Newsletter 3 / 2005 August: Northern Uganda

Northern Uganda: Living with trauma

The northern region has to deal with the war wounds - physically and mentally

By James B. Kimbowa, UPA

Babies killed, mothers shot, homes burnt down, young men forces to kill their kinsmen.

Incidents like this and other atrocities like, people having their limps or lips cut of and humiliation of women including rape are not uncommon in Nothern Uganda. They are likely to have continuously traumatised the people of the region.

Experts and organisations report on shocking health situation of the people, both in terms of physical wounds and of mental or emotional suffering.

For instance, Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (isis-WECCE) in a report on the medical intervention in Gulu, writes that “the region has experienced severe war traumatization. Which has led to a population with high gynaecological and orthopthocedic complication, as well as psychiatric problems including suicidal intention and homicide feelings.”

The physical suffering includes infertility cases, sexually transmitted infections, amputations, back and joint pains, and wounds.

Related to the not visible wounds of the people of northern Uganda the report highlights the social economic effects, which includes the destruction of the cultural system of the people of the region. The cultural status of women is reduced by to the fact that bride price can no longer be paid in cows but goats and pigs. While the decline of male presence in homes due to death, abduction and emigration has led to increased responsibilities to women.

The complete confusion is a mental challenge that consumes much - or most - capacity of the people in the area.

“If you want to survive, when the rebels come to your homestead you just have to let them take whatever they want and when the UPDF comes and inquires on the rebels where about you have to be extra careful what you say. Because you do not want to appear as a person who reports where the rebels hide, for when the rebels come back then you are likely to lose your lips. While in the eyes of the UPDF you also do not want to appear as a person who aids the rebels. This makes the situation confusing and for a young person you can easily be abducted, the only option is to take refugee,” says Micheal Bongomin Kikare, 19 of Kitgum.

The effects of having to juggle such life-and-death situations are severe.

“This leads to people leading a life of stress and helplessness and eventually not managing to cope,” say Dr. Ssegane Musisi, head of the Psychiatric Department Makerere University.

International research shows that trauma can seriously affect a person’s capacities for leading a normal life. Not to mention a good one.

Among the most known effects of shock, trauma, sorrow, and depression are anxiety, nightmare and sleep disorder, problems concentrating or learning, and aggressive behaviour towards others or self mutilation.

In the northern Districts, the sense of passivity or helplessness could be effects of trauma. So could the domestic violence. Traumatised persons can take to self medication - for instance by drinking a lot. A 2004 UNICEF study on Pabbo IDP camp indicates that alcohol abuse is one of the factors contributing to violence in the camp.

According to medical studies trauma memories usually do not go away entirely as a result of the therapies developed, but become manageable on acquiring new coping skills.

The therapies or medications may be individualised to meet specific concerns, like persons in crisis problems of drug abuse and violence will require these problems to be handled first.

“You can not talk about recovery or development without having peace in the first place. Peace is what the people in this region need,” says Dr. Ssegane Musisi of Makerere University.