From the field: "The real stakeholders and stakes of the Juba peace process"
Kenny Ferenchak, Resolve Uganda's field researcher in northern Uganda, reports that one groups' interest in the ongoing Juba peace process, especially its successful conclusion, trumps all others. That group is the survivors of this war whose very lives are on the line.
The ongoing Juba peace process to end two decades of violence between the Government of Uganda and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) means a lot of different things for a lot of people. For President Museveni, the talks present the chance to usher in a period of relative calm across the country that has been absent since he took power in 1986. For LRA leader Joseph Kony, the negotiations will determine his fate after spending most of his adult life leading the rebellion from the bush. For neighboring countries, the end of the conflict would solidify an area of stability in a region plagued by insecurity. For foreign donors, a peace deal would help to validate the label of 'success' they have long attached to Uganda. For activists the world over, an agreement would signal the end of a terrible period of child abductions and brutal mutilations. All of these groups have legitimate interests in the Juba talks, and all of their respective interests have in some way shaped the proceedings. But there is still one more group whose interest in the ongoing process, and especially in its successful conclusion, trumps all others.
Upon returning to Gulu, the largest town in northern Uganda, I met a man named Frank who works maintenance at various sites around town. Good work is very hard to find, he relayed to me, because there are simply too many people for too few jobs. I was immediately impressed by his skill, and he explained that he had completed three years of a university engineering course. Financial difficulties prevented him from earning his degree, which has shut him out of many jobs. Working to support his family of four is tough enough, he said, but he has also taken under his care the four children of his deceased brother.
This confession led him to reveal to me his whole story—in ’95 his rural homestead in northwest Gulu district was raided by about 200 LRA soldiers, mainly youth, who left with the very few material possessions he owned, as well as his brother, who they proceeded to chop into pieces. In ’96, he was forced off of his land and into the government’s 'protected villages' (a.k.a. IDP camps) by the exploding bombs of that very same government. Providing for his and his brother’s children in the camp was simply too hard so Frank brought his family to town after a few years and has been struggling to get by ever since.
At the mention of the peace talks, Frank’s immediate reaction was to tell me of his desire to go back to dig on the land that he was forced to leave so long ago. Sure, life was by no means easy working in the fields, but it was a life to which he was accustomed and a livelihood through which he could at least be sure to provide for his children. The uncertainty still surrounding the Juba process is still simply too great for him to risk making the move only to have everything ripped away again. But as soon as Kony and Museveni sign a deal, he promised me that he would be back on his land.
Frank’s story is unique only in that hundreds of thousands weren't so lucky as to make it out of the camps at all. An entire people literally had their lives ripped out of their hands, and every day since has been a terrible struggle just to make ends meet.
Thankfully, with the Juba talks has come a period of security, and people across the region have taken this opportunity to begin working their lands again and even rebuilding the homes that were lost years ago. Still, for many thousands like Frank, the memory of past losses and continuing doubts about both sides' commitment to peace loom too large for them to make the move home just yet.
The Ugandan government, rebels, foreign states, and international community will all be looking to Juba with big stakes at hand as talks enter their final stages, but many thousands across northern Uganda have been and will continue to watch with their very lives on the line. The politics of war and negotiations can reach an imposing level of complexity, but through the eyes of Frank, the immediate need for peace becomes quite simple. All parties at Juba could benefit from considering this perspective.
The ongoing Juba peace process to end two decades of violence between the Government of Uganda and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) means a lot of different things for a lot of people. For President Museveni, the talks present the chance to usher in a period of relative calm across the country that has been absent since he took power in 1986. For LRA leader Joseph Kony, the negotiations will determine his fate after spending most of his adult life leading the rebellion from the bush. For neighboring countries, the end of the conflict would solidify an area of stability in a region plagued by insecurity. For foreign donors, a peace deal would help to validate the label of 'success' they have long attached to Uganda. For activists the world over, an agreement would signal the end of a terrible period of child abductions and brutal mutilations. All of these groups have legitimate interests in the Juba talks, and all of their respective interests have in some way shaped the proceedings. But there is still one more group whose interest in the ongoing process, and especially in its successful conclusion, trumps all others.
Upon returning to Gulu, the largest town in northern Uganda, I met a man named Frank who works maintenance at various sites around town. Good work is very hard to find, he relayed to me, because there are simply too many people for too few jobs. I was immediately impressed by his skill, and he explained that he had completed three years of a university engineering course. Financial difficulties prevented him from earning his degree, which has shut him out of many jobs. Working to support his family of four is tough enough, he said, but he has also taken under his care the four children of his deceased brother.
This confession led him to reveal to me his whole story—in ’95 his rural homestead in northwest Gulu district was raided by about 200 LRA soldiers, mainly youth, who left with the very few material possessions he owned, as well as his brother, who they proceeded to chop into pieces. In ’96, he was forced off of his land and into the government’s 'protected villages' (a.k.a. IDP camps) by the exploding bombs of that very same government. Providing for his and his brother’s children in the camp was simply too hard so Frank brought his family to town after a few years and has been struggling to get by ever since.
At the mention of the peace talks, Frank’s immediate reaction was to tell me of his desire to go back to dig on the land that he was forced to leave so long ago. Sure, life was by no means easy working in the fields, but it was a life to which he was accustomed and a livelihood through which he could at least be sure to provide for his children. The uncertainty still surrounding the Juba process is still simply too great for him to risk making the move only to have everything ripped away again. But as soon as Kony and Museveni sign a deal, he promised me that he would be back on his land.
Frank’s story is unique only in that hundreds of thousands weren't so lucky as to make it out of the camps at all. An entire people literally had their lives ripped out of their hands, and every day since has been a terrible struggle just to make ends meet.
Thankfully, with the Juba talks has come a period of security, and people across the region have taken this opportunity to begin working their lands again and even rebuilding the homes that were lost years ago. Still, for many thousands like Frank, the memory of past losses and continuing doubts about both sides' commitment to peace loom too large for them to make the move home just yet.
The Ugandan government, rebels, foreign states, and international community will all be looking to Juba with big stakes at hand as talks enter their final stages, but many thousands across northern Uganda have been and will continue to watch with their very lives on the line. The politics of war and negotiations can reach an imposing level of complexity, but through the eyes of Frank, the immediate need for peace becomes quite simple. All parties at Juba could benefit from considering this perspective.