous public dialogues in Acholi, Let’s Talk, Uganda is heading to Lango sub-region this September to hold conversations about justice and reconciliation in post-conflict Uganda.

The first dialogue in Lango will be held on Thursday, 22 September 2016, in Barlonyo village in Lira district. A similar event will be held the following day, 23 September, in Lira town at Lira Municipal Council Hall.

Let’s Talk, Uganda dialogues aim to give space for these communities to engage in discussion on peace, truth-telling and reconciliation. It combines the innovative use of social media and traditional forms of dialogue to allow Ugandans, with a focus on the youth, to access different viewpoints on transitional justice.

The discussions during both dialogues will be relayed on the internet through a Let’s Talk, UgandaFacebook and Twitter pages, as well as the Let’s Talk, Uganda website, letstalk.ug. A special WhatsApp number has also been created to allow people from across Uganda to interface.

The dialogues in Barlonyo and Lira follow similar events in Lukodi on 2 June, 2016, Odek on 28 July and in Gulu on 3 September. In each area, the innovative approaches by the initiative to facilitate conversation has been welcomed.

Ojok Michael, a sub-county chief in Odek, said: “We embrace this new approach to disseminating information about what happened and the experiences of communities after war through the emphasis of the youth and the internet. The word is now a global village.”

Justin Ocan, a community member of Lukodi who participated in dialogues in Lukodi and Gulu: “[Let’s Talk, Uganda] will help people know what happened during the war,” he says, “The world will become aware of what should have been done.”

To join the conversation, people can follow the Let’s Talk, Uganda Facebook page at fb.me/letstalkuganda, twitter handle @talk_ug, use the hashtag #LetsTalkUganda or send comments or questions to a WhatsApp number at +256 782 112 002.

About Let’s Talk, Uganda

Let’s talk Uganda is a project being run jointly by the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) and RNW Media with the aim of engaging people in northern Uganda and Kampala in  dialogue, with a focus on the youth, on issues faced by the post conflict societies in order to promote understanding and reconciliation, furthering the transitional justice process in Uganda.

Contact: Oryem Nyeko, Communications and Advocacy Team Leader, JRP onyeko@justiceandreconciliation.com

Let’s Talk, Gulu

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Join the conversation on justice and reconciliation in Gulu.

On Saturday, 3 September 2016, Let’s Talk, Uganda will be holding a dialogue in Gulu to talk about peace, justice and reconciliation in post-conflict Uganda. This dialogue follows similar events in Lukodi and Odek, where people talked about issues that face them to further the transitional justice process in Uganda.

The discussion this Saturday will highlight some of the previous discussions, while including voices from outside of Gulu using our social media platforms and radio.

How you can join the conversation:

  • If you’re in Gulu, join us at Gulu District Council Hall opposite Bank of Uganda at 10 AM.
  • Listen to Radio Rupiny (95.7 FM in Gulu and 98.1 FM in Lira) for a live broadcast of the dialogue
  • Share your views on the Let’s Talk, Uganda Facebook page – me/LetsTalkUganda or on twitter @talk_ug
  • We’ll also be giving live updates on the Let’s Talk, Uganda website letstalk.ug, so check back here for details.

We hope to see you there!

Reintegration of children born of war thanks to family reunions

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The two-decade war in northern Uganda was characterised by various forms of sexual violence against women, such as rape, sexual exploitation and forced marriage. Many children were born as a result of these crimes, and this has had a profound effect on women. Now that a relative peace has returned to the region, one of the ongoing reintegration challenges is dealing with the identity of the children who were born in captivity or a result of sexual violence. Many of their patrilineal ties are unknown. But in Acholi culture, like in many areas in Uganda, a child’s identity is linked to his or her father. In addition, many of these children are now constantly asking their mothers and other family members about their identity and the whereabouts of their fathers.

The children find that not knowing their home is a painful aspect of their sense of identity. In Acholi culture, children are born into their paternal family and thus acquire the identity of that clan. Additionally, boys can expect to inherit land from their fathers in order to establish their own families. In Acholi culture, knowing one’s “home” (paternal village) is an integral component of social belonging, according to a Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) field note on children born in captivity (2015). Family members are part of the child’s well-being and therefore play an important role in reintegration. Family connections often provide comfort, key survival resources and a sense of belonging. This has made family reunions an important aspect of reintegration for children born in captivity and their mothers. Family reunions do not only help in reintegrating the children but also contribute to the reconciliation process in communities. Many families acknowledge that, according to cultural and social norms,children should know and have a relationship with their paternal lineage.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

According to research conducted since 2005 by JRP among women who were affected by war, the issue of children’s identity is an important justice issue. When the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) was formed in 2011, one of its objectives was to advocate the promotion and respect of the rights of children who were born during the war and/or born as a result of forced marriages involving women who had been abducted. Children’s identity was one of the issues that WAN raised in a petition to the Ugandan parliament in 2014. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in November 1989, states that a child should be cared for by his or her parents and that children should preserve their identity, including family relations.

Reuniting children with their paternal or maternal relatives is a way to rebuild life and relations after conflict for both women and children. Some of the reasons that women give for the importance of reuniting children with their families include pressure from children who have grown up and want to know their relatives, access to land for children born of war, supporting children born in captivity to get to know their relatives and thus avoid incest in future, obtaining family support for children born of war and supporting children born of war have a sense of belonging and identity.

Challenges of the reunion process

The family reunions are not always easy to arrange. One peculiar challenge in the reunion process has been use of pseudonyms by commanders. In addition, people who were abducted often concealed their real identities in order to protect their families from retaliation by the LRA for alleged “mistakes” that they had made. This has made it difficult, in some instances, to locate the homes or relatives of the children.

Since 2011, WAN and JRP have reintegrated numerous children with their paternal and maternal families. From January to July of 2016 alone, nine children were reunited with their paternal families. This has enabled children and their mothers to rebuild their lives. Families have also been able to reconcile for the sake of the children.

Nancy Apiyo is a project officer in the Gender Justice Department of the Justice and Reconciliation Project.

This article was originally published on Let’s Talk, Uganda.

Let’s Talk, Uganda heads to Odek

A woman speaks during a dialogue in Lukodi village, Bungatira sub-county.
A woman speaks during a dialogue in Lukodi village, Bungatira sub-county.

 

PRESS RELEASE THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2016

GULU – Today Let’s Talk, Uganda will hold its second community dialogue in Odek, a sub-county in Omoro district, combining the innovative use of social media with offline discussion.

The dialogue aims to give space for the community of Odek to engage in a discussion and hear different viewpoints on transitional justice, peace, truth-telling and reconciliation. The opinions expressed in Odek and online will be shared through dedicated social media pages on Facebook and Twitter to facilitate conversation. A special WhatsApp number has also been created to allow people from across Uganda to take part.

This is the second Let’s Talk, Uganda dialogue, following one in the village of Lukodi in Gulu on 2 June. Like in Lukodi, the people of Odek have welcomed the initiative and expressed their commitment to support it.

Odek sub-county chief Ojok Michael said: “We embrace this new approach to disseminating information about what happened and the experiences of communities after war through the emphasis of the youth and the internet. The word is now a global village.”

The chair of Kica Ber, a survivors group in Odek, Lakwo Nyero Partick Sila, also said: “[The dialogue] will help people outside to know of Odek and the LRA war. Awareness will be created and the minds of people will be changed.”

“It will give time to people to express their opinion. People have no platforms and avenues to express their opinions,” he said.

The dialogue in Odek itself will centre around four topics chosen by people from Odek:

  • Is there peace in the community?
  • How can the voices of the community be heard?
  • Can truth telling bring change?
  • How can we challenge the negative perceptions of Odek?

To join the conversation at Odek, interested participants are asked to follow the Let’s Talk, Uganda Facebook page at fb.me/letstalkuganda, twitter: @talk_ug or send comments or questions to the WhatsApp number at +256 782 112 002.

About Let’s Talk, Uganda

Let’s talk Uganda is a project run jointly by the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) and RNW Media with the aim of engaging people in northern Uganda and Kampala in a dialogue, with a focus on the youth and issues faced by post-conflict societies. The aim is to promote understanding, reconciliation and the transitional justice process in Uganda.

Lukodi: justice and reparation can bring healing and reconciliation

A man speaks during a dialogue in Lukodi village, Gulu on 2 June 2016. Credit: Niklas Jakobsson/Let's Talk, Uganda
A man speaks during a dialogue in Lukodi village, Gulu on 2 June 2016. Credit: Niklas Jakobsson/Let’s Talk, Uganda

On the 19 May 2004, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) raided the village of Lukodi, and carried out a massacre that led to the deaths of over sixty people. Lukodi village is located seventeen kilometres north of Gulu,. It is one of the many villages in northern Uganda that suffered from persistent LRA attacks.

On 2 June, Let’s Talk, Uganda – a platform for conversations about justice and reconciliation – organised a dialogue with the people of Lukodi. The message from the 160 attendees was clear: “When gross human rights violations occur, then justice and reparation can bring healing and reconciliation”. The objective of the dialogue was to gather community perceptions and stories from the community. Ahead of the dialogue, the community members suggested a list of topics they wanted to discuss:

  1. Do you think it is important to repair the lives of people after the conflict?
  2. Can justice bring healing?
  3. Is it right for forgiveness to take place after a conflict or problem has occurred?
  4. Is the government thinking about the people in Lukodi?
  5. Is it right to provide counselling for people in war-affected areas?

 

Some of the issues that arose during the dialogue were that for forgiveness and reconciliation to take place, there is need for justice to prevail and reparations to occur.  A community member said ‘where killings have taken place and there is so much sorrow then justice must first prevail. Then the heart of forgiveness can be there. Justice brings about healing. The government should pay families that lost their people to bring about healing.’

Community Voices

Another said ‘forgiveness is very difficult when there has been a mass killing.  In my opinion, there should be forgiveness for justice to occur.  I can forgive if someone accepts the wrong they did and justice has prevailed. When killings take place and there is so much sorrow, then justice must prevail for the heart of forgiveness to be there.’

Another said ‘if your life is repaired, you can heal. Those who committed crimes should be punished’. Members cried out that these steps should not be delayed. A woman said ‘many people are dying. More than 50 people who filled in the form have died’.

Communities also said that psycho-social support is an important aspect of reparations. However, they also said that counselling and psycho-social support should be coupled with economic support. One participant said ‘even if you are counselled, as soon as the counselling is finished and you cross the road, you will be reminded that you have no wealth, your child is being chased from school. She/he may sleep hungry’. They also attributed the use of traditional justice mechanisms to support people in rebuilding life after violations occur.

A long and painful conflict

Northern Uganda has experienced conflict for over twenty years, the result of a civil war waged mainly between the rebels of the LRA and the government of Uganda (GoU). The impact of the conflict has been devastating, with over 1.8 million people forced into IDP camps. There has been tremendous loss of lives and the abduction of over 38,000 children by the LRA to serve as child soldiers and sex slaves. Lukodi, like many other villages in northern Uganda, was severely affected by the conflict.

Today, the community is still facing the brunt of the conflict and this dialogue is designed to highlight the challenges they continue to face. The goal is to generate a conversation throughout the country in order to create awareness and a lobbying mechanism for support.

This article was originally published on Let’s Talk, Uganda.

‘Let’s Talk, Uganda’ gives space to community voices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2016-06-02

Gulu, Uganda

‘Let’s Talk, Uganda’ gives space to community voices

Justin Ocan of Lukodi speaks during a press conference to launch Let's Talk, Uganda at Northern Uganda Media Club in Gulu, 1 June 2016.
Justin Ocan, a community leader in Lukodi, Bungatira sub-county, speaks during a press conference to launch Let’s Talk, Uganda at Northern Uganda Media Club in Gulu, 1 June 2016.

Today the Justice and Reconciliation project and RNW Media are happy to announce the official launch of Let’s Talk, Uganda. The project wants to become a space for Ugandans to discuss issues close to their hearts and the hearts of their families.

We want to create and facilitate conversations about a wide variety of topics by combining the innovative use of new media with offline events. The online platforms will cover a wide range of topics relating to transitional justice, including international and national processes. Let’s Talk, Uganda aims to engage, inform and provide a safe space for respectful dialogue across Uganda.

Through a series of online platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and the Let’s Talk website, Ugandans will be able to access each other’s viewpoints and discuss your own thoughts in a safe space. In the coming months, the project will also visit several locations in northern Uganda, including Lira, Gulu, Lukodi and Odek, as well as Kampala to initiate discussions with local communities. The voices of grass-roots communities will be shared and discussed online, with that discussion feeding back into the community dialogues.

Providing a voice for marginalised communities is very important says Justin Ocan, a community member of Lukodi: “It will help people know what happened during the war,” he says, “The world will become aware of what should have been done.”

Oryem Nyeko, project team leader at the Justice and Reconciliation Project, believes the project will give a space for a more balanced narrative: “The narrative after war is usually shaped by one side, but we all know that history is more complicated. So it’s very important that all Ugandans have their opportunities to have their voices heard.”

Niklas Jakobsson, project coordinator for RNW Media, highlights the importance of respectful dialogue: “Let’s Talk, Uganda is not an information-sharing project. It’s a space for Ugandans to talk with each other, share experiences and find common ground.”

Tanja IJzer, senior program manager at RNW Media: “These issues are very close to the hearts of people in Uganda. Therefore we’re confident that these platforms will allow communities to amplify their voices across the country, creating greater understanding.”

Nancy Apiyo, project officer at JRP, believes this is a unique opportunity for communities: “For the first time the communities we’ve worked with will have their voices heard around the world through media and social media.”

The Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) in Gulu, Uganda, has played a key role in transitional justice (TJ) in Uganda since 2005 by seeking to understand and explain the interests, needs, concerns and views of communities affected by conflict.

RNW Media is a Dutch NGO media organisation that wants to achieve social change in communities. In parts of the world where change is difficult because freedom of speech is restricted, RNW uses media for social change, empowering young people to make informed choices through dialogue.

Contact information:

Niklas Jakobsson (RNW Media), Phone: +31 636 184 32, Email: Niklas.jakobsson@rnw.org

Oryem Nyeko (JRP), Phone: (256) 471 433 008 Email: onyeko@justiceandreconciliation.com

The website and social media platforms will be launched by the close of this week

Website: letstalk.ug

Facebook: fb.me/LetsTalkUganda

Twitter: twitter.com/talk_ug