Closer to Home in Gulu, Northern Uganda
Friday, November 10, 2006
More from Sarah:
November 8, 2006
Gulu, Northern Uganda
Today we drove with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Activities (OCHA) out to visit some of the camps that had previously been inaccessible. Since the “Juba talks” – the peace talks between the LRA and the government of Uganda that are being hosted in Juba, South Sudan – there has been a virtual peace in Gulu. The roads are full of people moving between the ‘mother camps’ where they were formerly interned and the new ‘satellite’ camps and new ‘sites’ (areas that were quite close to the people’s areas of origin but had not been formally declared accessible by the government of Uganda). Men on bicycles and women on foot carted tools and materials to build huts up and down the roads.
We turned off the main road from Opit camp – a large camp that had been around for 15 years – onto a narrow side road lined on both sides with very high grasses. People dove into the grass on their bicycles or with their bundles - surprised to see a vehicle moving around. We drove for approximately 20 kilometers from the ‘mother camp’ of Opit until we came to a clearing on the road.
The weather was perfect- a clear blue sky, seventy degree weather and a fresh breeze blowing through the trees and grasses bringing the faint smell of wood smoke to our noses. On our left was a new UPDF deployment where soldiers dug ditches and women washed clothes. A soldier was dancing to the sounds of a radio as we pulled up to the road block (a stick placed across the way with the words STOP written in white chalk next to it). After chatting with the soldiers briefly, we walked to the other side of the road towards a large tree. From the road we could see the outlines of a few huts but as we got closer, we noticed that there were many men building bricks, hoeing the ground, and working to clear some of the tall grass around the area.
After the customary greetings to the elders of the site, we pulled up some wooden benches to interview the men. The OCHA surveyors acted as our translators. “We are happy to be here, the men told us.” There are approximately 300 of us on this piece of land. Some are in the bush hunting for food and the women are off gathering grass for the roofs. Our children are back in the mother camp – some are in school and others are looking after them. Sometimes they come here with us but they cannot stay because there is no water and no school.” Talk turned to the provision of water – “ The water here is very unhealthy. There is a swampy part that has water in the morning. We gather it then because when the sun comes up, it dries out.” They brought out a cup of water for us to see – it was milky white and smelled sour.
Access to water is a big issue in Northern Uganda. In the camps, at the best of times, people can access about 7 liters a day – far less than the SPHERE standards regulated 15 liters. This water is suppose to serve for cooking, drinking, washing clothes, and bathing. People stand in line for hours to wait their turn at the water pump.
“Before we were in the ‘mother camps’ we were here. This is our homeland. We normally live further apart but we are building our houses closer together for security,” they told us, “We are very free here. More so than in the mother camps. We can move around and work our land. We feel safe because the army is here but we have not seen any rebels for a long time. We want a better life for ourselves, we have suffered for over 20 years.”
November 8, 2006
Gulu, Northern Uganda
Today we drove with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Activities (OCHA) out to visit some of the camps that had previously been inaccessible. Since the “Juba talks” – the peace talks between the LRA and the government of Uganda that are being hosted in Juba, South Sudan – there has been a virtual peace in Gulu. The roads are full of people moving between the ‘mother camps’ where they were formerly interned and the new ‘satellite’ camps and new ‘sites’ (areas that were quite close to the people’s areas of origin but had not been formally declared accessible by the government of Uganda). Men on bicycles and women on foot carted tools and materials to build huts up and down the roads.
We turned off the main road from Opit camp – a large camp that had been around for 15 years – onto a narrow side road lined on both sides with very high grasses. People dove into the grass on their bicycles or with their bundles - surprised to see a vehicle moving around. We drove for approximately 20 kilometers from the ‘mother camp’ of Opit until we came to a clearing on the road.
The weather was perfect- a clear blue sky, seventy degree weather and a fresh breeze blowing through the trees and grasses bringing the faint smell of wood smoke to our noses. On our left was a new UPDF deployment where soldiers dug ditches and women washed clothes. A soldier was dancing to the sounds of a radio as we pulled up to the road block (a stick placed across the way with the words STOP written in white chalk next to it). After chatting with the soldiers briefly, we walked to the other side of the road towards a large tree. From the road we could see the outlines of a few huts but as we got closer, we noticed that there were many men building bricks, hoeing the ground, and working to clear some of the tall grass around the area.
After the customary greetings to the elders of the site, we pulled up some wooden benches to interview the men. The OCHA surveyors acted as our translators. “We are happy to be here, the men told us.” There are approximately 300 of us on this piece of land. Some are in the bush hunting for food and the women are off gathering grass for the roofs. Our children are back in the mother camp – some are in school and others are looking after them. Sometimes they come here with us but they cannot stay because there is no water and no school.” Talk turned to the provision of water – “ The water here is very unhealthy. There is a swampy part that has water in the morning. We gather it then because when the sun comes up, it dries out.” They brought out a cup of water for us to see – it was milky white and smelled sour.
Access to water is a big issue in Northern Uganda. In the camps, at the best of times, people can access about 7 liters a day – far less than the SPHERE standards regulated 15 liters. This water is suppose to serve for cooking, drinking, washing clothes, and bathing. People stand in line for hours to wait their turn at the water pump.
“Before we were in the ‘mother camps’ we were here. This is our homeland. We normally live further apart but we are building our houses closer together for security,” they told us, “We are very free here. More so than in the mother camps. We can move around and work our land. We feel safe because the army is here but we have not seen any rebels for a long time. We want a better life for ourselves, we have suffered for over 20 years.”
Labels: Northern Uganda
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