Category Archives: In the News

“Radio shows target LRA fighters,” Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 10 March 2011

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“Radio shows target LRA fighters,” Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 10 March 2011

http://iwpr.net/report-news/radio-shows-target-lra-fighters

By Nancy Sai

 

As calls mount to put an end to the atrocities still being committed by Ugandan rebels, radio is increasingly playing a role in getting some of these fighters to voluntarily return home.

Despite International Criminal Court arrest warrants for the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, and his senior commanders, the rebel force continues to wreak havoc in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, the Central African Republic, CAR, and southern Sudan.

The 2008 Juba Peace Process attempted to bring an end to the LRA insurgency, but Kony refused to sign the agreement, which led to forces from South Sudan, DRC and Uganda attacking LRA bases in what was known as Operation Lightening Thunder.

This sparked a new wave of bloodletting by the rebels which shows little sign of ending. Last December, Human Rights Watch claims that the LRA massacred more than 300 people in the DRC alone.

In 2010, Barrack Obama became the first US president to develop a comprehensive strategy aimed at ending the LRA’s 24-year reign of terror.

The strategy is designed to increase protection of civilians, neutralise Kony and his senior commanders, promote the demobilisation and reintegration of LRA fighters and step up humanitarian assistance to communities affected by rebel violence.

But as efforts to disarm the LRA proceed, Paul Ronan, co-founder and advocacy director at Resolve, a United States-based group campaigning for an end to LRA violence, says both a military and non-military tactics are needed to minimise the LRA threat.

According to him, as civilians are protected and LRA commanders are apprehended, a strategy that reaches out to the LRA rank and file to lay down their weapons is also important.

“Radio programmes are one of the best methods to encourage LRA fighters and commanders to stop fighting and defect from the LRA,” he said.

Uganda’s Radio Mega FM has long been running a show, Dwog Paco ( Come Back Home), on Thursday nights, calling for LRA soldiers to return to their villages and towns. The same show is aired by the state-owned Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, UBC, on Sunday nights.

The host of Dwog Paco, Oreyema Lachambel, says one way the programme tries to persuade rebels to come back is by getting comrades who have already done so to appear on air. This, he says, assures those in the bush that their return home will be welcomed.

Conciliation Resources, an international peace-building NGO, conducted a study on the return process for LRA commanders. The study interviewed 39 LRA returnees in northern Uganda, and 35 of them cited radio programmes, like Dwog Paco, to have had the most influence on their decision to come back.

Lachambel says that LRA fighters are more receptive to the programme’s urgings because, as Kony moves deeper and deeper into the bush, his men are having to put up with harsher conditions and growing isolation.

“If they listen to the programme, it makes them homesick,” he said. “We tell them the best way to find their way back.”

But while campaigners have welcomed this kind of broadcasting, many feel that something else is needed.

“On its own it is not enough,” said Kennedy Tumutegyereize, the director of East and Central Africa programmes at Conciliation Resources. “It can [only] play a facilitating role.”

Ojok Boniface, programme coordinator for Uganda’s Justice and Reconciliation Project, JRP, says Dwog Paco has served a valuable role in persuading some LRA fighters to return, but doesn’t address the problems that arise when ex-fighters have to confront their victims. Northern Uganda is facing “a dilemma of how to handle accountability and reconciliation”, he said.

His organisation encourages traditional justice methods like the mato oput, a ritual carried out by the Acholi tribe for reconciliation purposes, which promotes dialogue between LRA offenders and the communities they terrorised.

“We are now more concerned about how to unite victims and perpetrators of conflict in the spirit of justice and accountability for crimes committed,” he said. “We use radio programmes to ensure that the design and implementation of transitional justice programmes resonate within communities affected by the LRA conflict.”

The JRP disseminates information on transitional justice issues through Radio Mega’s Te Yat programme. Te Yat, which can be translated as “under the tree”, highlights the tradition of discussing community-related issues under large shady trees. JRP also works with Radio Mega to ensure dialogue on justice, reconciliation and community reactions to it feature on the Te Yat programme.

Meanwhile, a programme, similar to Dwog Paco, is launching in Sudan.

Philip Mbugo, who is behind the launch, said, “The LRA problem is dragging on” and the radio show is part of a collective effort to “bring peace and stability to the community”.

The radio programme, will air on southern Sudan’s Yambio FM. In addition to persuading LRA soldiers to return home, it will educate listeners about accepting ex-LRA returnees into their communities and participating in peace-building efforts.

While Uganda’s radio programme has been criticised for not reaching LRA fighters in remote areas, within the CAR and DRC, Mbugo insists that his show will do the job. He says most listeners in CAR will receive a weak signal, but insists a signal booster will help eliminate this problem.

“It will be powerful to cover most of the areas where the LRA are moving [around],” he said.

Nancy Sai is an IWPR-trained journalist.

“LRA victims to sue over compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 March 2011

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“LRA victims to sue over compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 March 2011

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1120350/-/c4222wz/-/index.html

By Cissy Makumbi

 

Gulu

Victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army and West Nile Bank Front rebellions have threatened to drag the government to international courts for failing to compensate them for losses they incurred as a result of the wars.

The victims said the government failed to protect their properties and lives of their loved ones during the wars that resulted in destitution and increased number of orphans.

The chairperson of the group, Mr Sam Buti, during a memory sharing meeting organised by Justice Peace and Reconciliation Project held in Gulu on Friday, said many of their members have become amputees and can no longer engage actively in productive activities, which therefore calls for their compensation. “Bomb blast victims in Kampala have been compensated swiftly, why not us who have equally been permanently maimed due to government’s reluctance? ” Mr Buti asked.

The Presidential Adviser for northern Uganda, Mr Richard Todwong, said the government will compensate all those who lost their property and asked them for patience. He revealed that the government is already supporting many war victims including paying for their medical bills in hospitals. Over 6,000 maimed and mutilated war victims have already registered under the organization, many of them with no lips, ears and noses.

“Victims of LRA demand compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 February 2011

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“Victims of LRA demand compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 February 2011

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1102898/-/c58m75z/-/index.html

By Warom Felix Okello

 

West Nile

Hundreds of people living near Murchison Falls National Park who survived attacks by the Lords’ Resistance Army rebels are demanding compensation from government.

Some of the residents suffered bullet wounds, lost their property while others had their relatives killed during numerous ambushes in the park- the epicentre of the attacks in West Nile.

Under the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association, they are demanding that financial compensation and support be given to them. The association chairman, Mr Sam Buti, said: “Even though we suffered tremendously, we have not received any substantial support from the government which should have ensured our protection,” he said.

Records by the association indicate that Nebbi has 500 victims, Arua 400, Zombo 300, Yumbe 200, Koboko 250 and Adjumani 600. Mr Buti said the over 2,750 war victims are mainly from the urban areas.

“We lack finances to enable us trace those in rural areas. If bomb victims can be compensated within days, why not us?” he asked.

Awaiting return
Ms Norah Fuathuma, whose child was abducted, said she is still waiting for the return of his son whether dead or alive. “I think the ICC should come to our rescue because I think our leaders are not mindful of compensating us. The LRA leaders should in fact be taken to ICC because the use of force is not yielding any fruit,” she said.

Joseph Kony has led the LRA in its guerrilla-style war against the government forces, leaving civilians in northern Uganda caught up in the war. Thousands of people were killed, houses burnt, children and women abducted, as the government sent hundreds of residents into internally displaced camps.

A peace effort between the two groups, mediated by South Sudan’s Riek Machar yielded no fruit in 2006. As the sound of guns fell silent, residents are returning to their villages and rebuilding their lives.

“The actor becomes the protector,” The Independent, 14-20 January 2011

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“The actor becomes the protector, The Independent, 14-20 January 2011

http://www.independent.co.ug/features/features/3826-the-actor-becomes-the-protector

By Matthew Stein

Focus on stability could be Museveni’s ticket to the region

Towards the end of November, just as nominations for parliamentary flag bearers were to begin, Gulu, once home to the country’s worst internal insurgency, was brimming with election fever. In the streets, pedestrians, some wearing shirts bearing the face of the Son of Kaguta, others with the Son’s of the North—Mao and Otunnu—danced and pummeled on drums in rallies across the city. From loud speakers they pronounced their party slogans. The words “change,” “justice,” “corruption,” were thrown around time and again, until it became difficult to discern which party was saying what.

After the nominations were held, the Inter Party Cooperation (IPC) held a large party to herald the onset of serious campaigning. Supporters ate, danced and spoke excitedly about their prospects for the election season. Ojara Martin Mapenduzi, the energetic and promising IPC chairman in Gulu district recounted his party’s principal platform: rebuild the health centres and facilities destroyed by war; bring back hope to the war’s victims; and heal the wounds of the conflict.

Nearby, Jolly Irene Anyeko, 23, sat quietly watching the spectacle unfold. “Why do you support the IPC?” she was asked. After acknowledging that she knew little of the other parties, she said: “I like them because they bring people together.”

And just like that, the IPC had Anyeko’s vote.

Anyeko’s ambiguous response is not uncommon in the north, where many people still sound uncertain on why they are supporting a particular candidate. In Kamdini, Nam Kizito, a 22-year-old student in one breath says he is disappointed that Museveni has not created more jobs or spurred more development. “Museveni fulfills very few things.” However, a second later, paradoxically he adds that “Museveni is the only one you can trust.”

Democracy, elections, manifestos are all still relatively new in this country, and its understandable that voter decisions are still governed by gut or perception of basic things such as access to healthcare, stability and security. Issues of corruption, infrastructure, foreign policy, do not play a visible role in the life of the common Ugandan and are consequently not defining election concerns. In the north, there is the additional variable of the war and its lingering impact on the population. In the 2006 election, with tens of thousands still stuck in squalid IDP camps, Museveni garnered a small margin of the northern vote. Today, with his dominance shrinking in previous strongholds such as the Buganda region, it is critical for the president to fare much better. To do so, he’ll have to find a way to appeal to voters like Anyeko and Kizito—or at least hope that the opposition does not.

Sitting in a small roadside restaurant in Kyandongo, three ardent NRM supporters have little doubt the opposition will succeed. “They are weak and desperate people,” says one man. “Otunnu was relaxing during the bush war and Mao is still young.” They brush off suggestions of lingering criticisms of a war many say Museveni did not do enough to stop. To them what is important is the current stability: “Obote built hospitals in every corner of the country but he couldn’t command the army. Even the muzungu knows that Museveni has disciplined the army.”

Further north in the town of Karuma, once the frontier for the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency, security also dominates the discussion. People here are content that peace has arrived and they are hesitant to experiment with anything that can disturb it. “It’s hard for me to be convinced that the opposition is going to provide the same thing,” explains Norbert Mawa, a part-time nurse at a local clinic. “I haven’t seen the opposition run the country or their leadership qualities. Museveni I’ve seen.”

“New people can bring new confusions,” echoes Immaculate Asianzu, a former staff member with the Norwegian Refugee Council. “The current government is still in the position to address the situation at hand.”

It is within this reserved environment that individuals like Emmanuel Mwaka, an aspiring MP for the Democratic Party in Gulu, needs to compete. Mwaka, who at one time was a school dropout and drug addict, found inspiration in his mentor and current party leader, Norbert Mao. After seeing Mao campaign in his village, Mwaka returned to school and kicked his destructive habits. Today, he is attempting to use his experiences to instill in the people of his constituency that they too, after decades of hardship and dependency on outside aid, can become, “the authors of their own lives.”

“There is a negative peace here,” says Mwaka. “There’s silence of the gun but livelihood is not up to date.” Mwaka attributes this to rampant corruption. Both the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF), funded by the World Bank, and the Peace Recovery and Development Program (PRDP), funded by the government and development partners, he says, have not been utilized properly for the benefit of the people.

And if these instances of corruption are not enough to sway voters into the opposition’s corner, explains Mwaka, there is also the explosive issue of the two-decade long conflict. Resentment over the government’s militaristic approach to ending the violence in the north, the military’s involvement in human rights abuses and the limited reparations that have made since all have the potential to play a pivotal role in this election.

According to Lindsay McClain, the communications officer for the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), an NGO that promotes sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region, there is still a lot of frustration in Acholi sub-regions on why the International Criminal Court (ICC) has limited their war crimes investigations to the LRA. McClain says victims don’t want to bring the perpetrators to court, but they do want acknowledgement that a crime took place through a truth-telling commission. Even in the cases of LRA abuse, says McClain, the people still believe the government is responsible because it failed to protect them. “And the people don’t see the current projects as proper reparations,” she adds.

These projects, which include the PRDP and other informal channels, have not created the justice many victims are seeking. “There’s no accountability, no compensation. There’s bribery and money being thrown around,” says James Otto, the director of Human Rights Focus in Gulu. “We’re pushing for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation committee but the government is not interested.”

Otto says there are currently 44 cases concerning torture by the UPDF pending in the high courts of Gulu and the six cases that have been heard so far have all been disposed of in favor of the victim.

It remains to be seen how such issues will factor into the minds of the electorate on February 18. According to the latest Afrobarometer poll if elections had taken place between Nov. 18 and Dec. 6, Museveni would have won 59 percent of the northern vote.

“People still see [Museveni] as a conflict author, but this is changing; the positions are not as tough anymore,” explains Lioba Lenhart, a professor in the Peace and Conflict Studies department at Gulu University. “He presents a better option for stability no matter what happened in the past.”

And in the end, this might be the president’s most important campaign asset.

“Reparation need grows in Northern Uganda,” Daily Monitor, 6 December 2010

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“Reparation need grows in Northern Uganda,” Daily Monitor, 6 December 2010

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1067192/-/ckisgiz/-/index.html

By Sam Lawino

 

The need for the government to plan for reparation for people who suffered in the LRA war in Northern Uganda continues to grow with leaders in the region calling for swift action to enable total reconciliation take place.

The leaders said the government’s neglect to include reparation in its program for rehabilitating the region could stagnate other recovery efforts as communities still divisions stemming from the conflict to overcome.

The Assistant Chief Administrative Officer of Gulu, Stephen Oloya, during a conference on justice and reconciliation in Gulu last week said without reparation, the region could again be plunged into more violence.

 “The war is a manmade disaster which means if we do not reconcile there is tendency of recurrence to violence,” Oloya said.

The Arch Bishop of Gulu Arch diocese, John Baptist Odama in a separate meeting said the time has come for the government to do more to help the people reconcile through helping those who lost their relatives and properties recover from their trauma.

Bishop Odama observed that focusing on the well being of the tormented people would not only help them reconcile but can let them sustain peace.

Meanwhile the acting LCV chairman, Makmot Kitara called for both the psychological and economic redress of the people to forget their past gruesome experience to focus on the future.

The government has budgeted for nearly Ugshs30bn under the Peace, Recovery and Development Program (PRDP) for Northern and Eastern parts of Uganda, with no specific attention on reparation for families of those who lost their lives in the wars.

“Compensate northern war victims,” Daily Monitor, 4 December 2010

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“Compensate northern war victims,” Daily Monitor, 4 December 2010

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1065988/-/ckk0twz/-/index.html

By Sam Lawino

 

Gulu

The government has been asked to take the views of war victims in Acholi and Lango Sub-region for urgent reparation.

The call was made by the Gulu assistant Chief Administrative Officer Steven Oloya on Thursday while closing a two-day dialogue on Justice Peace and Reconciliation in Gulu.

He said said without reparation for the people of northern Uganda, the region could still slip back into war because people’s memory of loss of their property and lives of their dear ones is still fresh in their minds. “The war was a manmade disaster which means if we do not reconcile there is tendency of recurrence to violence,” Mr Oloya said. He said forgiveness among the affected communities and paying for lives and property destroyed would bring lasting peace in the region.

The meeting was aimed at enhancing grassroots involvement in transitional justice with support from the South African-based Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. “If government insists to go ahead with building schools, hospitals and roads as a collective life repair of its citizens who suffered in the war without addressing the reparation aspect, the region could recede into more problems in the near future” he noted.

Ms Milly Amoi, the chairperson of Rwot Lakica, a group of 23 formerly abducted women in Lira said government should apologise and address collective needs of its citizens. “We need land to erect houses and keep orphans born in captivity but we have been made poor,” she said.

“Former LRA Victims Still Rejected by their Communities,” Uganda Radio Network, 3 Dec. 2010

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“Former LRA Victims Still Rejected by their Communities,” Uganda Radio Network, 3 Dec. 2010
http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=29959

By James Owich Ochora

A group of women, who were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army when they were teenagers, say reintegration into their societies is a hard and arduous task. They say they are shunned by their families and stigmatized by their communities because of their perceived role in the rebellion.

It is not known exactly how many girls the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted during its protracted war in northern Uganda. The number ranges anywhere from 2,500 to 5,000.

Most of the girls, who were prepubescent youth or teenagers at the time of their abduction, were forced to become sexual slaves of LRA fighters. Those who managed to escape returned with children. They came back traumatized and hardened by the war.

Amoi is a young woman in her early 20s who bore three children while in captivity. She is still fearful of retribution for the war and only identifies herself by her middle name.

Amoi says that when she returned to Uganda in 2002 she expected a warm welcome from her family. She says she was shocked by what awaited her. She was banished from the family land in Lira and is now forced to rent a small plot of land to grow food for her young family.

Amoi says her situation was desperate for several years. She only received a break recently when she obtained a loan from a micro finance organization.

Amoi is a member of Gen Obanga, an association formed by former LRA abductees.

Another member, who requests anonymity, says that like Amoi, she too has no access to land to build a house or cultivate. She says she and her children were rejected by their Bungatira sub-county in Gulu and are forced to live on handouts.

She says her children are regularly the subject of ridicule in her village and she cannot escape the shame of her captivity by the LRA.

The stories of the two women are included in a new compilation called ‘Ododo Wa.’ The compilation is a project of the Our Stories Program, which is documenting the experiences of women in captivity.

Ketty Anyeko, the program officer, says ‘Ododo Wa’ was initiated to give prominence to unrecorded experiences of war. She says that through the stories, the plight of the LRA victims will receive national prominence and cause a meaningful debate on post-war recovery. 

Anyeko says it is hoped that the project will also encourage affected communities to reconcile with the victims and aggressors of the war.

“Encuentro del Grupo de Memoria Historica con investigadores de Uganda y Canada,” Memoria Historica, mid-November 2010

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“Encuentro del Grupo de Memoria Historica con investigadores de Uganda y Canada,” Memoria Historica, mid-November 2010

http://memoriahistorica-cnrr.org.co/s-noticias/articulo-56/

 Por: Laura Natalia Cruz Cañón, pasante del área de divulgación e impacto público-MH

Note: To download the English translation, click here.

El pasado 27 de octubre, el Grupo de Memoria Histórica de la Comisión Nacional de Reparación y Reconciliación (MH) recibió en sus instalaciones a dos investigadores del Proyecto de Justicia y Reconciliación (JRP) de Uganda y a la profesora Erin Baines de la Universidad de Columbia Británica de Canadá, quienes adelantan la fase colombiana del proyecto de investigación e intercambio “Contra las atrocidades masivas, estrategias comunitarias de documentación”, liderada por la profesora Baines y Pilar Riaño, investigadora de MH y relatora del informe Bahía Portete: Mujeres Wayuu en la mira. 

El proyecto en mención surgió de la necesidad de comprender las condiciones bajo las cuales organizaciones comunitarias de base recogen evidencia sobre abusos de derechos humanos y las memorias de las víctimas en contextos de conflicto. Las iniciativas comunitarias de este tipo son muy poco conocidas y estudiadas, por lo que el objetivo principal del proyecto es entender, desde una perspectiva comparativa entre el caso ugandés y el colombiano, cuando y por qué las comunidades adoptan estrategias específicas para documentar y recordar.

Como parte de este intercambio, los gestores locales de memoria Leyner y Delis Palacios, que apoyaron el proceso de investigación para la elaboración del informe Bojayá: la guerra sin límites, visitaron la ciudad Ugandesa de Gulu en julio del presente año.

A su vez, los investigadores, Boniface Ojok y Ketty Anyeko, del JRP de Uganda, un grupo formado en 2005 por la ONG Forum, del distrito de Gulu, y el instituto Liu de Asuntos Globales de la Universidad de Columbia Británica, visitaron Colombia entre el 21 y el 30 de octubre de 2010. La razón de ser de JRP, es analizar cómo los mecanismos de justicia transicional pueden ser implementados efectivamente en procesos locales por medio de la creación de una sociedad civil informada e involucrada. Los procesos de justicia transicional que son dirigidos por las comunidades se consideran elementos críticos para la justicia y la reconciliación después de la guerra. JRP brinda ayuda en estos procesos a través de tres áreas: documentación del conflicto con relación a las experiencias y memorias de los individuos; movilización de la comunidad a través de procesos de documentación participativos; e investigación y promoción.

Ojok y Anyeko conocieron junto con la profesora Baines el contexto en el que se enmarca el trabajo de MH, así como las metodologías emplea para la realización de los informes sobre casos emblemáticos. Asimismo, realizaron un intercambio con grupos y organizaciones que trabajan a nivel local en la documentación de la memoria histórica del conflicto colombiano. Ellos le contaron al equipo de GMH sobre el proceso de violencia que ha vivido Uganda y el trabajo que adelantan con algunas comunidades del norte de este país africano.

El conflicto en Uganda azotó principalmente el norte del país durante cerca de 24 años. Inició con la conformación del Ejército de Resistencia del Señor (LRA, por sus siglas en inglés), un grupo de rebeldes liderado por Joseph Kony quienes combatieron contra el gobierno ugandés. En palabras de Boniface Ojok director de JRP, una de las características de este conflicto es el rapto de niños entre 7 y 12 años, a los cuales entrenaban para el combate. Algunos fueron obligados a matar a otros menores e incluso a miembros de su propia familia si querían seguir con vida. Los milicianos del LRA también raptaban niñas a las cuales esclavizaban sexualmente, las obligaban casarse y a tener hijos con hombres mayores que ellas. Aunque en el 2004 se decretó el cese al fuego, el JRP considera que la presencia del Ejército de Resistencia del Señor (LRA, por sus siglas en inglés) continúa con las hostilidades en países vecinos como Sudán y la República democrática del Congo.

Si bien el Estado ugandés creó los “campamentos para desplazados internos”, en los cuales se refugiaron miles de familias durante el conflicto, esta medida no resolvió el problema de los raptos de menores. Ejemplo de ello son los “caminantes nocturnos”, niños que en la noche recorrían más de 20 kilómetros para llegar al centro de las principales ciudades para protegerse de los raptos del LRA. Según el director de JRP este hecho también constituye un acto de resistencia frente a las hostilidades.

Ojok fue enfático en afirmar que la complejidad de este conflicto estriba en la doble condición de los niños y niñas combatientes, pues no puede establecerse con claridad si son víctimas o victimarios porque han cometido crímenes atroces, pero al mismo tiempo han sido raptados de sus hogares, sometidos a múltiples vejaciones y obligados a combatir. Ante ese dilema, el investigador planteó la pregunta sobre a quien debe considerarse victimario en el conflicto del norte de Uganda, sobre todo cuando hay pruebas de la participación del Estado en violaciones a los Derechos Humanos; a lo que extendió la pregunta sobre qué clase de justicia es necesaria en este caso. Esta es una pregunta que Uganda aún no ha respondido: ¿qué hacer con los victimarios que tienen que rendir cuentas sobre sus actos si no existe claridad para catalogar a los actores del conflicto como víctimas o perpetradores?

El debate no toma lugar únicamente en Uganda; las violaciones cometidas en este conflicto fueron presentadas ante la Corte Penal Internacional y sobre ellos también recae la pregunta por los victimarios. Solucionar este dilema, afirma Ojok, permitirá sanar heridas e iniciar procesos de justicia y verdad que ayuden a reconstruir la sociedad. Precisamente, JRP intenta comprender cómo la justicia transicional puede operar en estos contextos, pero además, cómo puede conectarse este tipo de justicia con la justicia tradicional de la región. En el norte de Uganda muchos líderes tradicionales han pedido la amnistía para sus niños y niñas, pero las organizaciones internacionales de derechos humanos creen inviable esta medida por la magnitud de las violaciones a los derechos humanos. El objetivo detrás de la amnistía es motivar a los niños y niñas combatientes para que depongan las armas y puedan regresar a sus comunidades. Para Ojok, las iniciativas locales de justicia son muy importantes para promover la reconciliación por lo cual deben ser tenidas en cuenta. El director de JRP, concluye que la justicia ha fallado pues es necesario darle un tratamiento particular a estas personas para que puedan reintegrarse a su comunidad.

El JRP también ha constituido una línea de “historias de vida y mujeres” liderada por Ketty Anyeko, quien también compartió sus experiencias con MH. Para Anyeko el caso de Uganda presenta una problemática de género muy grave: además de raptar niñas y obligarlas a combatir, a casarse y tener hijos, las violaciones y la desnudez forzada fueron prácticas habituales del LRA. Las mujeres que han logrado sobrevivir al conflicto, y que han intentado regresar a sus comunidades, por lo general lo hacen con los hijos que nacieron durante su permanencia en las filas del LRA. Las comunidades del norte de Uganda tienen una cultura patrilineal, es decir vía el padre de los hijos,  y al retornar muchas mujeres desconocen la línea tribal y naturalmente la comunidad a la que pertenecen sus hijos. El acceso a la tierra también se adquiere por herencia patrilienal, por lo cual las mujeres a que retornan se ven obligadas a vivir a las afueras de las ciudades. Sus hijos, además de no tener acceso a la tierra, deben soportar el estigma que las comunidades les imponen por ser hijos del “enemigo”.

Anyeko y Ojok coinciden en que el conflicto en el norte de Uganda aún está por contarse y ha sido muy difícil documentar su magnitud e impacto porque el miedo y el silencio persisten. Por ello, el trabajo con la comunidad y especialmente con las mujeres ha sido fundamental para reconstruir la historia y fortalecer sus capacidades. El acceso a algunas metodologías empleadas por GMH, que fueron presentadas al JRP por Pilar Riaño en diferentes seminarios de capacitación, ha permitido que las mujeres víctimas del conflicto en el norte de Uganda puedan contar con mayor libertad lo que sucedió.

A través  de herramientas metodológicas como los mapas de lugar, los mapas del cuerpo o las líneas de tiempo las mujeres han descrito experiencias traumáticas nunca antes verbalizadas, tales como las violaciones de las que fueron víctimas.  La profesora Baines cuenta cómo gracias a la elaboración de mapas de lugar, fue posible reconstruir la vida en cautiverio, la organización del campamento, el modo de entrenamiento de las tropas e incluso la estructura jerárquica con la que funcionaba del ejército del LRA.

Para Anyeko, las metodologías de GMH han sido muy útiles para su investigación y han ayudado a que algunas mujeres se animen a escribir libros y memorias sobre su vida, aunque muchas también se han reencontrado con un pasado que preferirían olvidar.    

Durante su tiempo en Colombia, este equipo de investigación recorrió las poblaciones del río Atrato entre ellas Bellavista y Bojayá; también visitaron la capital del departamento de Chocó, donde tuvieron oportunidad de conversar con diferentes comunidades afrodescendientes.

El intercambio de experiencias entre Uganda y Colombia, incluyó diálogos y discusiones sobre las estrategias de documentación por parte de organizaciones comunitarias como Cocomacia, ADOM o COVIJUPA en Chocó, el grupo Rwot Lakica (grupo de mujeres que fueron raptadas) en Gulu Uganda, o centros de investigación como el CINEP y el Grupo de Memoria Histórica en Bogotá; y visitas a las comunidades de Pogue y Bellavista, y la organización de sobrevivientes de la masacre de Atiak y Lukodi en Uganda.