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UGANDA ANTENNA

FAITH AND JUSTICE NEWSLETTER
Issue no 19 - August 2004

Better late than never

GULU SOLIDARITY VISIT

From 25th to 28th June, thirty Religious from fourteen congregations in Uganda went to Gulu in Northern Uganda to be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who have been suffering terribly from the war that has gone on there for the past eighteen years. For sure, the full extent of the destruction and suffering inflicted by the Kony rebels has been out of the public eye - we had no idea how terrible things were. In this sub-region where two million people are now living in internally displaced camps. We were struck and felt overwhelmed by the extent of the poverty and suffering.
The pathetic conditions for the people of the IDP camps;
Child mothers with little children and other women escapees who are pregnant not knowing which man got them pregnant;
The hundreds of children at GUSCO and World Vision, centers of rehabilitation for children who escaped from the LRA, children who when they were captured were taken to the Sudan and indoctrinated into the ways of the Kony rebels, so themselves becoming rebels, killing their own people when incursions would be made into Uganda. The psychological and physical trauma of these children returnees is beyond comprehension;

The sight each evening of thousands of people walking - women with a bundle on their heads, perhaps a baby on their back together with other little children, some of whom are also carrying a baby or a mat or perhaps a blanket - these people, in dark, tattered clothing, all moving to Gulu town to find a place, if possible on a verandah or otherwise in an open space, where they could sleep for the night in the hope of being safe from an attack by the Kony rebels;
The 16 shelters at Lacor Hospital put up by NGO's where children can sleep in greater physical and moral safety, albeit crowded one upon another - so many children, scantily and poorly clad, some 2500 of them, some with no piece of material to cover them.

Truly all we saw was heart rending. "Who will dry the tears of God and help to heal the pain?" Is this not part of our mission as religious, people of compassion and reconciliation? By our presence we tried to express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters there and in this way bring some hope that there are people who care. Our having an all night vigil of prayer outdoors in the cold with the children night commuters, experiencing something of what they suffer nightly, was a very small gesture, but surely significant.

 

A memorandum to the Honourable Members of Parliament.

In the name of five thousand Religious Sisters, Brothers and Priests, the JPIC-ARU Commission expressed to our political leaders the following:
"We wish to stand steadfastly behind our Bishops in their Easter Message (April 14th,2004). That letter pleaded for:

1. an end to the bloody conflict in the North and East of our country.
2. a transparent transition to multi-party system of government.
3. that greater energy be expended in the fight against corruption……

We can contribute to the joy and hope of the people by our endeavour to alleviate their often unnecessary grief and anguish> Let us be one in this worthy endeavour".

On July 29th,2004
the memorandum was submitted to the Parliament and to the donors International community at the Irish Embassy.
(See below some of the issues that came up on the occasion.)
During that same time over a hundred religious women and men were praying in the church of Christ the King in Kampala.
After its official handing over, it was also communicated to a certain number of international networks.
It is available on request
from cisa@wananchi.com and you can download it on this website


CHANGE OF DATES
TRAINING OF TRAINERS

The third TOT workshop planned by the ARU-JPIC commission will take place at

Uganda Spiritual Formation Center, (USFC) Namugongo,

From Saturday September 18th evening (arrival)
to Wednesday September 22nd morning(departure)

The topic is about

Techniques to communicate
the Faith and Justice message.

Please register with USFC directly


TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION ISSUES

The exchange: on the issue of amnesty
At the Irish Embassy the question was asked about what ethical grounds we, as religious people, could have for suggesting reconciliation with such a criminal group as Kony's LRA.

Msgr Odong and Fr Jim explained that in Acholi culture there are rites to enable reconciliation even in terrible cases like this, where it is the price to be paid for peace, for life, for a viable future. The Acholi are ready to reconcile, even with those who have killed members of their family.
If the International Criminal Court takes action,
Kony and his top men will be desperate because they will be without hope, and it will be the abducted children who get killed in the process of the final fight.
The issue of the land
The land was another issue that was discussed. Those in the IDP camps fear that they will have no land when it is time to go home, that it will have been taken over by the government for various development schemes without their consent.


"the Church has the right always and everywhere to proclaim moral principles, even in respect of the social order, and make judgments about any human matter in so far as this is required by fundamental human rights or the salvation of souls." (Code of Canon Law, no 747),
(quoted by the ARU memorandum)

Please note the change of e-mail address: diajust.mafr@utlonline.co.ug.