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Press Release: War-affected women prepare to have petition heard by parliamentarians

Media, Press Releases

GULU – Next week, members of the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) will present a petition to women parliamentarians calling for national policies which will address the needs of war-affected women in the region.

The petition, which will be presented before members of the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s association (UWOPA), calls for action for the special needs of the children of war-affected women, a national reparations policy, and accountability for perpetrators among others. The petition will take place on the 12th of March 2014 at Parliament in Kampala.

 “This is the first time war-affected women from the grassroots will have the opportunity to talk to their representatives in parliament about the issues that really affect them,” said the chairperson of WAN, Evelyn Amony, “We are hoping that the petition will result in real change in the lives women and their children.”

WAN was established in 2011 to advocate for justice, acknowledgement and accountability for gender based violations inflicted upon women during the war in northern Uganda. An initiative of the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), WAN consists of up to 300 formerly-abducted and other war-affected women. In 2013, a book entitled ‘Adyebo: The Wild Plant’ was published by JRP detailing the experiences of formerly abducted women of different ages and backgrounds, ultimately leading to the formation of WAN.

###

Media Contact

Oryem Nyeko, Communications Officer

Email: onyeko@justiceandreconciliation.com

Tel: 0471433008

About the Justice and Reconciliation Project The Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) promotes locally sensitive and sustainable peace in Africa’s Great Lakes region by focusing on the active involvement of grassroots communities in local-level transitional justice. Formerly a partnership of the Gulu District NGO Forum and the Liu Institute for Global Issues, University of British Columbia, Canada, JRP has played a key role in transitional justice in Uganda since 2005, through seeking to understand and explain the interests, needs, concerns and views of the communities affected by war between the Lord‟s Resistance Army (LRA) and Government of Uganda (GOU). JRP became an independent NGO in 2010 with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Kampala. For more information visit our website at http://www.justiceandreconciliation.com. 

Download WAN petition press release (pdf)

Community Peacebuilding and Performing Arts in Northern Uganda: Reflections from the Field

In the News

Introduction

For more than two decades, greater northern Uganda was the site of protracted violence between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and various rebel movements, most notoriously the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). During these periods of instability and in their aftermath, a variety of contemporary and indigenous forms of creative expression were created by local artists and shared widely among war-affected communities. Drawing from more than six years of experience in this field, and the musical and theatrical works of a variety of local artists, this essay provides three reflections on performing arts’ contribution to community-based peacebuilding in northern Uganda.

Context

Northern Uganda’s Conflicts

Since independence, the people of greater northern Uganda have suffered from a series of conflicts that have taken a severe toll on civilians and combatants, especially during the most recent period from 1986 to 2006.[1] This has included severe persecution and marginalization at the hands of government forces and nearly two dozen rebel insurgencies, most notoriously the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). In addition to widespread incidents of sexual violence, torture, and murder, millions were forcibly displaced in squalid internally displaced persons (IDP) camps for more than ten years, and an estimated 60,000 people were abducted by rebels and forced to join their ranks.[2] Furthermore, according to a study released in 2008, northern Uganda has some of the highest levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) recorded anywhere, with an estimated 54 percent of the population suffering from PTSD.[3]

Peace talks were most recently held in Juba, South Sudan, from 2006 to 2008, but were dissolved after the leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony, failed to sign the final peace agreement (FPA).[4] Since then, the leadership of the LRA has remained at large but has not returned to Uganda, ushering in relative peace and security to the greater North. Although the FPA was never signed, the GoU has committed to implementing a series of agreements that constitute the FPA, including the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation, in which both parties agreed to the establishment of a transitional justice (TJ) framework for the country.[5] Still, the process of implementing this framework has been slow, and there have been few concrete developments since 2007. War-affected communities, often articulated through civil society, have widely demanded further grassroots consultation on complex questions regarding justice and accountability for past human rights violations, and they want community-centered TJ processes to be instated.[6] The arts, especially drama and music, have been one outlet for grassroots people to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s progress and provide specific recommendations to policy-makers.[7]

The Arts in Settings of Protracted Violence

The intersection between the arts and peacebuilding is still a largely unexplored and untapped area of scholarship and practice.[8] However, expressive arts have been called the “missing link in the field of conflict resolution and peacemaking.”[9] Within the Peace Studies field, John Paul Lederach and Lisa Schirch have been at the forefront of the arts in peacebuilding,[10] and Olivier Urbain’s anthology Music and Conflict Transformation arguably provides the most comprehensive analysis to date on music and conflict.[11] There is budding interest in the arts and transformation in the Psychology (Art Therapy) and Ethnomusicology fields, as well.[12]

In the midst of northern Uganda’s conflicts, a plethora of contemporary and indigenous forms of creative expression were created by local artists and propagated.[13] Ranging from appeals to the rebels to return home and accept amnesty, to analysis on the peace talks in Juba, local artists captured popular sentiments and were listened to by all parties to the conflict, including displaced persons, rebels in the bush, and government forces.

Furthermore, in northern Uganda, performing arts — such as music, dance and drama — are more common than plastic arts — such as painting or sculpting. This is largely due to the prevalence and cultural relevance of indigenous practices of oral storytelling through music and dance, coupled with the high costs of visual art-making materials.[14] As a result, the reflections in this essay draw from examples of performing, rather than plastic, arts.

Reflections

Since 2006, I have been involved in research and advocacy surrounding the arts and peacebuilding in northern Uganda. In the following section, I provide three reflections on the arts’ contribution to community-based peacebuilding in this context.

Reflection 1: The arts become depositories for popular memory of past conflicts, preserving community accounts of events and offering interpretations of meaning.

The peoples of northern Uganda, especially the Acholi, have a strong oral history, and song and drama are two forms of storytelling which allow for community-based accounts to be recorded and passed down to future generations. In many of these works, I have observed artists seeking to understand the nature of conflicts and how they have continued for so long, as well as advising how to end the violence and never repeat it. One example of this can be found in the song, “Lutela (Leaders),” by Yib Oyoo, an indigenous-genre musical group from Pader district in northern Uganda. According to one verse:

Leaders of Pader district, we would like to inform you that the Acholi are uniting for
peace.
But as we are uniting for peace, there is some confusion on the side of the Government.
The Government said this is a period for amnesty, but we still hear bombs sounding from
the bushes.
So we ask the Government:
Why do you say there is amnesty while battles are ongoing? How will that work?
The LRA have reported with their guns to various army barracks like in Pajule, but they
claim the mobile faction of the government army is not giving them room to return
because they are always pursuing them.[15]

This song references the controversial blanket Amnesty Act that was available to combatants from 2000 until May 2012.[16] It questions the GoU’s sincerity in ending the conflict peacefully through the Act, and it preserves a community account of the reality “on the ground.” Despite the Act’s claims to be available to all combatants who denounce rebellion, the army’s pursuit of the LRA made it difficult for rebels to surrender and accept the amnesty. As a result, the community was forced to endure the fighting. By articulating a view of amnesty rooted in local experience, this alternative narrative, one which deeply resonates with the grassroots population, is captured for further analysis from the local perspective.

Reflection 2: The arts generate intergenerational dialogue on social problems and offer prescriptions for change.

The war is often blamed for breaking down many of the social and cultural traditions within the region. With many elders killed during the course of the conflict and the disruption of normalcy while in the IDP camps, practices like wango’o (“evening fireplace”), and other rituals were restricted during the conflict, and have been slow to re-emerge in its wake.[17] Despite this erosion of indigenous practices, the arts have created platforms for different sectors of society to speak and be heard by their peers and other generations. Through the arts, a vibrant dialogue is taking place on the consequences of the conflicts on various sub-sets within society — including the youth, women, and the elderly — providing important intersections for exchange and debate on how to move forward as a more united society.

The Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), a Ugandan non-governmental organization (NGO) which I worked for from 2010-2012, aims to foster intergenerational dialogue around transitional justice issues, such as truth-telling, amnesty, forgiveness, accountability, memorialization, and reparations. JRP launched a pilot community theater project in four communities in northern Uganda in 2011. In Abia, a community in the Lango sub-region in northern Uganda which experienced an LRA massacre in 2004, JRP partnered with the pupils of Abia Primary School. After undergoing an eight-week training facilitated by their teachers, the pupils developed and performed a forum-theater-style drama before members of their community.[18]

The play focused on the consequences of the conflict on children and youth. It featured several poignant scenes, including a re-enactment of the massacre and references to child prostitution in exchange for food that occurred while the community was displaced in the IDP camp. The drama ends with a scene on community reconciliation and the line, “There is forgiveness for all the people who committed atrocities during the war.” Following the drama, a teacher at the school facilitated a community dialogue on the issues raised by the children. Throughout the performance, one can see many adults — presumably parents of children at the school — in the audience. This depicts one example of the arts creating space for different generations affected by northern Uganda’s conflict to come together and discuss consequences of the conflict and a way forward. Oftentimes, the arts can spark conversation on these issues and generate momentum for future engagement by the different parties.

Reflection 3: The arts “vernacularize” international human rights instruments, fostering greater understanding of these norms among the general population.

The concept of “vernacularization” was coined by anthropologist Sally Engle Merry and references the ways in which international human rights instruments and standards become articulated by local actors “in the vernacular,” or in ways relevant to and understandable in the local context.[19] In several instances in northern Uganda, international human rights instruments have been vernacularized through the arts, contributing to greater understanding of their contents and implications within the local community. One such example can be found in the song, “Wan Lutino (We are the Children),” by local artist Jeff Korondo. According to one verse:

Every day when they talk about children’s rights, many people think they spoil the
children, but I really think that is not true.
These are basic needs for the little child.
Basic needs are these:
Letting your child grow with happiness,
Giving your child a chance to play,
Listening to the ideas and problems of the child,
Fulfilling the basic needs for appropriate growth.
When we provide these basic needs, then that is what we call children’s rights!
The children, too, have their roles that they have to play.
Taking goats for pasture — Your role!
Sweeping the compound — Your role!
Washing dishes — Your role!
Fetching some water — Your role!
But most important is to study hard, study hard our children![20]

Composed in a contemporary Afrobeat style, “Wan Lutino” was commissioned by Save the Children in Uganda in 2006 as part of a children’s manifesto campaign in the run-up to the 2006 national elections. In line with the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, the song highlights the basic rights of children, such as the right to education and to develop to one’s fullest potential.[21] However, cognizant of local opposition to the international concept of children’s rights, with many fearing it will lead to rebellion in children and a breakdown of children’s respect for elders, the song also highlights, and carefully supports, the balanced supportive role of children within Ugandan society. As demonstrated by the vernacularization of this convention, the arts can express often confusing and controversial concepts or positions in peacebuilding in terms that are relevant and relatable to the local context.

Conclusion

These initial three reflections were drawn from my experiences with the arts and peacebuilding in northern Uganda over the last six years. As they demonstrate, the arts have provided opportunities for vital dialogue and conversation on issues plaguing its post-conflict communities. While there is, without a doubt, more need to analyze the specific impact of the arts on peacebuilding processes, these reflections and their accompanying examples illustrate the rich context of conflict and recovery that can be found in modes of creative expression.

Building upon my previous work, in June 2013 I will commence a larger, one-year study on music and conflict transformation in northern Uganda that will specifically explore how a variety of musical genres emergent during the periods of open violence have contributed to constructive change in individuals affected by the conflict, as well as in the social dimensions of relational, structural, and cultural change. By further exploring works from northern Uganda’s conflict and post-conflict periods, I aim to better understand how the arts influence peacebuilding efforts in these settings. If the previous examples are any indication, the ongoing efforts by artists in Uganda should challenge us, as scholars and practitioners, to be more aware of the influence the arts hold in war-affected societies in the wake of conflict and mass human rights violations.

 

[1] Finnström, Sverker. Living with Bad Surroundings: War, History, and Everyday Moments in Northern Uganda. (Durham: Duke University Press, 2008). <http://www.amazon.com/Living-Bad-Surroundings-Everyday-Northern/dp/0822341913>; Dolan, Chris. Social Torture : The Case of Northern Uganda, 1986-2006. (New York: Berghahn Books, 2011). <http://www.amazon.com/Social-Torture-Northern-1986-2006-Context/dp/0857452916>.

[2] Pham, Phuong, Patrick Vinck, and Eric Stover. Abducted: The Lord’s Resistance Army and Forced Conscription in Northern Uganda. (Berkeley: Berkeley-Tulane Initiative on Vulnerable Populations, June 2007), 3. <http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/7963c61v>.

[3] Roberts, Bayard et al. “Factors Associated with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Amongst Internally Displaced Persons in Northern Uganda.” BMC Psychiatry. 8, no. 1 (2008), 4.

[4] “UPDF Attacks Kony.” Daily Monitor. December 15, 2008, Online edition. <http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/Education/-/688336/761130/-/10grnno/-/index.html>.

[5] “Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation Between the Government of the Republic of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army.” (Government of South Sudan, June 29, 2007). <http://www.beyondjuba.org/BJP1/peace_agreements/Agreement_on_Accountability_And_Reconcilition.pdf>.

[6] McClain, Lindsay and Ketty Anyeko. Who Forgives Whom? Northern Uganda’s Grassroots Views on the Amnesty Act, Policy Brief (Gulu, Uganda: Justice and Reconciliation Project, June 2012), 2. <http://justiceandreconciliation.com/2012/06/who-forgives-whom-northern-ugandas-grassroots-views-on-the-amnesty-act/>.

[7] “Video.” Justice and Reconciliation Project. Accessed March 24, 2013. <http://justiceandreconciliation.com/media/video/>.

[8] Bergh, Arild and John Slobada. “Music and Art in Conflict Transformation: A Review.” Music and Arts in Action. 2, no. 2 (2010).<http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/viewArticle/conflicttransformation>.

[9] LeBaron, Michelle. “Foreword: Eureka! Discovering Gold in a Leaden World.” Art in Action: Expressive Arts Therapy and Social Change.(Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011), 10. <http://www.amazon.com/Art-Action-Expressive-Therapy-Therapies/dp/1849058202>.

[10] Lederach, John Paul. The Moral Imagination. The Art and Soul of Building Peace. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010). <http://www.amazon.com/Moral-Imagination-Soul-Building-Peace/dp/019974758X>; Lederach, John Paul and Angela Jill Lederach. When Blood and Bones Cry Out : Journeys through the Soundscape of Healing and Reconciliation. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010). <http://www.amazon.com/When-Blood-Bones-Cry-Reconciliation/dp/0199837104>; Schirch, Lisa. The Little Book of Strategic Peacebuilding. (Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 2004). <http://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Peacebuilding-Little-Books-Justice/dp/156148427X>.

[11] Urbain, Olivier. Music and Conflict Transformation: Harmonies and Dissonances in Geopolitics. (London: IB Tauris, 2008). <http://www.amazon.com/Music-Conflict-Transformation-Dissonances-Geopolitics/dp/1845115287>.

[12] Levine, Stephen. Poiesis: The Language of Psychology and the Speech of the Soul. (London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1997). <http://www.amazon.com/Poiesis-Language-Psychology-Speech-Soul/dp/1853024880>; McNiff, Shaun. Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul. (New York: Shambhala, 2004). <http://www.amazon.com/Art-Heals-Creativity-Cures-Soul/dp/1590301668>.

[13] McClain, Lindsay. “Artistic Suggestions for Peaceful Transition in Northern Uganda: What Youth Are Saying.” African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review. 2, no. 1 (April 2012), 152–163.

[14] McClain, Lindsay. “The Art of Creative Conflict Resolution: A Critical Evaluation of Approaches to Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Northern Uganda.” Pursuit – The Journal of Undergraduate Research at the University of Tennessee. 1, no. 1 (April 2010), 95.

[15] Yib Oyoo, Lutela, n.d.

[16] McClain and Anyeko. Who Forgives Whom? Northern Uganda’s Grassroots Views on the Amnesty Act, 1.

[17] Baines, Erin and Boniface Ojok. Roco Wat i Acoli: Restoring Relationships in Acholi-land: Traditional Approaches to Justice and Reintegration. (Vancouver: Liu Institute for Global Issues, September 2005), 20. <http://justiceandreconciliation.com/wp-content/uploads/2005/09/JRP_Report_RocoWat.pdf>.

[18] McClain, Lindsay. “JRP Abia Community Theatre Performance 28Sept2011.” Justice and Reconciliation Project. May 11, 2012. <http://justiceandreconciliation.com/2012/05/jrp-abia-community-theatre-performance-28sept2011/>.

[19] Merry, Sally Engle. “Transnational Human Rights and Local Activism: Mapping the Middle.” American Anthropologist. 108, no. 1 (March 2006), 39.

[20] Korondo, Jeff. Wan Lutino. (Kampala, Uganda: Save the Children in Uganda, 2005).

[21] Convention on the Rights of the Child. (New York: United Nations, 1991). <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx>.

Let the show begin! Training community theater leaders

In the News, Newsroom,

http://grassrootsgroup.org/2013/02/let-the-show-begin-training-community-theater-leaders/

3 Showing People in dispute, dispute resolution and peace (Medium)

By Nicole Söller

Slowly making their way across the crowded room, a dozen of cars try to carefully avoid bumping into one of the others.

Not real cars of course; each car is made up of two people, one person being the driver, the other being the car. With their eyes closed, the cars have to completely trust the drivers who direct them to go straight, left or right. As they switch roles after some time, the facilitators get to put themselves in the position of ‘the others’. As one participant highlighted: “When I was the driver, I was asking myself why the other person (the car) was going so slow. But when we switched positions, I noticed that it was actually a little bit scary.”

 

‘Beep beep!’ Facilitators ‘driving’ each other through the training hall

After a successful pilot with the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) with two groups in 2012, our community theater partnership is scaling to work with 10 new groups in 2013. Community theater enables groups to explore conflicts, build empathy, and learn about processes of reconciliation.

Just as in the car trust building activity above, the process of story telling, an important part of the community theater project, requires patience, listening skills, and empathy from other group members towards the person who is sharing his or her experiences with the group.

In this process, people share stories of experiences they made during the conflict and of other issues they are currently facing in their communities. They might be stories which are uncomfortable to narrate, which are unheard, or which are simplified and need a better understanding. They can also be stories of remorse, apology and forgiveness, or stories of hope and strength.

 

Facilitators practice their acting skills in a performance about trauma

For this reason, 22 faciliators from 10 different GRG groups were brought together for a three-day workshop for community theater; each facilitator having been nominated by their group. They were trained in methods of planning and monitoring communty theater sessions, and how to create a performance that gives voice to the stories of the group members and which inspires the audience with visions for the future.

Facilitators learned about story-telling, and how to create a safe environment where group members feel comfortable to also share experiences with one another that are difficult to tell. The facilitators further learned different techniques to facilitate story telling. They drew time lines which chronologically illustrate one person’s experiences within a defined period. This will ultimately enable the different GRG groups to find out about similarities and differences between group members’ stories. Which stories are difficult to listen to? Can participants imagine themselves in the perspective of ‘the other’ (victim, ex-combatant, opposing clan, etc.) and feel empathy?

 

Facilitators learning how to make a timeline, using one of their own stories of conflict

First attempts of role plays and acting were accompanied by great excitement and participation. I must say, there are some true talents among our facilitators!

Other energizers and trust building activities rounded up this diverse workshop. All facilitators now feel able to build trust, motivate and guide group members through the different theater sessions.

 

Energizer and teambuilding activities!

After these intense and fun days, I cannot wait for the groups to start with their community theater sessions. It will be especially interesting to see which experiences and conflicts are shared and how this project will contribute to them growing together as a group.

Govt sowing seeds of unrest in north

In the News

This opinion piece by JRP Community Doumentation Team Leader Lino Owor Ogora appeared in the Sunday Monitor on 20 January 2013.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/Insight/Govt-sowing-seeds-of-unrest-in-north/-/688338/1669830/-/caa5hfz/-/index.html

Sunday, January 20  2013

By Lino Owor Ogora

It is more than four years now since relative peace returned to northern Uganda, and close to two years since the last internally displaced persons’ camp was demolished. The people have now permanently returned to their homesteads, and are engaged in agriculture and other means of improving their livelihoods.

Villages that were once ravaged by the Lord’s Resistance Army war are beginning to take shape again. Gulu, the gateway to South Sudan, is booming with business.
On the surface of it all, northern Uganda seems to have recovered. However, a closer observation will reveal several hurdles that will slow the socio-economic transformation of the region for years to come.

Recovery programmes have not achieved their intended impact. An example is the Peace Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP), which was described as “a strategy to eradicate poverty and improve the welfare of the populace in northern Uganda”. Much as the PRDP was well intended, a lot of emphasis was put on consolidation of State security, and construction of infrastructure such as roads. Other significant areas such as reconciliation and peace building were completely ignored.

Weak PRDP structures
In addition, structures for handling PRDP funds were weak and therefore prone to vices such as corruption. As an example of this, the media is currently awash with corruption stories surrounding PRDP funds. People in northern Uganda have learnt for the first time that their funds were entrusted to personalities like Geoffrey Kazinda and Pius Bigirimana with the result that more than Shs50 billion ended up getting lost under their watch.

What would this money have done for northern Uganda if well used? Shs50 billion would have gone a long way in helping the victims to recover their livelihoods. It would have been enough to construct a monument in every village in northern Uganda in memory of victims who lost their lives. 
The Shs50 billion would have constructed several classroom blocks for children who are currently forced to study under trees due to lack of classrooms.

What hurts is that most of the top suspects are not from northern Uganda and were not affected in any way by the conflict. They therefore did not feel the pain of what people in northern Uganda went through. Perhaps, it hurts even more that some of the people implicated in the scam are from northern Uganda.

For northern Uganda to genuinely recover, the government needs to go back to the drawing board and either overhaul the current recovery programmes or formulate new ones. Secondly, there has been no genuine pursuit of economic revitalisation. During the conflict, victims in northern Uganda lost most, if not all of their livelihoods, and are still struggling to recover. It is only realistic therefore that the government should have pursued a deliberate and aggressive policy aimed at restoring livelihoods. In this regard, attention should have been paid to agriculture as a priority area. Acholi region has some of the most fertile lands in Uganda. The government should have created a programme for boosting agriculture in the region.

Among other things, there should have been a programme for mechanising agriculture and generally improvement of farming methods. What do we see instead? A few tractors sent to northern Uganda under the NUSAF and PRDP have ended up on private farms owned by ‘big men’.

The government should have channelled its efforts towards reviving cooperatives to enable farmers in the region to better access agricultural inputs and market their commodities. What do we see instead? Cooperatives in northern Uganda are dead and buried. Elsewhere, the last surviving cooperatives in Uganda such as Bugisu Cooperative Union, are being torn apart through political interference. So local people in northern Uganda are forced to rely on government programmes such as NAADs which have also proved inefficient.

For people in northern Uganda to benefit from agriculture as an economic activity, land laws are needed to protect their right and access to land as a key factor of development. But what do we see instead? We see big individuals and ‘investors’, sometimes with active backing from the government, being allocated large chunks of land that should have been used by the local people themselves.

In 2012, the media was awash with stories of local people being evicted from their land under the pretext that the areas they are occupying are game reserves. Matters are not helped by rumours that the tracts of land in question bear large deposits of crude oil and other minerals. So local people are evicted on the pretext of land being given to investors or that they are in game reserves. How are the local people supposed to recover if the very means of their livelihood (land) is taken away from them?

Return cattle to owners
And finally, it must not be forgotten that many tribes in northern Uganda were ardent cattle keepers. The Acholi, for example, measured their wealth in cattle. During the conflict, however, cattle stocks were greatly reduced in northern Uganda. It is only natural therefore that the government should have pursued a deliberate policy of re-stocking. What do we see instead? Victims’ claimants groups such as Acholi War Debts Claimants Association are yet to be fully compensated, and no re-stocking project is envisioned for northern Uganda in the future. The resultant effect is that communities in northern Uganda will remain poor.

Thirdly, education levels in northern Uganda continue to be the lowest countrywide. A pupil in northern Uganda cannot compete at the same level of education with one from central Uganda or western Uganda. Educational infrastructure such as classrooms is still grossly lacking. The quality of education itself is still very poor. Many people in northern Uganda who can afford it have to spend heavily to send their children to good schools in Kampala. The resultant effect is that the next generation of northern Uganda youth will grow up semi-literate, disoriented, and discontented – perfect seeds for divisionism and rebellion.

Fourthly, the economic infrastructure in the region also continues to be appallingly poor. In 2009 I travelled to western Uganda and one of the things that mesmerised me was the many kilometres of tarmac roads that grace the region, and the level of commerce that was flourishing. This painfully reminded me of the appalling state of roads in northern Uganda. Other social infrastructure such as health centres and hospitals are also in an appalling state. The few that exist lack qualified personnel and are often short of drugs.

Finally, and most significantly, there seems to be no deliberate effort being made by the government to heal the north-south divide that continues to come up in debates regarding northern Uganda.

Many people believe old wounds between northern and southern Uganda created as a result of Uganda’s colonial and post-colonial history have not been adequately dealt with. For example, to this day many people in Luweero District continue to harbour grudges against northerners for atrocities committed during the NRA liberation war.

In a similar light, many civilians in northern Uganda remember the bitter and inhumane treatment they were subjected to by NRA soldiers from southern and western Uganda. The government, however, seems uninterested in resolving many of these issues that are necessary for both the social and economic recovery of northern Uganda. This creates the (mis)perception among many people here that there could be a deliberate policy aimed at sidelining the region, and that the political will is lacking for the genuine pursuit of recovery programmes.

The key question here is: for how long can this marginalisation continue?

The author is a researcher with the Justice and Reconciliation Project based in Gulu.

Land conflict no more! Community theater wows one community

In the News, Media, Newsroom,

http://grassrootsgroup.org/2012/12/land-conflict-no-more-community-theater-wows-one-community/

By Christopher Maclay

In May 2012, we began an exciting partnership with the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) to pilot an innovative community theater approach which facilitates processes of problem examination and solving, develops empathy among participants, and encourages reconciliation. Two groups – Anga Konya (meaning ‘Who will help me?’) and Atoo Pi Iya (meaning ‘I will die for my stomach’) – were chosen for the pilot, as they had requested support in community theater activities.

 

Group members act out the violence of the LRA conflict, which they saw as the root cause of ongoing land wrangles

This November, the first phase of this pilot came to close, with Anga Konya and Atoo Pi Iya hosting a fantastic day-long event for their community. The groups had spent several months examining their problems through theater and developing their own solutions to these problems. The final community performances gave the groups the opportunity to present their findings and recommendations to their wider community.

 

Community members listen closely to the messages being shared

Both groups decided that their final performances should be on land conflict, and it was chosen that the title of the event should be: ‘My Land, My Heritage: land conflict and the need for reconciliation.’ Groups decided to host the event together, at a central location which the most people could reach. As part of the event, the group invited local politicians, as well as local traditional leaders. The chief guest was Otto Matthew, the Land Minister of the Ker Kwaro Acholi (the traditional cultural institution of northern Uganda).

 

The Local Councillor III presents his thoughts on the theater performances, and land conflict in the region

Each group put on a play that explored how land conflict arose out of the process when people across northern Uganda returned from displaced persons camps to their homes. Many people in northern Uganda lived in camps for up to twenty years during the terrifying Lord’s Resistance Army conflict, and land conflict continues to cause significant unrest in the region. The plays explained how land conflicts can arise, and showed how they can be solved; through mediation, discussion, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

 

Members of Atoo Pi Iya act out efforts to mediate a land conflict

After the performances had been completed, and the speeches made, group members excited the crowd with a follow-up performance of traditional dance and drumming. More pictures to come soon!

1,000 LRA victims missing in Gulu

In the News

http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20723&Itemid=114

SUNDAY, 02 SEPTEMBER 2012 19:24

WRITTEN BY ALEX OTTO

About a third of the people abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Gulu alone are still unaccounted for, an NGO has said.

Statistics presented by Children and Youths as Peace Builders (CAP) Uganda this year indicate that some 1,036 abducted people in are still missing as a result of the conflict in northern Uganda. A new project, the Justice and Reconciliation Project, on Friday urged the Justice, Law and Order sector (JLOS) to come up with mechanisms to address the issue of missing persons.

The Right to Know campaign, launched on Friday August 31, arose from the realization that although the guns have fallen silent, many families continue to seek answers as to the whereabouts of their loved ones. Speaking at the launch of the campaign in Gulu, the Acholi paramount chief, Rwot David Onen Acana, urged families not to give up hope.

“It’s not too late for us to call for accountability for these people because we are not doing it for ourselves only but we are doing it for the past, the present and the future. Some people in history have never been traced. In Uganda we had different regimes and by the way of their rule and administration, some people disappeared and this was done in the manner of military action,” Acana said.

The Right to Know Campaign – 29 August 2012

Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

29th August 2012

 

The Right to Know: Campaign against disappearances in Northern Uganda

GULU – On the 30th August 2012 the Justice and Reconciliation Project will launch the “Right to Know” campaign on the internationally recognised day against enforced disappearances. In commemoration of this day, we are reminded of the long walk to relative peace in Northern Uganda and the turbulent past atrocities experienced for over two decades in the region. The “Right to Know” campaign is an advocacy platform that seeks to explore and situate the concerns and anguish of families/relatives of missing persons and to contextualise them within the on-going Transitional Justice (TJ) debates taking place in Uganda.

In collaboration with Children/Youth as Peace Builders (CAP) Uganda, JRP will hold a Dialogue on Disappearances to commemorate the International Day of the Disappeared on 30 August 2012. The Dialogue will take place at Hotel Free Zone in Gulu between 09:00am and 1:30pm on Thursday the 30th of August 2012 and will be attended by family members and relatives of missing persons from West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso sub-regions as well as members of the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN). The day’s events will include a screening of a short film entitled “The Right to Truth and Justice”, which highlights the views of families of missing persons, as well as a candle lighting and prayer to pay respect and show solidarity with families affected by the issue. The event will be officiated by the Guest of Honour, Rwot David Acana II, the Paramount Chief of the Acholi Kingdom.

Based on JRP’s interactions with victims and survivors of the conflict, the “Right to Know” campaign arose from a realisation that despite the fact that the guns have fallen silent in Northern Uganda, many are still struggling to come to terms with some of its effects. Statistics published by CAP Uganda in 2012 show that in Gulu District alone up to 30 per cent of all people abducted by the LRA are still unaccounted for and 1036 alone are still missing as a result of the conflict in Northern Uganda. As such, many families continue to seek answers as to the whereabouts of their loved ones. The campaign aims to acknowledge their efforts and to bring attention to the issue of missing persons to the Government of Uganda, Civil Society Organisations and the public as a whole.

JRP acknowledges the efforts of the Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) to promote Transitional Justice (TJ) which have ushered in renewed efforts towards accountability and reconciliation in Uganda. While these avenues are commendable, concerns remain that the question of persons still missing or unaccounted for which continue to be unaddressed and have not been subject to sufficient debate in the on-going TJ processes. JRP therefore calls upon the JLOS to come up with specific policy and pragmatic actions within the on-going TJ mechanisms to address the issue of persons still missing or unaccounted with immediate effect.

Other activities involved in the campaign have included:

  • A series of dialogues in the Greater North – Public dialogues with community members have been held in Pakwach in Arua District, Obalanga in Amuria District and Abok in Oyam District.
  • Radio discussions – Radio talk shows have been a crucialmedium for engaging with the public, sharing individual stories of missing persons and bringing greater publicity to the issue.
  • Documentary – The documentary “The Right to Truth and Justice” will be available for viewing on JRP’s website, YouTube account and at the Gulu Office on the 3rd of September onwards.
  • Online debates – Members of the public are encouraged to submit their views on JRP’s Facebook page and to read blogs, view pictures and submit comments on our website.
  • JRP’s Voices Magazine – Members of the public are encouraged to submit articles in the next issue of the Voices magazine which will be focusing on the theme ‘the Right to Truth’ with special consideration to missing persons.

 

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ABOUT JRP

The Justice and Reconciliation Project promotes locally sensitive and sustainable peace in Africa’s Great Lakes region by focusing on the active involvement of grassroots communities in local-level transitionaljustice. Formerly a partnership of the Gulu District NGO Forum and the Liu Institute for Global Issues, University of British Columbia, Canada, JRP has played a key role in transitional justice in Uganda since 2005, through seeking to understand and explain the interests, needs, concerns and views of thecommunities affected by war between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and Government of Uganda (GOU).JRP became an independent NGO in 2010 with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Kampala.

 

Visit our website for media information and our press kit – http://justiceandreconciliation.com/about/information-kit/