Tag Archives: Community Mobilization

“LRA survivors want marshal plan for region,” Daily Monitor, 28 April 2011

In the News, , , , , ,

“LRA survivors want marshal plan for region,” Daily Monitor, 28 April 2011

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1152202/-/c262ngz/-/index.html

By James Eriku


Amuru

April 20 is usually an important day in the lives of former displaced persons living in Atiak Sub-county in Amuru district. And for the Acholi sub-region, the day was set apart to commemorate the gruesome massacre of over 200 civilians by the Lords Resistance Army rebels in 1996, although other similar cases were committed in Lokodi, Lukome, Mucwini and Barlonyo.

The Rev. Johnson Gakumba, the chairman of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative and the bishop of the Northern Uganda Diocese, while presiding over the occasion last Wednesday, prayed that such atrocities are not repeated in the region.

 

Meaningful reparation
The bishop also urged the government to develop meaningful reparation programmes for those who died during the war, adding that the government should also initiate other efforts to improve the lives of survivors. He said reparation could be such an important component of the Juba peace talks, in particularly agenda three, where reconciliation and accountability issues sound pertinent.

Mr Jacob Nokrach, a survivor and the chairman of the Atiak Massacre Survivors Association, said government has abandoned them to NGOs. Justice and reconciliation project, an NGO in the region, is currently supporting the survivors with counselling and guidance. “Many people can now talk freely about the incident more than 10 years ago, which is a positive gesture towards the rehabilitation efforts in the region,” Mr Nokrach said.

Improving livelihood
Mr Nokrach said the commemoration of the day is important to the lives of the survivors and relatives of those who were killed in the attack. The survivors’ chairman said a Marshal Plan should be drawn by the government as the Acholi people emerged from the rubbles of the camps, saying a reparation of Shs5 million per survivor and those killed would go a long way in improving the livelihoods of the affected people.

Ms Irene Oyet, another survivor from Ayugi village, sarcastically said the only thing the attack left her with were the mutilated bodies of her siblings on their compound three hours after the rebels had left. Ms Pasca Aromorach, 18, said she grew up as an orphan after her parents were killed in the attack. She said she was left to raise seven of her siblings amid biting poverty.

Arua Community Dialogue, 23 March 2011

Photos, , ,

[AFG_gallery id=’26’]

In line with JRP’s recent report on memory and an upcoming memorial service for victims in West Nile (May 20), the JRP community mobilization department organized a community dialogue and radio talk show on March 23.

The dialogue aimed to spark debate about the role of memorials and memorialization in West Nile. It generated community ideas on the theme and explored different ways West Nile traditionally remembered events in the past, and how the upcoming memorial service could promote healing and positive remembrance in the region.

Over 100 participants attended this dialogue, held in the WENWA hall in Arua town, including members of the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association (WNKRWVA), civil society organisations, the media, religious leaders and the public. The panellists included the L.C V Vice Chairman of Arua District Local Government (Mr. Sabo Kamilo), a representative of the Agofe of the Lugbara chiefdom (Mr. Godo Onzia John), the chairman of WNKRWVA (Eng. Buti Sam), and CSO representatives from JRP and the Uganda Human Rights Commission.

Following the community dialogue, an interactive radio talk show was hosted on Voice of Life radio to further the discussion on memory and memorialisation with specific reference to West Nile. The panel discussants were Sylvia Opinia (JRP), Eng. Buti Sam (Chairman, WNKRWVA), and Ambassador Joram Jomabuti Ajeani (Elder). The talk show also presented an opportunity for the WNKRWVA to share plans for the upcoming memorial service.

West Nile Advocacy Training, February 2011

Photos, , ,

[AFG_gallery id=’24’]

From February 1-3, JRP’s Community Mobilization and Documentation teams organized an advocacy training workshop for members of the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association (WNKRWVA) in Jershem Hotel in Arua town. The training included participants from Arua, Nebbi, Zombo, Adjumani, Moyo, Yumbe, Koboko and Maracha districts.

On February 4, the Association put the skills obtained in the training to good use. In a meeting facilitated by JRP, WNKRWVA met with local leaders to create awareness about the challenges they are undergoing in pursuing compensation and reparations from the Government of Uganda for atrocities they suffered throughout the conflict.

A statement written by JRP in consultation with the Association was presented to local leaders by the victims. Local leaders present included the Deputy LCV of Arua, the Deputy LCV of Nebbi, and candidates who were standing for elective positions in Arua.

Since this meeting, the group has continued to seek avenues to advance their advocacy demands to their leaders. They are currently undergoing registration of their members in a bid to solidify their demand for reparations. They have opened official files in the office of the LCV and the DISO in Arua district to update local government about their activities and maintain a conducive working relationship.

“Victims of war in West Nile receive advocacy skills training,” JRP, 1 February 2011

Press Releases, , , ,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 1, 2011

 

Victims of war in West Nile receive advocacy skills training

ARUA— From February 1-3, 2011, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) will hold a three-day workshop in Arua to train victims of war in West Nile on how to use advocacy strategies to seek redress for the transitional justice issues that affect them most. On Friday, February 4, 2011, the participants will implement their training in a meeting with local leaders to seek justice solutions for war victims in the region.

This training and meeting will be held at the Jershem Hotel in Arua town with members of the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association, and will engage local-level, grassroots persons directly affected by conflict to apply advocacy and lobbying strategies to their demand for justice for past abuses.

Participants will explore a variety of advocacy and lobbying strategies including: problem identification and analysis, proposal and objective formulation, and strategy implementation. These tools will help victims identify “what needs to be done?” and “how?” During the course of the training, victims will formulate a statement to be presented to local leaders at Friday’s meeting.

This training is part of a larger initiative by JRP to ensure that the opinions of victims are not left out of the wider discussions on transitional justice issues such as community reparations, truth-seeking, reconciliation, traditional justice, and gender justice.

Media are invited to observe portions of the training sessions and to cover the meeting with local leaders. For more information, email info@justiceandreconciliation.com or call Sylvia Opinia, JRP Community Mobilisation Team Leader, at +256 (0)471433008 or +256 (0)772332353. Or, visit us on the web at www.justiceandreconciliation.com.

 

About JRP

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. They are based in Gulu, northern Uganda.

To download this press release, click here.

Community members during the Mucwini community dialogue

When Two Elephants Fight: Reflections from the Mucwini Community Dialogue

Statements & Briefs, , , , , ,
Community members during the Mucwini community dialogue
Community members during the Mucwini community dialogue

It is mid-morning on a beautiful, sunny Sunday, June 6, 2010. Residents of Mucwini, mostly men, are chatting away, seated in small groups at the trading centre. Meanwhile others, mainly women and children, are returning from church, most likely heading to their homes to prepare meals for the family. It is the season for mangoes, and children seem to be more interested in the seasonal fruits than going straight home to eat the meal prepared by their mothers.

Under the famous mango tree shade in the compound of one of the elders in the area, located just about 20 metres from the sub-county headquarters, two large public address system speakers, mounted by the JRP and Mega FM team, are playing loud local music by Acholi artists and attracting curious passer-by. This mango tree shade is a favourite spot in the area for hosting community events. Today’s gathering is part of a series of community dialogues organised by JRP in collaboration with Mega FM, a popular radio station in Northern Uganda. Later the opinions recorded here will be fittingly aired on Mega FM’s ‘Te-yat’ programme, meaning “under the tree,” a reference to Acholi traditions of discussing important issues collectively under the shade of a tree.

The discussions put a lot of emphasis on the need for all stakeholders to build on the Acholi traditional justice principles that involve compensation, truth-telling and symbolic ceremonies for the dead. Community members also urged each other to find ways to forgive one another and go back to start living as one people so that they can set good precedence for their children.

To access the brief, click here

Kick-starting the campaign to put TJ on the election agenda

Press Conference/Release Notice: Casting Election Ballots to Address Victimhood

Blog, , , ,

Kick-starting the campaign to put TJ on the election agenda

On Tuesday, November 16, JRP held a press conference at our Gulu office to officially launch our new advocacy campaign to put transitional justice on the election agenda.

This campaign, “Casting the Ballot to Address Victimhood: A Call to Put Transitional Justice on the Election Agenda,” will stress six action points and implore a strategic plan to disseminate information and mobilise communities through diverse mechanisms, including direct community engagement, newspapers, handouts, radio, and music. By mobilizing war-affected communities to demand their grievances be addressed and acknowledged, we are providing communities and the country at large a space for reflection, debate, and analysis of the issues.

Thanks to all who joined us from 10-11am as we shared details of the campaign and read a statement on TJ issues facing communities in transition.

To download the press release, click here. To access campaign materials, click here.

Lukodi Core Team, October 2010

Photos, ,

[AFG_gallery id=’15’]

JRP is currently engaged in an on-going process to develop a community reconciliation model in Lukodi village, Bungatira sub-county, Gulu district.

A meeting was held with the Community Reconciliation (CORE) Team in Lukodi to guide members in conducting conflict analysis using the RPP (Reflecting on Peace Practice) force field analysis technique. The team came up with a number of factors that are currently working against peaceful coexistence among the community members and explored strategies for combating them.

Survivor Groups’ Advocacy Training, 30 September 2010

Photos, , , , ,

[AFG_gallery id=’14’]

In order to mobilise survivor groups to lobby and advocate for issues that affect them, JRP organised a training workshop on basic advocacy skills for 24 representatives of survivor/victim groups from northern Uganda.

The representatives came from five massacre sites across the region, including:

  • Abia, Alebtong district, Lango sub-region
  • Atiak, Amuru district, Acholi sub-region
  • Lukodi, Gulu district, Acholi sub-region
  • Mucwini, Kitgum district, Acholi sub-region
  • Mukura, Kumi district, Teso sub-region

The workshop, held from September 28-30 at the Sports View Garden Inn in Gulu, had objectives to empower survivor/victim groups with necessary skills in advocacy and lobbying and to develop advocacy strategies and plans for their specific groups. Over the course of three days, each group identified and analyzed pressing issues facing victims and survivors in their communities and then developed an advocacy plan to remedy the problem.

In addition, the training gave each of the attendees the opportunity to interact with others who have survived similar atrocities and to share experiences and solutions. It also provided an opportunity for groups’ ideas to be heard beyond the workshop. News pieces on the advocacy training ran on both Mega FM and Radio King.