Eye Witness Account: From Transition to Transformation
Monaghan woman, Kate O’Donnell has just come back from a month in Africa, including a visit to Northern Uganda. This is her eye witness account of her experiences there.
The last time I visited Northern Uganda was in 2004. At that time the ongoing attacks and atrocities of the rebel group, the Lords' Resistance Army (LRA), had forced people out of their villages, and there were 1.8 million living in camps for internally displaced people. These people were prevented from getting to their land to farm, to collect water, to collect firewood, to do the ordinary things that people do. But this was not new – this had been going on for 17 years.
On that last visit I travelled north from the capital by small plane, landed in a field beside Kitgum town, was given a security briefing and a two-way radio and did not move outside the town. Every night, a stream of ‘Night Commuters' would arrive into Kitgum. These were mainly women and children, trying to do some work in nearby villages during the day, and who every night walked to the town with all of their possessions on their heads. In those days the Oxfam programme was mainly focussing on public health and water supplies for the people in camps, and the World Food Programme was doing food distribution.
In August 2006 peace talks finally started to yield results, and there was a cessation of hostilities. Since then over half of the 1.8 million displaced people have left the camps and have either returned to their villages, or to transit sites. When I visited this time, it was like going to a different country. When I got to Kitgum I was able to travel to towns and villages that previously I had only seen on maps. The most astonishing statistic that I heard was that 65% of the population of Kitgum district are under 18 years old! I saw people trying to get back to farming and business and a normal life. Oxfam continues to work with communities who were in camps as they return to their villages, supporting people as they literally rebuild their lives – building everything from houses, to schools to roads. People are ploughing fields that have lain fallow for many years, and now the land is fertile.
Oxfam has consulted with a wide range of people in Uganda about the transition from the conflict to a peaceful society, reflected in a briefing paper recently released called ‘From Emergency to Recovery'. The ingredients exist to make a successful transition from emergency relief to longer-term recovery i.e. a functioning government, mature government-donor relations, and improving security. In addition, the North has some of the most fertile soils in the country. The government of Uganda , and its international partners, have committed to a process of voluntary return, in which people are able to leave the camps as and when they choose. But in some instances the government is now pressurising people to return home even though many are still anxious about security, social services and livelihoods. Disputes over land add more uncertainty, and the most vulnerable members of society – such as widows and orphans – are at the greatest risk of being denied their rights. Having suffered the dual effects of a brutal insurgency and forced displacement, northern Ugandans now need to see a tangible peace dividend. This is not only a humanitarian imperative, but the most effective way to break the cycle of conflict in the North.
The Ugandan Government and its international partners now have a unique opportunity to make real headway in restoring these communities. Despite their immense suffering the people here have shown remarkable resilience. It gives me great hope to see that with the right type of long-term support, people can recover from one of the world's worst conflict and humanitarian disasters in recent times.
Kate O'Donnell
Livelihoods Programme Coordinator, Oxfam Ireland
Kate has worked with Oxfam Ireland for four years.
This story originally appeared in The Northern Standard
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