Ex Combatants Case Study, West Nile, September 2008
For more than two decades following the fall of Amin’s government in 1979, the West Nile region was marred by civil unrest and fighting between the rebel soldiers of the Uganda National Rescue Front Two and the government.
Joining a regular meeting with TPO and a group of ex-combatants from Yumbe district, some insight is offered into the reasons for fighting and the long-term conflict it has caused within the local communities.
During the Amin years soldiers were treated well, they were admired and feared, particularly those from the West Nile region – Amin’s homeland – held high posts within his army. With little or no access to education in the area, becoming a soldier was a priority for young men, furthered by the growing feeling among people that their area was being left behind.
As one ex-combatant explains, “since the fall of Amin’s government, all the Presidents looked at our people as all being rebels. We were pictured as the worst people, like we were all Amin, we were all hated. They made us suffer by torturing us and burning down our houses, we lost property and people – we lost everything. We were discriminated against, and not given the same opportunities and benefits as the rest of the country. So we went to the bush and started fighting for our rights because of this pain, not because we wanted to or out of pleasure, but out of pain.”
What this ex-combatant is failing to mention is that during those two decades of fighting, the rebel soldiers committed unspeakable atrocities among the very communities they were fighting to protect. Spending years in the bush, fighting a superior army, and being defeated again and again will make most men turn to desperate measures. And so they looted, tortured and even killed their way through the entire region.
In 2002 a peace agreement was signed between the rebel army and Museveni’s government, the ex-combatants returned to their homes and TPO moved in to the West Nile region. Grace Laki, TPO project officer for Yumbe district, explains the situation as it was then. “Because of the violent atrocities committed by the ex-fighters there was so much aggression, and integration between them and their communities was very difficult. The communities were rejecting the ex-fighters and refused to associate and co-habit with them. There was so much bitterness, and no kindness and support left between the two groups.
“Many of the ex-fighters had been gone for ten years or more, having left behind families and land. Most would find on their return that their wives had remarried and their land had been taken over by brothers or cousins, so they returned to nothing. So the ex-fighters, who went to fight expecting a bright future, were bitter because they felt they had sacrificed and lost everything for fighting their cause, and the local communities were bitter because of the pain that had been inflicted upon them.
“So TPO comes in with the idea to make the two parties reconcile, to resolve these bitter conflicts and be able to live together. Through dialogue, we try and make them understand that what has happened is in the past, that we must now try to forget so we can build a new life together. But it is difficult for some people to forget, it takes time, but that is what we try and teach. Before, they would mainly try and solve problems in traditional ways such as witchcraft and arbitration. Community leaders would just sit and say ‘you’re wrong and this is the punishment’ but they lacked negotiating skills, so weren’t effective and the conflict continued. So TPO work together with community leaders and groups, train and educate them in conflict resolution so that they can have a better impact on their communities.”
It’s easy to appoint blame to the ex-combatants and treat the civilian communities as the victims. But TPO’s work isn’t about who’s right and who’s wrong; it’s about building peace within the communities and avoid an ongoing conflict. As TPO social worker Faiza explains; “The ex-combatants were guilty of a lot of atrocities, and maybe they didn’t expect the negative attitude from their communities. So when they returned home and found that they weren’t accepted back in, it caused a lot of raised emotions, and they started talking nonsense, that they would fight again. The issues over land and wives caused a whole new set of conflicts, as the ex-combatants would attack the new husbands and the men who had taken over their land. So I gather the involved parties to try and settle the disputes together – not me telling them what to do, but guiding them to find a solution together.”
The fruit of the work carried out by TPO is evident on both sides of the conflict, and particularly praised by the chairman of the ex-combatants group. “When we first returned, there was no support and no one came to our rescue. But TPO gave us support and now there is great change. We have unity in this group, there is a lot of understanding and support and that is a great achievement. The support from TPO has helped us to settle and maybe not get the idea of going back to the bush and fight again. It is because of TPO that you find us sitting together like this. TPO has a policy, that when people have a problem, they will sit down and they discuss together, they help you talk about that issue, so you see this has really made people change and improve in the way that they think and that is really a positive thing. Look at me – from ex-combatant to be given a post as parish chief, that is a very big development and would not have happened without TPO. We were not able people, we were disabled people. When TPO came we were trying to grow like a small baby. Now we can stand.”
Grace is proud of the progress TPO has made in just a few years. “A lot of the issues have been diffused, the relationships have really improved and people are trying to work together, which has improved both their psychosocial wellbeing as well as their livelihoods. The groups are now integrating; even in social gatherings the ex-fighters now have a contribution. That would never have happened before, and that I think is a very great achievement.”
Joining a regular meeting with TPO and a group of ex-combatants from Yumbe district, some insight is offered into the reasons for fighting and the long-term conflict it has caused within the local communities.
During the Amin years soldiers were treated well, they were admired and feared, particularly those from the West Nile region – Amin’s homeland – held high posts within his army. With little or no access to education in the area, becoming a soldier was a priority for young men, furthered by the growing feeling among people that their area was being left behind.
As one ex-combatant explains, “since the fall of Amin’s government, all the Presidents looked at our people as all being rebels. We were pictured as the worst people, like we were all Amin, we were all hated. They made us suffer by torturing us and burning down our houses, we lost property and people – we lost everything. We were discriminated against, and not given the same opportunities and benefits as the rest of the country. So we went to the bush and started fighting for our rights because of this pain, not because we wanted to or out of pleasure, but out of pain.”
What this ex-combatant is failing to mention is that during those two decades of fighting, the rebel soldiers committed unspeakable atrocities among the very communities they were fighting to protect. Spending years in the bush, fighting a superior army, and being defeated again and again will make most men turn to desperate measures. And so they looted, tortured and even killed their way through the entire region.
In 2002 a peace agreement was signed between the rebel army and Museveni’s government, the ex-combatants returned to their homes and TPO moved in to the West Nile region. Grace Laki, TPO project officer for Yumbe district, explains the situation as it was then. “Because of the violent atrocities committed by the ex-fighters there was so much aggression, and integration between them and their communities was very difficult. The communities were rejecting the ex-fighters and refused to associate and co-habit with them. There was so much bitterness, and no kindness and support left between the two groups.
“Many of the ex-fighters had been gone for ten years or more, having left behind families and land. Most would find on their return that their wives had remarried and their land had been taken over by brothers or cousins, so they returned to nothing. So the ex-fighters, who went to fight expecting a bright future, were bitter because they felt they had sacrificed and lost everything for fighting their cause, and the local communities were bitter because of the pain that had been inflicted upon them.
“So TPO comes in with the idea to make the two parties reconcile, to resolve these bitter conflicts and be able to live together. Through dialogue, we try and make them understand that what has happened is in the past, that we must now try to forget so we can build a new life together. But it is difficult for some people to forget, it takes time, but that is what we try and teach. Before, they would mainly try and solve problems in traditional ways such as witchcraft and arbitration. Community leaders would just sit and say ‘you’re wrong and this is the punishment’ but they lacked negotiating skills, so weren’t effective and the conflict continued. So TPO work together with community leaders and groups, train and educate them in conflict resolution so that they can have a better impact on their communities.”
It’s easy to appoint blame to the ex-combatants and treat the civilian communities as the victims. But TPO’s work isn’t about who’s right and who’s wrong; it’s about building peace within the communities and avoid an ongoing conflict. As TPO social worker Faiza explains; “The ex-combatants were guilty of a lot of atrocities, and maybe they didn’t expect the negative attitude from their communities. So when they returned home and found that they weren’t accepted back in, it caused a lot of raised emotions, and they started talking nonsense, that they would fight again. The issues over land and wives caused a whole new set of conflicts, as the ex-combatants would attack the new husbands and the men who had taken over their land. So I gather the involved parties to try and settle the disputes together – not me telling them what to do, but guiding them to find a solution together.”
The fruit of the work carried out by TPO is evident on both sides of the conflict, and particularly praised by the chairman of the ex-combatants group. “When we first returned, there was no support and no one came to our rescue. But TPO gave us support and now there is great change. We have unity in this group, there is a lot of understanding and support and that is a great achievement. The support from TPO has helped us to settle and maybe not get the idea of going back to the bush and fight again. It is because of TPO that you find us sitting together like this. TPO has a policy, that when people have a problem, they will sit down and they discuss together, they help you talk about that issue, so you see this has really made people change and improve in the way that they think and that is really a positive thing. Look at me – from ex-combatant to be given a post as parish chief, that is a very big development and would not have happened without TPO. We were not able people, we were disabled people. When TPO came we were trying to grow like a small baby. Now we can stand.”
Grace is proud of the progress TPO has made in just a few years. “A lot of the issues have been diffused, the relationships have really improved and people are trying to work together, which has improved both their psychosocial wellbeing as well as their livelihoods. The groups are now integrating; even in social gatherings the ex-fighters now have a contribution. That would never have happened before, and that I think is a very great achievement.”
TPO Social Worker Faiza in one of her regular meetings with the Ex-Combatants group
An Ex-Combatant shares his experiences with the group and TPO Social Workers
Grace, TPO Project Officer for Yumbe district, attends a meeting with the Ex-Combatants
TPO Social Workers Faiza and Grace with an Ex-Combatant group
Click here for more photographs from West Nile projects.