Communicating Justice

Uganda: Church Joins Efforts to Heal Victims of LRA War

By Joe Wacha

Uganda, May 12, 2008 -- The Diocese of Northern Uganda has launched a program to help victims of the brutal guerrilla war fought by the Lord’s Resistance Army to undergo healing from the emotional, psychological and spiritual hurt inflicted on them.
 
“I saw in a documentary where a woman with cut lips was so bitter and saying that she has been injured but it appears nobody cares for her, that she feels so sad to see the government supporting those who wounded and caused injuries to her. With such people with so much bitterness that we have in our society, how can we pacify the situation in northern Uganda?” Nelson Onono Onweng, the Bishop of Northern Uganda Anglican diocese wonders.
 
The prelate, who has been at the forefront of peace efforts in the region, says his diocese is receiving help from the South Africa-based Institute for Healing of Memories. The institute headed by Father Michael Lapsley, a victim of apartheid, was established in 1998 to counsel victims of human rights abuse, torture and violence during the apartheid era.

During a recent visit to Gulu, Father Lapsley met and counseled 30 victims of the LRA war. At the end of the experience group members asked to meet their former tormentors, so they could forgive them in person.
 
Florence Abalo, a mother of three whose lips were cut off, says she is experiencing a change of heart towards her offenders as a result of the counseling, although she admits a complete forgiveness will take time:
 
“I was made to know that my defacement is not the end of life and that I can still be able to look forward to a better life than I thought.”
 
Hellen Ocira, another victim of the rebel atrocities who lost her arm adds that Father Michael Lapsley (who is living well after both of his arms were amputated following a bomb attack) has made him believe his situation is less worrying:
 
“It was difficult to image life with this deformity, but the experience of this man made me realize I can still achieve almost anything in life.”
 

Bishop Onono says providing practical reconciliation avenues for the people of Northern Uganda is important as groups of the LRA start returning home. He says there is a feeling among some victims that they have been ignored by government and he warns that unless this bitterness is addressed it could lead to further conflict.
 
Presently government is registering the disfigured war victims in a move to give them assistance but Bishop Onono insists more effort is still needed.
 
“Money is good but healing the memory is important. The pain these people have gone through should be addressed,” he says, emphasizing the need for government to fast establish a Truth Commission to help in healing the war victims.
 
According to information from the website of the Institute for the Healing of Memories emotional scars are often carried for very long, hindering the individual’s emotional, psychological and spiritual development. Attitudes and prejudices that have developed out of anger and hatred between groups can lead to ongoing conflict and spiraling violence.

Each Healing of Memories workshop, which will be held in Northern Uganda, will provide a small but powerful step towards healing the wounds of the past through an exploration of their personal histories. It is hoped that the processes will prepare the ground for forgiveness and reconciliation between people of diverse backgrounds, races, cultures and religions.
                      

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