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 8^th 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

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…

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