10/24/2003

This woman came to Padibe camp near Kitgum town about three years ago.  She is a widow with three small children.  Her biggest concern is security.  She explained, “The rebels come to this camp all the time.  They came just last month and abducted children and killed the people.  The UPDF [the Ugandan military] cannot protect us.  Every night I take my children in the bush to sleep because I do not want them to be captured.”  When she receives food every month from the World Food Program, she takes it out into the bush to bury it.  The living conditions inside the camp are bleak.  It is crowded.  There are few latrines.  In addition to security, she complained about lack of water and medical care.  Most of all she worries about her children -- that they will be abducted, that they will spend their lives in an IDP camp.