Editorial

FORGOTTEN CONFLICT

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Vol. XVIII x No. 5

JUNE 2006

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by José Rebelo

In the second half of March, I was in war-ravaged Northern Uganda. The aim was to witness to what once the United Nations chief humanitarian coordinator, Jan Egeland, described as “the world’s worst and most forgotten humanitarian crisis.” And it seems it remains so since the rate of violent deaths there (146 a week), according to the international and local aid agencies, is three times higher than that in Iraq.

The blame goes particularly to the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who have been slaughtering and maiming peaceful civilians for not supporting them, abducting children to beef up their numbers, plundering what they find, burning houses and sowing destruction, terror and havoc in four northern Ugandan districts.

The tragedy can be illustrated in figures: During the last 20 years, especially since the emergence of LRA in 1994, almost 200,000 people have been mowed down; more than 1.6 million have been internally displaced, living in the so-called “protected” camps; and around 40,000 children have been abducted and suffered from such traumatic experience. Those who were caught escaping would either be killed by their peers or parts of their bodies (limbs, ears, lips, nose) would be mutilated.

With the rebels reduced to less than 500, according to reliable sources, the danger has diminished considerably but I have heard stories of recent attacks and seen injured people in hospitals. During my visit, these people were reported to have come down from their camps in Sudan in big numbers – a sign that instability and fear are still prevalent in people’s lives: they cannot go to their fields to work and most children still hide during the night in their places of refuge for fear of abduction – that’s why they are known as “night child-commuters.”

I travelled on dangerous roads where some missionaries had been ambushed and killed and where many NGOs still travel with military protection. I slept in missions which had been attacked and partially destroyed. I listened to stories of missionaries whose lives were put at stake because they had opted to stay with the people – testimonies of horror, love and courage. They could have left the country or looked for a safer place in the South but they chose solidarity and to share the people’s real-life drama. In doing so, they proclaim that their lives are not more valuable than those of the people’s and they become witnesses to God’s love for his abandoned children.

On behalf of the affected people and the missionaries, I wish to stress three points: First, to definitely resolve this “low-intensity” conflict, a strong political will is very much needed – from the Ugandan government and the international community. The real situation should be honestly acknowledged and tackled. Secondly, the displaced should be helped gradually to return to their villages to resume their normal life. Their land is very productive and, if people could cultivate their fields, there won’t be a need for them to be given food relief. Lastly, the war has destroyed families, messed their culture and caused deep traumas, especially in abducted children who have suffered abuses of all kinds. They should be helped to recover and reconstruct their lives with their families. It seems only fair that, in their treatment, as much should be spent as what it has costed the government so far to make the war – $1.7B. <WM