Tag Archives: documentation

Community-Led Documentation launched in Lukodi!

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Vincent Oyet, a member of the Lukodi CORE (Community Reconciliation) Team holds a copy of 'Ododo Pa Lukodi' (the stories of Lukodi) during the launch of Community-Led Documentation in Lukodi.
Vincent Oyet, a member of the Lukodi CORE (Community Reconciliation) Team holds a copy of ‘Ododo Pa Lukodi’ (the stories of Lukodi) during the launch of Community-Led Documentation in Lukodi.

It can finally be said that Lukodi’s community has its history documented in its member’s own words and based on their memories. But this just the beginning. On the 20th of November 2013, the Lukodi Memorial Site officially launched Community-Led Documentation in Lukodi, a village on the outskirts of Gulu town, which was the site of an infamous LRA attack in 2004.

Under Community-Led Documentation, the community of Lukodi was given the tools to document its own history and experiences. The objective is to promote accurate community-owned documented material for current and future generations. JRP plans to extend this initiative to other war-affected communities in the future to enable them to tell their own stories.

The event was attended by representatives of Gulu local government, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, ChildFund, survivors of the Lukodi massacre of 2004, community members of Burcoro, students of Lukodi primary school and the area councillor for Bungatira sub-county in which Lukodi is located, among others.

During the event, community members performed songs and poems which reflected on the pillars of their transitional justice needs – these included poems entitled Ada Ber (‘the truth is good’, on the value of truth telling) and Lweny Rac (‘war is bad’, on the value of peace).  After this, a written timeline of the history of Lukodi, written by members of the community, entitled ‘Ododo Pa Lukodi Ma Lwak Ocoyo’ (‘the stories of Lukodi’) was presented.

A map of Lukodi and its surrounding communities that formed the Lukodi IDP camp and were displaced during the conflict were also displayed, as were samples of the food rations that relief agencies gave to people in camps. These were shown to visitors in the type of small hut people were forced to live during the conflict. An ‘alup’, a makeshift home hidden deep in the bush and which was typical for community members who were seeking to hide from rebels, was also reconstructed.

The launch also featured the unveiling of a room at Lukodi Primary School which was specially dedicated by the school to the initiative. Inside, drawings by community members depicting key events including but not limited to the atrocities committed during the massacre in 2004, activities of Cilil rebels, looting of cattle by Karamojong warriors as well as pictures of what life was like in the internally displaced person’s camps that many members of the community lived till they returned to their homes in 2007 hung on the walls. A mural also showed post-conflict life in the community – such as how the traditional Acholi communal fireplace discussion place, wang-oo, has been revived, how children are now going to school and how cultural celebrations and festivals are able to flourish in this period of peace.

Read more about the Lukodi massacre here.

Read more about Community-Led Documentation here.

Below are pictures from the event

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The Beasts at Burcoro – FN XVIII, July 2013

Field Notes,

Recounting Atrocities by the NRA’s 22nd Battalion in Burcoro Village in April 1991

The Beasts at Burcoro - Recounting Atrocities by the NRA’s 22nd Battalion in Burcoro Village in April 1991, JRP Field Note XVII, July 2013
The Beasts at Burcoro – Recounting Atrocities by the NRA’s 22nd Battalion in Burcoro Village in April 1991, JRP Field Note XVIII, July 2013

Located 16 kilometers northeast of Gulu town, in the sub-county of Awach, Gulu District, lies the quiet village of Burcoro. Despite its apparent tranquility, a sinister past remains hidden behind the welcoming faces of its inhabitants. Between the 14th and the 18th of April 1991, Burcoro was the scene of a brutal operation carried out by the 22nd Battalion of the National Resistance Army (NRA) in which several hundred people were detained at Burcoro Primary School. They were released only after being interrogated, tortured, and sexually abused throughout the four days of the operation.

This report presents a detailed account of the events that took place on those fateful days in April 1991 based on individual interviews and focus group discussions with victims and survivors. It also explores the enduring challenges they face, including not knowing the whereabouts of relatives that were taken by the soldiers and chronic health issues arising from their ill treatment. We highlight the plight of men and women who were abducted, widowed or raped as part of the operation, and note the Government’s responsibility and unfulfilled promise to properly compensate the victims and their relatives.

Lastly, the report makes specific recommendations based on discussions with the affected community members which are directed at the GoU and relevant stakeholders in the region. These call for government to apologize, hold the perpetrators accountable, and provide compensation to victims, while civil society should support the community’s desire to put in place a memorial and help meet their healthcare needs.

Read the entire Field Note here: Burcoro (PDF)

A step closer to community-led documentation

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A man reads from written documentation 'Ododo pa Lukodi' (stories of Lukodi) during a Community Led Documentation community outreach in Lukodi, Gulu district. 27 April 2013.
A man reads from the written documentation ‘Ododo pa Lukodi’ (stories of Lukodi) as part of the Community Led Documentation community outreach in Lukodi, Gulu district. 27 April 2013.

Last Saturday, JRP’s Documentation department attended a community outreach on community led documentation (CLD)  organised in the community of Lukodi in Gulu district.

Under Community Led Documentation, communities are given the tools to document their own history and experiences. The objective is to promote accurate, community owned documented material for future generations. Lukodi is the first community that the department is working with under the programme and was documented under ‘The Lukodi Massacre, Field Note XIII’ in August 2011.

The community outreach featured a presentation by the 21 members of the JRP assisted CLD team of a 26 page document written in Acholi as well drawings depicting experiences going back as far as the Idi Amin era. Following the presentation, the community members gave feedback and input on the steps forward for initiative.

Up to 150 community members attended the outreach.

Read more about the Lukodi massacre here.

See pictures of the event below.

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Obalanga Cover

The Day They Came: Recounting the LRA’s Invasion of Teso Sub-region through Obalanga Sub-county in 2003, FN XIV

Field Notes,
Obalanga Cover
A survivor of the helicopter bombings in Angica B displays a bomb shell from the helicopter gunship, and survivors display injuries they received at the hands of the LRA.

In June 2003, the LRA infiltrated Teso sub-region in eastern Uganda for the first time. The civilian population and the government army were caught unaware, a factor which had disastrous humanitarian implications. In line with their trademark pattern of atrocities, the rebel soldiers carried out killings, abductions, maiming, looting, rape burning and pillaging. By the time the UPDF repulsed them almost 8 months later, approximately 90% of the population in Teso sub-region had been displaced into internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, several thousand children had been abducted and thousands of people had lost their lives and property. This report explores the impacts of the LRA incursion into Teso sub-region using case studies and victims’ testimonies from Obalanga sub-county in Amuria district, in addition to making recommendations to relevant stakeholders.

Erratum: 

Please note that the following change have been made to Field Note XIV

The heading:

“Appendix D: Identity Cards of Some of the Victims Who Perished in theHelicopter Gunship Bombings in Angica B and Morungatuny”

has been ammended to read

“Appendix D: Identity Cards of Some of the Victims and Survivors of the Helicopter Gunship Bombings in Angica B and Morungatuny”.

Read the Field Note here: The Day they Came – Obalanga – Erratum Sept 2012

10th Anniversary of the Mucwini Massacre

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Recently, members of JRP’s Community Documentation and Mobilization Departments attended the 10th anniversary of the “Mucwini Massacre” which was celebrated in Mucwini, Kitgum District.

The sinister events that took place in and around Mucwini date back to the ill-fated evening of the 23th of July, 2002. As the local inhabitants were settling down for their evening meals, they remained unaware of the imminent danger that lurked at a close distance. The gruesome events that were to unfold on that sad July evening would only conclude after the massacre of 56 innocent men, women, and children, and with a whole community wrapped in chaos and despair.

On that evening the inhabitants Muchwini, as well as surrounding parishes were attacked by a heavily armed group of LRA rebels. It is widely believed that this was a reprisal-attack undertaken by the LRA as a response to the escape of a man called Omara, a member of the community that had been abducted by the rebels a couple of days before. Apparently Omara had been able to quickly flee from captivity a couple of days before the attack, deeply angering his captors in the process. Rumors say that the news of his escape quickly made their way to the Sudan, where the LRA’s top leader Joseph Kony is believed to have ordered the local unit commander to attack the village of Mucwini and to “slaughter everything that breaths”.

Several interviewed people have alleged that during Omara’s abduction, he was forced to confess the name of his direct relatives, as well as the description of his place of residence in the village. It seems that Omara, a member of the Pubec clan, was so embittered by a long standing land dispute between his clan and the Pajong clan that when interrogated by the rebels he provided them with the name and place of residence of an influential elder and leader of the Pajong clan which he claimed was his father. After the massacre, accounts of Omara’s role in the attack quickly came to light, and since according to Acholi culture, one person’s crime extends to his or her entire clan, the blame quickly fell on the Pubec clan to take responsibility for the apparent misdeed of one of its members.

The event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the massacre was led by Bishop Macleord Ochola, an important local religious leader who has been working with this community for several years, and who is one of the main actors of a long mediation process that has allowed for the Pubec and Pajong clans to meet face to face and discuss reparations after years of animosity and hostility between one another.

Significant progress has been made ever since that dreadful July day and the community has overcome many of the challenges that it has faced in the past. Nevertheless, unresolved issues still remain, most notably with regards the payment of reparations and a more comprehensive settling of the land disputed. This commemoration ceremony thus presented the community of Mucwini with a good opportunity to not only honor its dead, but also to openly voice and discuss those issues that remain a constant cause of tension until this day.

Related: Massacre in Mucwini, Field Note VIII

Upcoming Field Notes and Reports

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Look out for JRP’s upcoming Community Documentation reports on the following topics;

• “When a Gunman Speaks, You Listen”. This is a documentation of victims’ conflict experiences in Palabek Sub-County in the late 1980s and early 1990. In this report victims recount their suffering at the hands of NRA soldiers and the LRA rebels. Victims are particularly haunted by the name of a one “Captain Abiriga” who led the NRA’s 32nd Battalion which was based in Palabek, and subsequently committed numerous violations against the civilian populace. This field note is due by the end of August 2012.

• The Northern Uganda Transitional Justice Monitor; This is a survey of the transitional justice situation in northern Uganda, and how war affected communities are pursuing recovery and reconciliation. The survey monitors various aspects of recovery such as resettlement of formerly abducted persons, reconciliation, access to justice, livelihoods, security, and memorialization. The report is due by the end of August 2012.

• Victim or Villain? This special report focuses on individuals who bear dual victim-perpetrator identities, and the complexities involved in handling them. It uses the case study of Thomas Kwoyelo, a senior commander of the LRA who trial commenced before the International Crimes Division (ICD) in 2011. It discusses controversial questions of Amnesty, Reparations, and Impartiality. The report has no specific release date as a result of the pending trial of Thomas Kwoyelo but is likely to be released by the end of the year.

Situational Brief on Truth-Telling in Northern Uganda

Statements & Briefs, ,

On Tuesday 18th July 2012, the Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) released its long awaited study on traditional justice and truth-telling. The one day launch event took place at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala. The report contained findings of a study on traditional justice mechanisms of tribes all over northern Uganda, and truth telling mechanisms. The report made policy recommendations on adoption of a national policy on truth-telling and traditional justice.

Following the launch of this report, JRP’s Community Documentation department decided to conduct a brief situational analysis on truth-telling within local communities, to analyze local perceptions and opinions on the subject. The situational brief has eight questions assessing the areas of:
• Community members’ knowledge on truth seeking process;
• Relevance of a truth seeking process
• Types of truth they would like revealed
• Timing of the truth seeking process and whether it is overdue or not
• Methodology; truth commission vs local level truth telling
• Leadership; who do they think should lead the process
• Consequences of a truth seeking process
• Voluntariness; Whether the process should be voluntary or not.

The situational brief was conducted in Awach, Koch-Goma, Lukodi, and Gulu Town. Read the findings below (PDF format):

Situational Brief – Current Perceptions on Truth-Telling in Gulu District

10th Anniversary of the Mucwini Massacre

Blog, ,

Recently, members of JRP’s Community Documentation and Mobilization departments attended the 10th anniversary of the “Mucwini Massacre” which was held in the village of Mucwini, Kitgum District.

The sinister events that took place in and around Mucwini date back to the ill-fated evening of the 23th of July, 2002, when a group of LRA rebels surprised the inhabitants that were settling down for their evening meals. What happened in that sad evening, and which unfolded until early hours of the morning, concluded with the massacre of 56 innocent men, women, and children and a whole community wrapped in chaos and despair.

It is widely believed that the attack was carried out as a reprisal-attack undertaken by the LRA as response of the escape of a man called Omara, a member of the same community that had been abducted a couple of days before. It seems that Omara was able to quickly flee from captivity. It appears that the news of the event quickly made their way to the LRA’s top leader Joseph Kony in the Sudan, who is believed to have ordered the local unit commander to attack the village of Mucwini and to “slaughter everything that breaths”.

It seems that before his escape, the abductee was forced to confess the name of his direct relatives, as well as the description of his place of residence in the village. Apparently Omara, a member of the Pubec clan, was so embittered by a long standing land dispute between his clan and the Pajong clan, that when interrogated by the rebels he provided them with the name of an influential elder and leader of the Pajong clan, which he claimed was his father, and described to them the man’s place of residence. After the massacre, accounts of Omara’s role in the attack quickly came to light and because according to Acholi culture, one person’s crime naturally extends to his or her entire clan, the blame quickly fell on the Pubec clan to take responsibility for the apparent behavior of one of its members.

The event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the massacre was led by Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola, an important local religious leader who has been working with this community for several years, and one of the main leaders of a long mediation process that has allowed for the Pubec and Pajong clans to meet face to face and discuss reparations after years of animosity and hostility towards one another.  

Significant progress has been made ever since that dreadful July day and the community has overcome many of the challenges that it has faced in the past. Nevertheless, unresolved issues still remain, most notably with regards the payment of reparations and a more comprehensive settling of the land disputed. This commemoration ceremony thus presented the community of Mucwini with a good opportunity to not only honor its dead, but also to openly voice and discuss those issues that remain a cause of tension until this day.

Related: Massacre in Mucwini, Field Note VIII

 

Coming Soon: Northern Uganda TJ Monitoring Survey

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It is almost four years now that northern Uganda has experienced relative peace following the relocation of the LRA to DRC and CAR. The majority of the population that had hitherto been displaced into IDP camps have now returned to their homesteads and resumed life in the post-conflict phase. Apart from land conflicts which are still rampant, many people seem to have moved on with their lives despite the past violence and a large number of atrocities that were committed during the conflict. There have been few reports of revenge attacks by victims against ”alleged perpetrators.”

So is this an indicator that northern Uganda is quickly putting the past behind and moving forward? Maybe yes, maybe no.

To find out, the JRP Community Documentation department intends to carry out a northern Uganda transitional justice monitoring process.

The objective of the Transitional Justice Monitoring Survey is to track the progress of justice and reconciliation in northern Uganda. The first phase of the project will be focused on Gulu district. The results of this survey will be used in our advocacy efforts and policy recommendations to further the interests of the communities and victims of the conflict.

Using a quantitative survey, we will interview 598 households across all 23 sub-counties and 120 parishes in the district. Questions focus on issues such as missing persons, community dispute resolution, traditional justice, memorialization, reparations, security, and formerly-abducted persons.

In the coming weeks, we will release the findings of the pilot conducted in Gulu district, and in the coming months, results from other districts and sub-regions. Stay tuned!