The Amuka Boys and other thoughts from Lira
Our internet stick is broken :( so no emailing except when we venture out to the Muzungu cafe. Its such a weird place though. I feel like I’m back in Canada…
We came back from Lira yesterday and had a very nice time. Lira is a nice town - there are parks near the centre and a lot less NGOs. For this reason, the district of Lira is more dependent on itself, making it highly reliant on agriculture. From talking to people there, it seems that its fertile land, as well as a strategy of community farming, has led to more development than in other regions.
What was also interesting about travelling to Lira was the fact that it allowed us to leave the Acholi district and travel to meet the Langi peoples. “Acholi” and “Langi” are two of the 53 clans in Uganda. In the South, especially in Kampala, are the “Luganda” peoples, and there was yet another clan in Bushenyi where we were the first week. Each of these clans speak their own local language and many harbor tensions towards the other clans. For example, in Lira, many spoke of the favoring of the Acholi by NGOs, even though the Langi never supported the LRA and were disproportionately attacked by the rebels. Whether this is true or not, there are certainly many more NGOs in Gulu and most of them do their projects in the surrounding Acholi district.
After spending one day interviewing people at AYINET, a very good community based organization, we spent the next two days focusing largely on our research on the local defence units in Lira, known as the Amuka Boys. Amongst others at AYINET, we met Viktor, a man who has had time to speak at UN Opening Ceremonies while running his organization in Lira, as well as Megan, an intern from Washington. It was nice to make a friend with some similar experiences and while in Lira, we would visit her home-stay for a good Ugandan meal.
On the second day in Lira, AYINET organized for us to speak to a group of former Amuka Boys. It was a very interesting discussion, even though much of it seemed to have been lost in translation. We spent a lot of time documenting the problems the men faced now. Here’s a short summary on the Amuka Boys. By the year 2000, the Ugandan army realized they needed help from the community to defeat the LRA. As a result, they recruited people to join “local defence units” that would patrol around IDP camps and villages, as well as attack the LRA when it approached. We’ve found that these LDUs did not discriminate when they recruited people, allowing people as young as 12 to join if they seemed strong enough to fight. LDUs were given a little training, 1 gun, 1 uniform and a few bullets. However, the LDUs had many problems once recruited, especially related to salaries that often never made it to them. Finally - no attention was given to the child soldiers of the LDUs, as LRA returnees instead received all the attention, and thus all the aid.
What we heard over and over as we spoke to the former members of the LDUs (they were suddenly demobilized in 2008), was that even though they had been the ones that defeated the LRA, they were never rewarded, and hardly supported, for their work. Community members also echoed this opinion, explaining that although members of the LDUs chased away the rebels and allowed the community to come home, LDUs were never compensated for their efforts and were now doing worst than most community members.
On our final day in Lira, we travelled to Barlonyo, the site of one of the worst massacres of the war. On February 21st, 2004, the LRA attacked the IDP camp situated in Barlonyo and killed over 300 people. They did not discriminate in the attack, killing men, women, and children, and setting fire to many homes. Although Amuka Boys were stationed around the camp, they were severely outnumbered and outrained by the LRA, and the UPDF did not come to the region’s rescue till the LRA had finished its destruction. To add insult to injury, the community seemed to blame the people of the region for the attack. We’d read about this massacre before coming, so we braced for a hard day.
In Barlonyo, we had discussions with many former Amuka boys. In one discussion, I talked to three men who’d joined the group at 14, 15, and 17 respectively. They noted that over half of their group near Barlonyo was under 18… clearly the LRA was not the only group using child soldiers during the war. Unfortunately, so little is known about these children. We are documenting as much as we can because these are stories that people should hear about.
The hardest issue for me so far in the trip was having to explain to people that there was really not much I could offer them at the moment. Since we are white and in university, many Ugandans assume we have access to all the resources that could end their suffering. Although I do believe that we are doing this research for a good reason, and that if we document these experiences well, positive changes could result for some individuals, I also know that for some people we meet, help may never reach them. Its very difficult because they almost ask us to promise we’ll send them help…I have seen some groups doing very good, but simple, development work that relies on community members working hard and taking leadership. These are the types of projects I truly believe can help and hopefully I’ll be able to give them support when I return to Canada.
Anyways - we are back in Gulu now. We just came back from volunteering at a nursery school set up by nuns for child mothers and children born in captivity during the war. We met an amazing little boy who lost both his arms. With just his feet, we made clay structures together … I think he was better at sculpting than I was even with both my hands. The kids as always are so cute and happy! I’m looking forward to working there Sundays!
That’s it for now. We’ll be traveling to Odet on Monday and Pabo on Tuesday with the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative. Odet is the village where Kony came from so the religious leaders are working on reconciliation programs since the community still heavily stigmatizes his remaining family members. In Pabo, we’ll be sitting in on a land conflict meeting. Since the end of the war, many families returned from IDP camps to see other people living on their land. The religious leaders have been working hard on mediation programs to try to settle these conflicts peacefully. I’ll write more on those field trips in a few days!
Miss you all xo.
We came back from Lira yesterday and had a very nice time. Lira is a nice town - there are parks near the centre and a lot less NGOs. For this reason, the district of Lira is more dependent on itself, making it highly reliant on agriculture. From talking to people there, it seems that its fertile land, as well as a strategy of community farming, has led to more development than in other regions.
What was also interesting about travelling to Lira was the fact that it allowed us to leave the Acholi district and travel to meet the Langi peoples. “Acholi” and “Langi” are two of the 53 clans in Uganda. In the South, especially in Kampala, are the “Luganda” peoples, and there was yet another clan in Bushenyi where we were the first week. Each of these clans speak their own local language and many harbor tensions towards the other clans. For example, in Lira, many spoke of the favoring of the Acholi by NGOs, even though the Langi never supported the LRA and were disproportionately attacked by the rebels. Whether this is true or not, there are certainly many more NGOs in Gulu and most of them do their projects in the surrounding Acholi district.
After spending one day interviewing people at AYINET, a very good community based organization, we spent the next two days focusing largely on our research on the local defence units in Lira, known as the Amuka Boys. Amongst others at AYINET, we met Viktor, a man who has had time to speak at UN Opening Ceremonies while running his organization in Lira, as well as Megan, an intern from Washington. It was nice to make a friend with some similar experiences and while in Lira, we would visit her home-stay for a good Ugandan meal.
On the second day in Lira, AYINET organized for us to speak to a group of former Amuka Boys. It was a very interesting discussion, even though much of it seemed to have been lost in translation. We spent a lot of time documenting the problems the men faced now. Here’s a short summary on the Amuka Boys. By the year 2000, the Ugandan army realized they needed help from the community to defeat the LRA. As a result, they recruited people to join “local defence units” that would patrol around IDP camps and villages, as well as attack the LRA when it approached. We’ve found that these LDUs did not discriminate when they recruited people, allowing people as young as 12 to join if they seemed strong enough to fight. LDUs were given a little training, 1 gun, 1 uniform and a few bullets. However, the LDUs had many problems once recruited, especially related to salaries that often never made it to them. Finally - no attention was given to the child soldiers of the LDUs, as LRA returnees instead received all the attention, and thus all the aid.
What we heard over and over as we spoke to the former members of the LDUs (they were suddenly demobilized in 2008), was that even though they had been the ones that defeated the LRA, they were never rewarded, and hardly supported, for their work. Community members also echoed this opinion, explaining that although members of the LDUs chased away the rebels and allowed the community to come home, LDUs were never compensated for their efforts and were now doing worst than most community members.
On our final day in Lira, we travelled to Barlonyo, the site of one of the worst massacres of the war. On February 21st, 2004, the LRA attacked the IDP camp situated in Barlonyo and killed over 300 people. They did not discriminate in the attack, killing men, women, and children, and setting fire to many homes. Although Amuka Boys were stationed around the camp, they were severely outnumbered and outrained by the LRA, and the UPDF did not come to the region’s rescue till the LRA had finished its destruction. To add insult to injury, the community seemed to blame the people of the region for the attack. We’d read about this massacre before coming, so we braced for a hard day.
In Barlonyo, we had discussions with many former Amuka boys. In one discussion, I talked to three men who’d joined the group at 14, 15, and 17 respectively. They noted that over half of their group near Barlonyo was under 18… clearly the LRA was not the only group using child soldiers during the war. Unfortunately, so little is known about these children. We are documenting as much as we can because these are stories that people should hear about.
The hardest issue for me so far in the trip was having to explain to people that there was really not much I could offer them at the moment. Since we are white and in university, many Ugandans assume we have access to all the resources that could end their suffering. Although I do believe that we are doing this research for a good reason, and that if we document these experiences well, positive changes could result for some individuals, I also know that for some people we meet, help may never reach them. Its very difficult because they almost ask us to promise we’ll send them help…I have seen some groups doing very good, but simple, development work that relies on community members working hard and taking leadership. These are the types of projects I truly believe can help and hopefully I’ll be able to give them support when I return to Canada.
Anyways - we are back in Gulu now. We just came back from volunteering at a nursery school set up by nuns for child mothers and children born in captivity during the war. We met an amazing little boy who lost both his arms. With just his feet, we made clay structures together … I think he was better at sculpting than I was even with both my hands. The kids as always are so cute and happy! I’m looking forward to working there Sundays!
That’s it for now. We’ll be traveling to Odet on Monday and Pabo on Tuesday with the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative. Odet is the village where Kony came from so the religious leaders are working on reconciliation programs since the community still heavily stigmatizes his remaining family members. In Pabo, we’ll be sitting in on a land conflict meeting. Since the end of the war, many families returned from IDP camps to see other people living on their land. The religious leaders have been working hard on mediation programs to try to settle these conflicts peacefully. I’ll write more on those field trips in a few days!
Miss you all xo.
Wow! That was so informative. Be careful what you write. Who knows who is reading these blogs.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about feeling helpless. Maybe by informing people about their problems, someone can offer productive and self-sustaining support.
Be careful with all the traveling and keep us posted.
We need new photos.
Miss you too.