Moses is at home. Back home. Together with his family, he lived for years in Opit Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Gulu district. It was two months ago, when rain was about to bless Acholiland, that he decided to move out of the camp and go back home. He is now living in his hut, surrounded by his own fields full of cassava. Wii Atoo is one of the 15 return sites monitored by the AVSI field team in Opit, under the UNHCR-funded project "Camp Coordination and Return Monitoring in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader Districts." Almost 200 people are found at the site, having all taken their own initiative to return "in order to access land". A return site, according to the definition of Ugandan IDP policy, is a location where the residents have returned to a village of origin and live directly on their own property. The two-decades-long conflict in northern Uganda resulted in the displacement of nearly two million people who were required by the government to move into crowded camps to have better protection from the attacks of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. the attacks of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. the attacks of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. the attacks of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.
A truce agreement signed last August recognised the right of IDPs to return and be resettled and initiated some movement to smaller and less crowded camps. However, trends and freedom of movement still vary according to the security situation and the IDP locations.
"In Gulu district, freedom of movement is quite good," Louisa Seferis, AVSI Protection Officer, explains. "Every month, AVSI Resident Field Officers in the camps report to us new resettlement or return sites. In March alone, they reported 4 brand new sites, all spontaneous movement of people."
According to the reports from AVSI Resident Field Officers (RFOs) from eight IDP camps in Gulu District, the main reasons for returning are the prevailing peace and the need to access farm land. "Thanks to a strengthened collaboration with local leadership and key actors in IDP camps, AVSI registers a significant increase in its return monitoring activities and ability to reach remote sites never before assessed," Adong Christine, AVSI RFO in Acet IDP camp explains. It is now three months that she has been living in the camp. She comes from Gulu, but she likes Acet: IDPs and authorities have become familiar and confident with her, thus helping the monitoring activity to go on smoothly. "The RFOs are seen by the IDPs as an important point of reference within the camp," she continues. "They report to us the needs arising in the camp, problems concerning the returning process, but also incidents concerning Sexual and Gender Based Violence, Child protection, property rights, interference with freedom of movement, physical abuse and attacks. We then refer them to the local authorities and other agencies". physical abuse and attacks. We then refer them to the local authorities and other agencies".
Moses' children are playing around the hut. It is now the school holiday and they are at home. But when school resumes, they will need to go back to the camp at Opit because in Wii Atoo, like in the majority of return sites, the available schools remain in the camp learning centres, regardless of whether or not the return sites have an adequate school structure. "In many IDP camps, school-aged children are left behind in the camp by their parents who are moving to new sites," explains Sara Pedersini, AVSI Programme Manager. "Actually, it is not easy to determine the number of Persons with Special Needs, as complete records do not exist in any of the camps in which AVSI operates. In Acet and Odek, for example, the only group of vulnerable persons that were documented were the physically disabled, counted to be 981 in Acet and 57 in Odek," Sara concludes.
"At the moment in Gulu District, the main concerns that community members report for not returning are the water crisis in most return sites, shortage of shelter materials and shortage of food, schools still displaced in the camps, long distance from health facilities and the presence of Unexploded Ordinances (UXOs)," Christine explains. "Last year, IDPs reported to AVSI the presence of 210 mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW)," Marcos Rossini, the head of AVSI's Mine Action program, explains. "According to the Gulu Landmine Victims Survey report, released by AVSI last June, the use of mines escalated in 1994, when 310 mine victims were registered in Gulu District, compared to 6 cases reported in 2006. However, according to our experience, while they are not the main threat in Acholi land for the returning process, their prevalence leads to significant negative health, social, environmental and economic impacts". AVSI is therefore continuing with Mine Risk Education through trainings, radio programmes and drama performances as well as Victim Assistance (Income Generating Activities for landmine survivors and support to Gulu Regional Orthopaedic Workshop), all to empower people with the knowledge to face the challenge of mines and UXOs. When talking about UXOs, Moses proudly shows an AVSI booklet on the risk of landmines he received during a sensitization when he was still in Opit and has kept with him ever since. d drama performances as well as Victim Assistance (Income Generating Activities for landmine survivors and support to Gulu Regional Orthopaedic Workshop), all to empower people with the knowledge to face the challenge of mines and UXOs. When talking about UXOs, Moses proudly shows an AVSI booklet on the risk of landmines he received during a sensitization when he was still in Opit and has kept with him ever since. d drama performances as well as Victim Assistance (Income Generating Activities for landmine survivors and support to Gulu Regional Orthopaedic Workshop), all to empower people with the knowledge to face the challenge of mines and UXOs. When talking about UXOs, Moses proudly shows an AVSI booklet on the risk of landmines he received during a sensitization when he was still in Opit and has kept with him ever since. d drama performances as well as Victim Assistance (Income Generating Activities for landmine survivors and support to Gulu Regional Orthopaedic Workshop), all to empower people with the knowledge to face the challenge of mines and UXOs. When talking about UXOs, Moses proudly shows an AVSI booklet on the risk of landmines he received during a sensitization when he was still in Opit and has kept with him ever since.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
