Returning home in northern Uganda

Monitoring the return of internally displaced people (IDPs) in northern Uganda (2008) was produced by the Social Communications Department of Gulu Archdiocese with support from Conciliation Resources.

After over a decade of living in often squalid conditions in large IDP camps, many people are cautiously returning to their original homes or resettlement sites close by. This video looks at the challenges they face.

Video transcript and interviews

Introduction

As the 21 years of massacre, looting, abduction and all its associated evil calms with the peace process, the irregular food distribution by the non-governmental organizations and associated support has created a sense of belonging among the Acholi people.

Agriculture, though at small scale, has become the focus of the majority of internally displaced people.

There is a cessation of hostilities agreement between the government and the LRA. The scent and breeze of peace during this period is opening the way for the IDPs to go home. However, 13 years of displacement has left the Acholi people with new challenges.

The challenge of reconstruction and resettlement in the Acholi area

All schools and health centres were submerged in bushes, no traces of homesteads, increased numbers of orphans, child-mothers as well as child-headed families, loss of cultural chain, and many are nucleated, rather than extended families. The spirit of teamwork and identification has vanished.

While most think of returning to a very fertile land that was redundant for 12 years, those on whose land the camps were installed have nowhere to jubilate the peace process. Their lands have been extensively exhausted with closely spaced huts, animals grazing every nearby space. Latrines and burials cannot make the land to be cultivated soon.

The challenges faced by the education sector during the resettlement of displaced people

The schools that were abandoned 12 years ago have become too bushy that teachers and pupils cannot access them before security personnel clears the way. The learning environment remains traumatizing to both parties in the education sector.

1. “I’m in primary four at Atede site. The main challenge home here is lack of money to buy food and pay school fees and some of us first go to dig in the morning before coming to school.” Schoolgirl pictured left.

2. “We move in groups when coming and going back home. The normal timetable is what we are following. The distance of home from school is about one kilometre. However, during rainy season, we would go to school in the morning and return at 4pm as there is no nearby home to take refuge from the rain.” Young boy.

The fertile land in Acholi sub-region thirsts many people, however the fruits and wealth in this land remains a misery. Many corpses were not buried or found, rampant and unexploded ordinances because of being a battlefield for long, land boundaries lost. Nevertheless, the brave Acholi people prefer to participate in the country’s economic development through agriculture. This is only possible at resettlement.

3.“My name is Moro Michael; we left this place in 1996 and went to town. The problem we faced while there was inadequate food supply. As a peasant, I decided to come back home. Back home here, the main challenge is that wrangling on land borders has worsened. This was there before the war and it is increasing because the children born in camps and at the onset of the war do not know their land boundaries since their parents died without showing the demarcation to the children. Our request to elders and the cultural chiefs is that the wrangles on land should be addressed earlier to avoid more conflict. The other challenge we are facing during the process of returning home are; roads and paths, they are inaccessible. As we are just beginning to cultivate, we request that we be given food aid to help us for the time being as we look forward to our harvest. To add on, water sources have dried up although others still remain but would need to be protected and more drilled. On the issue of health, to be honest, there is no health centre around here. For example from Opok up to Lakwana there is no health centre. Even with the education sector, we have schools like Pageya, Atede and Ogul primary schools; we request that amidst these schools, a health centre should be constructed. The said health centre should be equipped with medicine and personnel. As the situation calms, we need these schools to be reopened with accessible linking roads and health centres.

The reason why we left our children in the camps and we elders are here is that we are not sure of this silent situation. The reason is that these children are at school and we could not discontinue them, as there are no schools here. However, when these services are available all these children will join us in the village. Security wise, at least thugs could be here as there are no traces of soldiers around. Soldiers or police should be deployed in the area to reduce the fears. The issue of landmines we do not know much as the place is still very bushy.

The camp had so many associated problems especially when there was no foodstuff. At least at home here we can struggle by planting short seasoned crops like green vegetables, okra or even cassava. In the camp there was no cultivation land.” Moro Michael, farmer (pictured above).

4. “I am here at Oguru, I was displaced in Unyama IDP camp. I stayed for long in the camp and when we felt the silent situation, I thought it wise to get grass and put up a hut for the children. I have not refused the camp life but with time, I need to stay home fully. However, in case of anything we shall go back to the camp.”

Taking care of children in the camp was becoming impossible for us parents even if you leave the children and come to garden, you would find a lot of mess. However, here, things are easy. In fact controlling children is much easier for us parents unlike it was in the displaced peoples' camps.”

Let us return home with the children so that we are able to groom them. The disadvantages of the IDP camps included; poor sanitation, water scarcity due to overpopulation and no neighbour can give your child drinking water when you are not there. All doors remain closed, children suffer a lot. Back home here, the doors are always open. There is good relationship between neighbours and us, and life is much better.”

5. “In the camp, the space was so limited, even where to dig a pit latrine or put a bathing shelter was a big problem. In case you fall sick, all children would be affected. Everyday one has to get a bicycle to go and look for firewood but home here, there are plenty in the gardens. I really appreciate the return home programme and request others to do the same so we can start to live as was before the war. Even among children, the rate of diseases caused by poor sanitation is reducing. The rampant cholera outbreak in the camp shall be no more at home here. Because we have enough clean space, my appeal to government is that they should help us with basic and essential items that can make us resettle very fast. In fact, we did not save anything while in the camp. We are indeed poor.” Man who has returned home.

6. “One main problem is school. The school has no teachers, even if children go to school, learning does not take place. The roads are inaccessible for us, there is water crisis and the numbers of orphans have greatly increased. We are taking care of orphans; in fact even some of us are orphans. The only nearby health centre is five miles from here, and you can imagine in case of an emergency like malaria. In fact we are living at God’s mercy because we do not know what surrounds us here.” Man in a resettlement camp.

7. “In far distant places where the Uganda People’s Defence Forces were deployed, the rebels never accessed it during daytime. However, in places like Coopil and Gotato cases of landmines are rampant. For us here the common places to fear are wells, boreholes and along paths. However, the fear is not so great.” Man who has returned home.

Views of the people on whose land the IDP camps are situated

8.“My land is about 30 hectares. Half of these, the camp has been installed on and the remaining half where I used to cultivate has become grazing land for animals, playground for children and other people defecate there. It is difficult for people of my type to survive - we have to look for land elsewhere and cultivate. My appeal is that the government should compensate us but not buy our land. If we are to allow the government to buy our land, then the coming generation shall suffer the consequences. Since government requested us to give land for the displaced people during the peak of the insurgency, as they resettle now the same government should decide on how to support us.”

9.“At Lapainat tee-tugu, people have gone to resettle in places like Labora and Abone. However, they still come back to the camps to get foodstuff and other related basic needs. They have only gone there to cultivate but there is no homestead where people are fully resettled. All their children are studying at Lapainat primary school. All weekends these people come back to the camp to get foodstuff and other necessities. There is no sign that people are returning home. This is what I want to advocate -these people should go to their homesteads so that here we can also do something.” (Man, pictured right)

10. “People who are staying in the camps, we stay with them nicely. But their children and animals started destroying our crops that we planted near the camps. Even fruits like oranges which we planted long ago have all been destroyed. This made us very annoyed because this land cannot do well because of the burials of the people. They could not take their dead ones to their original villages then. Besides, pit latrines, bathing and urinal shelter all contributed in spoiling our land. We want these people to all go to their land because what they are doing to us is extra bad."

Credits
Sound track by local artist.
Appreciation to all the people who gave their views with an open mind.

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