A project
of the "International Relief Friendship Foundation" (UN-NGO-DPI)
"Building The Culture Of Peace" Uganda-Lira District Poverty Alliviation And
Increased Family Food Production
(A
project with the Ex- camp reporters of Lira and Apac Districts).
Project Date 8th May 2000 to 14th May 2000
Background
Lira is a District in the northern part of Uganda. It has no external boarders
with the neighboring countries and therefore no access to direct international
trade. The northern part of Uganda has not fully enjoyed Uganda's current
peace. The members of the "Ex-CAMP REPORTERS" brought part of the insecurity.
These were ex- 'freedom' fighters who had formed a rebel group that terrorized
Lira enlishing a number of killings when government stopped them.
 IRFF is meeting with local Lira-District community leaders in March, to prepare the programs. |
Most of the members of the ex-camp reporters were veterans. They were demobilized in the retrenchment exercise by the governement. They however were not happy about their not being deployed. Although they had been retired they did not receive their retirement benefits. Others were not happy about the imbalance in the deployment of top officials in the army. There was tension because of lack of explanation about the ongoing activities. Some of the money for those that were retrenched delayed so these ex soldiers thought that they would not get their packages. They also felt the Northern Districts were stagnant while some of the Southern ones were developing very fast. They felt there was imbalance in sharing the national distribution cake. With the continued disgruntlement, tempers rose and tension developed. There were rumors that the unhappy soldiers would take over the government. Mobilization of the members to go out and fight started. Soon the number rose. The rebels started collecting guns from all sources using force even from the government police posts. They started terrorizing villagers, hoping that this would make the government respond to their demands. Of course this angered the villagers and community as a whole. The soldiers fought within their own home districts and so they could see how their families were being stigmatized. Some of them hurt even their own relatives in the process and this angered the communities they originated from. According to some of the surviving members the fighting wing also got frustrated in the ex-camp political leadership because they were not represented in the decision making meetings.
Nature of the Problem
On returning back to the community following Government Amnesty and disbandment
of the ex-camp force, many of the ex-camp reporters found it difficult to
settle in the old community as before because:
