Local views on resettlement of internally displaced people in northern Uganda

Local voices on decongestion and return of internally displaced people in northern Uganda was produced in mid-2007 by the Social Communications Department of Gulu Archdiocese in partnership with Conciliation Resources.

Supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs/ Project zivik.

Transcript of the video (edited)

Introduction

Camp life in northern Uganda started in 1996. In an attempt to protect civilians from atrocities by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the government of Uganda started moving people into so-called protected villages. Where people did not follow voluntarily, force was used. Over the years the population in the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) varied with the security situation and reached over 1.5 million in 2004. While people were initially told they could return after three months, the majority of the population in the Acholi sub-region still lives in camps. With the current peace talks between the LRA rebels and the government of Uganda, people have started to think about returning home. Nevertheless most displaced people in the main camps consider them safer than the decongestion camps.

Local voices from people in the main IDP camps

"Life in the camps has affected the morals and the way we bring up our children. If these conditions continue, Acholi tradition will be destroyed. Problems in the IDP camps are numerous. The number of orphans is increasing, we suffer from lack of food, inadequate education and further challenges with the youth. They have children without being able to mange their homes. The situation in the camps needs to become a priority before it gets out of hand. That would give us the opportunity to bring up our children according to tradition." Woman in main camp

The original camps in Acholi housed up to 60,000 people. They are often overcrowded, lacked adequate supply of clean water and access to land for cultivation. People in these camps often suffer from diseases, lack of employment, a lack of food and limited access to basic services. While living conditions in the main camps are harsh, at the moment many IDPs still consider them safer then the decongestion camps. However the government came up with a program of decongesting the overcrowded IDPs near to their parishes into smaller camps. For some in the IDP camps it has solved their problems, for others it has not.

"The decongested camp shall not give me the chance to reach my fields. I want to go back home where I can dig in my land." Man in main IDP camp

"People say the decongested camps are good, but I don’t agree. I remember when we were told to move to smaller camps in the past. Then trouble came early in the morning. We were shocked! We asked ourselves what was happening when the soldiers were leaving with their entire luggage. We remained behind with our children, not knowing what would happen. Later we returned to Awer camp. I see no use in creating smaller camps. Let people wait to return home." Woman in main IDP camp

"The idea of taking people to the decongested camps does not make sense. Some of them are very far from the main camp. If something happens, the few soldiers there will not be of much help. Besides, if the soldiers run away the rebels will kill us the way they want. These people have a plan, especially when they know there is a small camp with few soldiers. This happened in Guruguru camp. People started going to smaller camps, but when they heard rumours about the LRA plan to attack, they moved back to the main camp. Therefore if people are taken home, the government should disarm the remaining LRA rebels. When this is done, we shall go home, but not to smaller camps." Man in main IDP camp

"To me the idea of taking people to the decongested camps is a good one as long as they avail enough soldiers to protect people. It is tiring to move from the gardens to the camps, especially for the old mothers. They return when they are so tired and aren’t able to cook for their children anymore. If you are taken near to your land you are able to work in your garden a little longer. Therefore it is very good if people are settled in the decongested camps with enough soldiers." Woman in main IDP camp

Local voices from people living in the decongested camps

To address the unbearable conditions in many of the main camps in Acholi, the government of Uganda started a resettlement programme, encouraging people to move into smaller camps closer to their original homesteads. These so-called decongestion camps generally offer better living conditions and allow people to work on their land. However the new settlements lack basic infrastructure and have no or very limited access to education and health services.

"I moved to this place because in Teetugu IDP camp we faced many problems, especially renting land for cultivation without having money. So I came to Labora decongestion camp near to my original land. This makes cultivation easy and cheap. At Teetugu camp, everything needed money. We had to pay for drinking water monthly, while we also paid the maintenance bill. In this place we fetch water from a well for free. Here we may face the problem with rain. As you can see we have laid raw bricks and the rain has washed them away. We need a tarpaulin to cover them. Another problem is that some water points constructed long ago have dried up. But generally things are well here." Woman in decongestion camp

"This is very near to our original homestead and our land for digging is very close by. This is much better then in the main camp where we were far away from our gardens. In the main camp, lack of money has made renting land difficult. And even when you rent, sometimes the land owners remove their land from you after one year without you getting any benefit from it. We decided to come and cultivate our own land. That is why we supported the decongestion program and willingly came here. With the return home program we feel better here and providing security is easy. But we are not sure about peace and we haven’t understood the results of the Juba peace talks. The advantage of this place is that we are together. We can assist one another. Reconstruction of our homesteads is now easy. And if they allowed us to go home we would have built our huts. So we shall live here and go when our huts are ready and the problems in the camp will have been solved." Woman in decongestion camp

"Labora was our original home village before the war, therefore the problem of renting land for cultivation shall be no more. The disadvantage of renting land is that sometimes the cultivated crops are destroyed by drought, animals and you make a loss. However here, there is plenty of land. It is now very fertile and we hope that there will not be any more drought. The problem for us youth is education because schools have been destroyed. There are no health centres or markets where we can get food while waiting for our harvest." Young man in decongestion camp

"We were brought here because of the congestion problem in Pabbo. There, getting food was a big problem and that is why we are here. There was not even a small piece of land to cultivate. So we thought that while we are here we should be near home and dig as we like. And even if we return to the main camp again something will remain. Everybody in the decongestion camps are near to their original land where they lived before the war. That is why they are going there. For us we also came back to our land but unfortunately the camp has been installed on it and there is nowhere to dig. But what brought us here is nearness to our land and nothing else. There is no other place to go. And what would we eat if we had remained in the major camp." Woman in decongestion camp

"The advantage of our return here is that we shall be able to rear domestic animals. If the peace talks go well then we shall finally go home. We need to stay together here so that we are able to take care of our animals and crops in the garden, since we have so many things that destroy our crops. Even human beings. But when you are near your properties you can take good care of them. The land is very fertile, but if you are far away in the main camp you cannot utilize it. Another advantage is that you can plant trees. We can take good care of our children. As you know, the camp has ruined the lives of our children and we are just not sure if all will come home with us. There is a lot of conflict so we are here to get some space and happiness since we had problems raising and educating our children, because of the children’s rights. You are not even supposed to beat a child. If a neighbour’s child has no manners, it will be very hard to raise your children properly in such an environment. At least here we can do much with the children. We came purposely here to take care of our property and land." Man in decongestion camp

"I think people will meet challenges when they go home. Many have little money to start with and should be given some assistance to help resettle. Further they tell people to go home, but our homes are not yet fine. Soldiers should be sent to inspect the area and assure us of safety. More so, the peace talks shall give us hope for return." Man in decongestion camp

"Where we were there was no space, especially for us youth whose future is still dark. There was no fresh air to make us think positively. Now that we are here and home is very near, we can utilize the land. That is better than renting. There is no age limit in education. I myself am going back to school. The most beautiful thing about this place is that there is really a fresh air blowing here that will make us youth able to initiate projects that can help us. Compared to how we lived in a congested camp I am very happy here. In the main camp there were so many rules and regulations. We suffered, especially from soldiers who would beat us if we out after 8pm. Others violated our rights so we felt very painful about it. Now that we are here, we are very free and happy and all youth are supporting this, knowing it is our responsibility to maintain it." Young man in decongestion camp (above)

Local voices on the return home programme

People’s views on decongestion and resettlement vary a lot. So far there is no opportunity for them to feed their fears, hopes and aspirations into the process and influence these policies affecting their lives.

"I wonder how we will go home. Will they take one person to his/her home or will they take small groups? Will the soldiers be able to sub-divide themselves into smaller groups? What if the LRA finds strength; will they not come and kill all the soldiers and abduct all the remaining children?" Woman

"I think there is no need to go home as long as Kony is not out of the bush. I heard a returnee on the radio saying that the LRA is excited about people returning to their home. Because it will be easy to abduct them. If we go home when Kony is still in the bush, the LRA will take all our children." Woman

"I think, the government should take us to our original homesteads where we have gardens to cultivate so that we can send our children to school." Woman

"If the situation calms people have to go back home. But if it does not we have to stay here. We don’t know much about the war. We are just civilians. It’s up to the soldiers and people involved in the war to find out if it’s safe and if they can give us soldiers to escort us home. If not then we are not in a hurry to go home. since there is no sign or guarantees that the situation is safe." Woman in decongestion camp

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