Teso Emerges From LRA War
Mar 03, 2004
Burnt out and wrecked walls stand in the middle of Teso bushes. homes once stood here and life did exist. I am riding past Abarilela sub-county, about 15km west of Katakwi.
By David Enyaku
Burnt out and wrecked walls stand in the middle of Teso bushes. homes once stood here and life did exist. I am riding past Abarilela sub-county, about 15km west of Katakwi.
However, like elsewhere in Katine, Orungo, Amuria, Obalanga and Alito, which overlook Otuke hills in Lira district, Adilang in Pader district and Orwamuge in Kotido district, where I passed, the only sign of life along roads is a civilian militia, the Arrow Group.
Remains of human bones and skulls which prowling dogs and hyenas could not crack, and heaps of shallow graves depict LRA wrath left behind. “This is not the Teso I once knew. In less than half a year, the place stands out as a rebel hotbed.†No one, even the local authorities can readily tell the number of people lost here. Parents whose abducted children have never returned reel all the time. They have stopped living in hope and eating food to them is now like chewing grass.
Along river Moroto in Alito which borders Lira, Pader and Kotido districts, unexploded bombs lie at the dry river basement unattended to. A great danger to returnees. This is where 45 abducted children who failed to walk along with the rebels, were forcefully drowned.
“The rhythm of my heart beats to the ominous sound of death, ...†sounds my heartbeat. What only keeps me going are words from Habbib Oigol, the Wera county-based Arrow Group commander, whom I left behind. The road is okay. You can even sleep at the roadside, but you cannot do that. Residents do not entertain strangers, they will lynch you.â€
The once noisy villages are now dead silent.
“What a ghostly atmosphere?†I keep whispering. Even the slightest bang is enough to shake you to the bone marrow. A scare from own footsteps and each others shadow is enough to trigger off a day’s marathon.
Literally, the war here is over. But it will take authorities a long time and massive effort to convince the public that peace has been restored in Teso, especially those still huddled in towns and other places. A wave of thugs taking advantage of the situation, kill and loot. Rumours continue tolling bells of death. They (thugs) roam around villages in armed groups and grab whatever they lay their hands on.
“I haven’t enough time. I would have taken you towards Asamuk or Acowa sub-counties to my own village. It’s where LRA displayed massive brutality. Bones of known relatives remain unburied,†says Timothy Ekwasu, a teacher.
November last year marked the down scaling of skirmishes, but todate, people cannot believe that the LRA has been routed from the area. Even those now trying to sneak to their homes are not sure of their safety.
“The truth about the safety of this region lies in you journalists, but not the Government. We have trust in the press. For now, I can neither believe nor deny what you (the New Vision) is telling me,†Martin Etyang in Abarilela says.
But amidst uncertainty, the urge to return home remains high. First, planting rains are soon coming. Thuggery is short-lived victory. “We know them. They (thugs) call themselves “Kony B.†We’ve sent them messages to denounce their acts. Should they fail, then we shall have no option, but to do away with them,†Musa Ecweru, the arrow group chief coordinator, also Soroti RDC says.
according to the authorities, at least 80% of Internally Displaced People (IDP) have gradually moved and settled back to their respective sub-county headquarters.
Capt. John Emily Otekat, the Soroti LC5 chairperson, says from over 120,000 have returned. “The other percentage is also being encouraged. They are those who were badly affected,†he adds. Repatriation is voluntary, but the real task a-head remains rehabilitation. So many remain sceptical that government is most likely not to remain with them during the reconstruction. “Now that we’re able to access homes, the possibility of government leaving the rest to us is there,†Christine Achen says.
Besides, voluntary repatriation in itself is a detachment from the relief. Relief register control is now impossible.
But George William Omuge, the Soroti district chief administrative officer and head of district disaster management committee said relief will follow everyone to their homes as a means to decongest the municipality. With lawlessness, infrastructure was destroyed. Patients yawn for treatment from the health staff, who are missing, while teacher turn-up is low against anxious students already at school.
According to Charles Ocara, a Kapelebyong county head teacher, the county’s Universal Primary Education (UPE) grant has since gone missing since lawlessness broke out. Retracing it will only come with the restoration of order and consolidation of peace in area. Security consolidation here means more sleep in the eyes of many.
Life, said Sylvester Ocaatum, Amuria, a secondary school teacher, is not a straight line. “With security, we shall forge a head.†The Government has quickly opened security roads from Atirir to Soroti, Alito, Angicha via Amilimil, Abwanget, Opot, Amuria, Obalanga, Iyalakwe in Katakwi all of which are LRA crossing points to Teso.
Peoples feeling remain a stretched from Lira district to Kapelebyong via Aloi. Acan Pii and Ogwete are equally strategic.
Ends
Burnt out and wrecked walls stand in the middle of Teso bushes. homes once stood here and life did exist. I am riding past Abarilela sub-county, about 15km west of Katakwi.
However, like elsewhere in Katine, Orungo, Amuria, Obalanga and Alito, which overlook Otuke hills in Lira district, Adilang in Pader district and Orwamuge in Kotido district, where I passed, the only sign of life along roads is a civilian militia, the Arrow Group.
Remains of human bones and skulls which prowling dogs and hyenas could not crack, and heaps of shallow graves depict LRA wrath left behind. “This is not the Teso I once knew. In less than half a year, the place stands out as a rebel hotbed.†No one, even the local authorities can readily tell the number of people lost here. Parents whose abducted children have never returned reel all the time. They have stopped living in hope and eating food to them is now like chewing grass.
Along river Moroto in Alito which borders Lira, Pader and Kotido districts, unexploded bombs lie at the dry river basement unattended to. A great danger to returnees. This is where 45 abducted children who failed to walk along with the rebels, were forcefully drowned.
“The rhythm of my heart beats to the ominous sound of death, ...†sounds my heartbeat. What only keeps me going are words from Habbib Oigol, the Wera county-based Arrow Group commander, whom I left behind. The road is okay. You can even sleep at the roadside, but you cannot do that. Residents do not entertain strangers, they will lynch you.â€
The once noisy villages are now dead silent.
“What a ghostly atmosphere?†I keep whispering. Even the slightest bang is enough to shake you to the bone marrow. A scare from own footsteps and each others shadow is enough to trigger off a day’s marathon.
Literally, the war here is over. But it will take authorities a long time and massive effort to convince the public that peace has been restored in Teso, especially those still huddled in towns and other places. A wave of thugs taking advantage of the situation, kill and loot. Rumours continue tolling bells of death. They (thugs) roam around villages in armed groups and grab whatever they lay their hands on.
“I haven’t enough time. I would have taken you towards Asamuk or Acowa sub-counties to my own village. It’s where LRA displayed massive brutality. Bones of known relatives remain unburied,†says Timothy Ekwasu, a teacher.
November last year marked the down scaling of skirmishes, but todate, people cannot believe that the LRA has been routed from the area. Even those now trying to sneak to their homes are not sure of their safety.
“The truth about the safety of this region lies in you journalists, but not the Government. We have trust in the press. For now, I can neither believe nor deny what you (the New Vision) is telling me,†Martin Etyang in Abarilela says.
But amidst uncertainty, the urge to return home remains high. First, planting rains are soon coming. Thuggery is short-lived victory. “We know them. They (thugs) call themselves “Kony B.†We’ve sent them messages to denounce their acts. Should they fail, then we shall have no option, but to do away with them,†Musa Ecweru, the arrow group chief coordinator, also Soroti RDC says.
according to the authorities, at least 80% of Internally Displaced People (IDP) have gradually moved and settled back to their respective sub-county headquarters.
Capt. John Emily Otekat, the Soroti LC5 chairperson, says from over 120,000 have returned. “The other percentage is also being encouraged. They are those who were badly affected,†he adds. Repatriation is voluntary, but the real task a-head remains rehabilitation. So many remain sceptical that government is most likely not to remain with them during the reconstruction. “Now that we’re able to access homes, the possibility of government leaving the rest to us is there,†Christine Achen says.
Besides, voluntary repatriation in itself is a detachment from the relief. Relief register control is now impossible.
But George William Omuge, the Soroti district chief administrative officer and head of district disaster management committee said relief will follow everyone to their homes as a means to decongest the municipality. With lawlessness, infrastructure was destroyed. Patients yawn for treatment from the health staff, who are missing, while teacher turn-up is low against anxious students already at school.
According to Charles Ocara, a Kapelebyong county head teacher, the county’s Universal Primary Education (UPE) grant has since gone missing since lawlessness broke out. Retracing it will only come with the restoration of order and consolidation of peace in area. Security consolidation here means more sleep in the eyes of many.
Life, said Sylvester Ocaatum, Amuria, a secondary school teacher, is not a straight line. “With security, we shall forge a head.†The Government has quickly opened security roads from Atirir to Soroti, Alito, Angicha via Amilimil, Abwanget, Opot, Amuria, Obalanga, Iyalakwe in Katakwi all of which are LRA crossing points to Teso.
Peoples feeling remain a stretched from Lira district to Kapelebyong via Aloi. Acan Pii and Ogwete are equally strategic.
Ends