Jasper is a resident of Abia Sub-County, and was once a captive in the Lord’s Resistance Army. He watches children playing by the huts across the road. They kick up dirt and whoop and laugh, unfazed by the dry heat. Jasper claims his children were playing in much the same way, before being threatened and called the offspring of a rebel. A relative blamed the children after a cellphone disappeared, and brandished a ‘panga’ or machete, claiming they had rebel blood, and were thieves as a result.
The story is just one example of the stigma ex-abductees and their children face. This January, the Justice and Reconciliation Project took on two new programs; both sponsored by Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice in The Hague, in order to eliminate stigma and promote tolerance and understanding.
During the second week of January JRP representatives visited numerous Women’s Advocacy Network groups and conducted monitoring meetings and radio programs about stigma. These gave all involved a safe space in which to share challenges, as well as a platform for advocacy within the larger community.
Later, staff journeyed to Abia and Nomakora sub-counties, and distributed a petition demanding local leaders enforce existing laws to prevent discrimination, and enact similar customary laws.
The petition is shaped and driven by grassroots activism. JRP created it based on the previous monitoring visits, and also took into account requests made at the WAN quarterly meeting in October of 2018. WAN members from across Lango, Teso and Acholi sub-regions have taken led in sharing and signing the same petition, and actively promoted the project.
The work is vital, as stigma can be particularly harmful for ex-abductees. Speaking fervently, Jasper assertsthat he found his relative’s insults so painful, he wanted to kill the man and his family, simply to prove he was a murderer, and to make true suspicions and cruel words. Only after seeking counseling from JRP was he able to let go of this anger and consider forgiving his relative.
As the children continue to play, Jasper speaks of the future. He is devoted to sending all of his children to school, so they receive the education he never had. He is also working to acquire a plot of land to ensure a peaceful and prosperous life for his family.
Jasper is not alone in experiencing stigma. Evelyn of Nomakora Sub-County complains of being harassed when she goes to draw water from the well. Even when completing simple tasks, she is reminded of the past in ways horrible and humiliating. She also recalls other community members pointing when she walks to WAN meetings; creating divides between those who were abducted and those where not. Evelyn hopes change will come. “There should be equality. There should not be segregation,” she said.
JRP is dedicated to reducing and ultimately eliminating the stigma ex-abductees face and will support WAN members in continuing to collect signatures for the petition, before presenting it to local leaders. As always, JRP will continue to advocate for grassroots communities, and to uplift unheard voices.
JRP will share more information about these projects as each develops.
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Yordanos Melake contributed reporting about monitoring meetings and radio programs. Ruben Hake conducted the interview with Evelyn and also contributed reporting.