Govt must take much more interest in IDP returnees

Apr 07, 2009

I should be happy about the closure last week of the internal displaced persons camps (IDP) in Gulu District, but I am not. These camps after all became death traps when the government of Uganda abandoned its responsibilities of ensuring that the inhabita

Opiyo Oloya

I should be happy about the closure last week of the internal displaced persons camps (IDP) in Gulu District, but I am not. These camps after all became death traps when the government of Uganda abandoned its responsibilities of ensuring that the inhabitants were safe, secure and well-looked after.

I remember my first visit to Pagak camp near Awer, west of Gulu town in March 2000 where I saw the walking dead as they moved about aimlessly, lifelessly. Children cowered quietly under the grass-thatched verandas while adults stared into the void, their ears and glassy eyes dead to the world around them. It was shocking then, and I recalled writing an article in which I predicted that the camps were the beginning of the end of the Acholi people and culture as we knew it.

In my mind, the camps had created a far more destructive situation for the people of Acholi than if they had been left to defend themselves against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. Over the years since that date, I have returned often to the camps including a week and half ago. I have seen first- hand how the people have worked hard to stay alive, stay focused and most importantly, stay sane in a traumatising atmosphere.

In July 2005 after spending time at Pabbo Camp which at the time provided residence for over 60,000 people, I met President Yoweri Museveni to propose some changes to ameliorate living conditions at that camp and others. In a ten-point memorandum, I suggested that there be adequate water supply (there was only one hand-pump at Pabbo at the time of my visit), a medical clinic, and ways to reduce the incidence of fire.

The President was keen on all recommendations, and did follow up on many of them, including a visit to Pabbo camp. He however argued against returning camp residents to their villages at that time because he felt it would put them in harm’s way. There was some merit to the argument as the LRA was still active in northern Uganda.

Two weeks ago while in Amuru camp, I noticed that the population had considerably decreased. I was told that many people left to establish new homes in former homesteads.

At Alokolum Seminary camp, homes were being smashed to rubble as residents returned home. All along the Gulu-Anaka Road, I passed people going in both directions, some carrying their belongings on their heads as they made the trip back to villages long lost.

I should be happy that the dreaded camps are about to become history. But I am not happy. In fact, I am positively upset with the government of Uganda. This is why. Many people spent a huge chunk of their productive lives in these awful camps.

Many children were born and grew up in the camps and even married in the camps. Indeed, what started as a temporary measure to control the activities of the LRA became the defining moment in the history of the Acholi people.

At the very least, I would expect the government to commission a detailed step-by-step monitor of how camp residents are returning home, what they need in order to restart their interrupted lives in their former villages, and consistent support to ensure that the transition to village life is less painful than what they have already gone through.

I would have expected no less than the President to be on the ground to announce that the country stands solidly behind the returnees, and will do whatever it takes to ensure that their new lives are better than the ones they are leaving in the camps. Instead, there is silence, dead silence from the government. Now, I have seen a number of positive initiatives taken over the last year.

Abandoned schools are now refurbished with new buildings in place of the old ones. I have seen a few scattered boreholes in a number of villages that now serve a large population of returnees. A week and half ago, I witnessed a huge congregation of people in Amuru Centre lining up for seeds.

There are also a number of proposed health clinics that will serve the population in the villages. Many officials at the district level (I know from visiting my district headquarters in Amuru) are working very hard to ensure smooth transition from camp to village.

That said, here we are at the conclusion of the IDP camps, and the residents are coming home like orphans, abandoned yet again to their own devices. They are told simply that the camps are closed, and must go home. Go home where? I would like to see the government of Uganda take a more active role in the return of former camp residents to their villages. I would like to see government officials in the villages, talking to returnees, assessing their needs, and setting up quick logistical support.

Furthermore, I would expect the government to announce a complete list of exemptions for returnees over the next several years including reduced or no taxation, tuition free education in technical schools for students from the affected areas, total ban on additional fees for secondary education for affected students and improved transportation network in the villages.

In short, I would expect the government to be busy bees in northern Uganda. Of course this requires money, and a lot of it, but I am confident that where the government is taking active leadership, the budget will reflect the needs of that community. The point is that done right, returnees will not only improve their personal lives, but will repay the country tenfold as they actively resume their productive lives as citizens.

We cannot fail them at this crucial moment in their journey to personhood.
Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca

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