Acholi, which way are we going as we approach the year 2000?

Mrs. Santa Aber-Ojera
North Kensington, London, United Kingdom

Many countries around the world are looking very optimistically as year 2,000 approaches. While in other places new ideas and projects are being suggested in the technological, scientific, educational, social, economical, political and religious structures, others are putting up new buildings or Shopping complexes to mark the end of the twentieth century. In some towns/districts of Uganda too, there are great signs of development and I believe that those who live in those areas are full of hope because their dreams are becoming true.

How about us the Acoli people of Kitgum and Gulu Districts? What kind of future are we planning now? What new ideas of growth and development in infrastructures and service institutions are we planning? Or are we going to turn a blind eye to all that our neighbours are doing and continue to do what we are doing now as if time is not moving? The war in our land has now lasted 11 years, those who thought it would take only a few years before it's end must be highly disappointed instead it has turned into a WILD FIRE not very easy to put out.

Many would argue that it was really necessary to wedge a war on Yoweri Museveni's government because of it's policy of sectarianism towards the people of Acoli. However after 11 years of insecurity, displacement, torture, rape, killings and many other horrific things that many people experienced both in the hands of government troops and the rebels of Lord's Resistance Army, do you still feel there is any need to show our military might? The war has robbed us of everything that an ordinary Acoli man/woman stood for, our lives and the lives of our loved ones are toyed about as if it is that of crawling insects, our homes and properties have become places to vend anger and frustrations on; they are either knocked down or burnt down, vicious attacks and killing anyone you see or meet is order of the day, raping young and old women has become common practice in a society that not many years ago upheld high moral values. Many would be glad to die other than be abducted and taken to an unknown place.

The war that was started as a way to help the Acoli people regain their respect and dignity in the military and political lime light has instead turned into a kind of war many would have loved not to hear about or to at all. THE WAR OF ACOLI DOOM. There is a saying that ,'when two elephants make love, the grass suffers' and like wise when they fights, the grass suffers too. This has been the typical situation, when the NRA invades any village they torture, rape and kill just as the rebels of Lord's Resistance Army, would do that is why in most cases it has confused the civilians and the authorities as to which group is doing what and how but as in the case of the grass, the civilians suffer.

Between Kony's LRA and Museveni's NRA, these two groups have inflicted the greatest pain and damage to the lives and properties of the Acoli people that it will take 15-20 years to rebuild it to the way it was in 1985. It has also caused a lot of mistrust with in the society. If you insist on staying put in your home, other that sleeping in the gutters of town buildings, if the NRA finds you first he will harass or even kill you, mistaking you to be the rebel. On the other hand if the rebels find you, they too will harass, abduct or even kill you, mistaking you to be the government spy. So as circumstance are like this, where on earth is an Acoli man/woman suppose to stay? In the bush, leaving the life of an animal because you don't want to be mistaken for a traitor or instead you will opt to more luxurious life in the town by sleeping under the verandas, staying in the so called safe haven camps which the government erected to separate the good from the bad, so that he can easily wipe away the bad. There is hardly enough food for those in the camp, poor sanitation and diseases are wide spread, cholera a disease that was commonly known to have killed so many Sudanese in the past years is now invading us badly.

There are numerous alternatives that can be offered but none of them is good enough. So what should be done? Should we pretend to be blind or deaf to the suffering of our people and pray that one day we will miraculously gain our sight and what we will see will be a magnificent place? I think it is high time we accept defeat and open up our hands to some one to help us in this crisis otherwise we will perish from the world!

How can we build love and trust again, to give to our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers who have inflicted such great pain on us as seen in the case of LRA? How about the irresponsible way the government has shown over this crisis not only killing as many as Kony's but merely branding as an ACOLI-WAR? These are very painful questions to asks and it is sad that to achieve any lasting peace we will have to tread very carefully on this very sensitive matter. It is very important to note at this stage that, for any change to take place, you have to desire/want it. Thus if we feel that peace should prevail in our land, we should want to end the war and because we would have wanted it, we will then be ready to agree to certain terms and conditions that will arise.

As for the KACOKKE MADIT, there should be one and only one major thing in our minds-A PEACEFUL END OF THE WAR. I have some few proposals I would very much like to share with you all:

1. Firstly, we are all aware of the great work, effort and sacrifices our members of parliament have put in order to bring about peace but you will all agree with me that the Ugandan Government has turned a deaf ear. It is at this stage that I call upon the British Government with the help of other International Organisations for Human Rights to put enormous pressure on both the government and the rebels so that meaningful peace talk can begin in the near future so that thousand of lives are saved. It would be a good idea if an international peace broker represents the civilians at that conference table.

2. Secondly, it is not only Museveni 's soldiers that have terrorised the people but our own children too have soiled their hands in it. To achieve total peace we have to accept those children back into our communities. I appeal to all that have been physically abused, their loved ones killed and tortured, properties destroyed and homesteads burnt down by the members of the LRA, PLEASE LET US FORGIVE THEM AND GIVE THEM A SECOND CHANCE. I call upon all church leaders, christians, moslems, elders and any other religious sects to play a big role in bringing about reconciliation. I call upon Amnesty International, if be agreeable and acceptable in their procedures to grant both the LRA and the NRA total amnesty and to set up a monitoring program so as to check on them to see how they are settling back in their communities.

3. Thirdly, I call upon International Organisations like the RED CROSS, WORLD VISION, UNTCFF, WHO, FAO, ACCORD and many others to come and rehabilitate the infrastructure and institutions that have been destroyed during the war. Stimulating projects using inter-mediate technology should be set up so that many people are engaged in things that are productive and beneficial to them. UNICEF should help in encouraging CHILD SOLDIERS back into classrooms so that young children get proper education and skills that will help them later in the adult lives. Even if the war ends, there are so many mines that are hidden in the ground If we want to avoid an Angola situation, military experts should be call in to detect and destroy the mines, despite the high cost of such an operation.

4. Fourthly, I hope that this KM will not be the last, and urge all of us to unite together not just by word of mouth but by our actions. We should give full support and backing to all those who represent us and our interests. We should not accept that this is an Acholi war. We are Ugandans and have the right to live with pride and diginity in Uganda and also to share the national cake that we have all fought for. Let us not isolate ourselves. We should unite with our fellow Ugandans so that lasting peace is not only achieved in our land alone but the entire country.

5. Last but not least, I call upon all Ugandans, Africans, Europeans, Asians, Americans, Australians and the entire universe of mankind to come and join hands with us to give good advice and support so that peace and tranqulity prevails in Acoli land.