Gulu, Nimule and Adjumani trip in FRM
Last week I had the opportunity to ride along with LWF (Lutheran
World Federation) and a group of various LWF country directors and their CEO
and second in command from Geneva. The idea was to trace the steps of a Sudanese
refugee entering Uganda and in the process look at the various work that LWF is
involved in.
Our trip started at Kajjansi, the MAF Uganda base where I
flew us all in MAF’s Cessna 208 5X-FRM up to Gulu. The program director of Mozambique
had nearly cancelled the trip when she heard that part of the trip included a
flight on a “small” airplane. She was very impressed on landing in Gulu that
she had actually enjoyed the flight. We were soon on a nice tarmac road heading
northwards towards Nimule. A little over halfway there a large tree lay across
the road and from there we slowly wound our way on terrible dirt tracks right
next to the tarmac which is in the process of being completed. Mostly all goods trucks driving to Juba (capital of South
Sudan) now take this route as from Nimule a decent tarmac road has been built
all the way to Juba. However, passing these Uganda and Kenya trucks was near
impossible on the dirt road. We finally reached the border and pulled into the collection
center set up by LWF for arriving refugees. Here the Nile is fast flowing and
the bridge that crosses the Nile and connects South Sudan and Uganda is the
only safe way to cross the border. One of the first things the refugees see
once they’ve walked over the bridge is the collection center. Here they are
registered and given some basic items including high energy biscuits and with
its own bore hole on site are required to have a good wash. Many of these
refugees by now have spent many days or even weeks on the road to escape the
fighting in order to reach safety.
The refugees are driven the same day or the next day if they
arrive later in the evening to the nearby transit center. It is near but the
road still makes it another grueling drive. At the transit center the first
thing one sees is the row of large tents. There are currently around 400
refugees here waiting to be assigned their final location in a settlement.
During peak times when over 1000 refugees were arriving every day there were
many times that number awaiting their plot numbers from the OPM (Office of the
Prime Minister). Here the refugees are fed while their biometrics are taken and
basic research is done to find possible family connections already living in
one of the settlements. The average stay in the transit center is between 7 and
14 days after which the family is assigned to a settlement.
There are various settlements that have been established in
the area, the biggest one currently numbering about 27’000. Local land owners
have leased their land to the government on which these settlements are being
built. Rather than isolating the refugees into camps they are being integrated
into the local communities. Though the initial influx of refugees some two
years ago overwhelmed the government, NGO’s and UN the collaboration soon took
on a determined approach to managing the refugees better. Rather than everyone
doing “their” thing, all projects were to be streamlined through the
government. As a result infrastructure that is now being built will not sit
unused out in nowhere once the settlements are closed when the refugees once
again return to their home country. Rather the schools and hospitals and water
infrastructure will then continue to serve the local people.
The local population has been very receptive to the plight of
their neighbors. I believe they vividly remember the 20 some years when they
themselves were refugees in their own country because of the LRA and their war
against the government and their own people. Their big hearts and enormous
capacity for compassion and understanding to their fellow Africans now having
to tread down the same desperate road of conflict - which none of them wants –
is evident. The settlements are arranged in blocks and each block has trained
personnel who themselves are refugees who oversee the running of their
respective blocks. They themselves work under the settlement leader. The
interaction with the local community is constant as small items of potential
conflicts are brought to the table and talked over and resolved in a timely manner.
One thing that struck me most was the difference to the
IDP’s (InternaIly displaced people) witnessed many times more than 10 years
ago. I remember the terrible condition of the IDP camps on overnight trips in
the North of Uganda, over-crowded with desperate people oozing desperation in
all aspects of their daily life. Children with vacant eyes and many a teenage
mother barely old enough to take care of herself not to mention her own
children or the children of extended family who had lost both parents. Or standing
on the streets of Gulu in the diminishing day light witnessing 1000 upon 1000
of children walking into the perceived safety of the town to sleep wherever
they could find some shelter rather than having to sleep in the bush of the
nearby villages that were prone to attacks and abductions.
Here in the settlement there was vibrancy and the constant
background noise of a “village” in which life and community and fellowship was
happening. I saw people who stood proud despite their circumstances. I saw the
hope that things “might just work out okay”. Kids were running around playing
and being kids. Nearby a ladies distribution was going on for female concessions.
In the distance a soccer game was producing the expectant shouts a soccer game
anywhere in the world produces.
We sat down with the settlement leaders and were able to
listen to their concerns and problems. LWF listened carefully and replied to
each and every one of the items mentioned. Some were out of their scope of work
though they continue to advocate for the people in those areas to the relevant
NGO’s. Others that fall under their scope were elaborated on. I was impressed
at the professionalism of LWF and their deep deep commitment to their work. It
didn’t come across as “us helping you poor people” but “us being here because
we love you and want to work alongside you until you hopefully can return
home”.
Yes, there are some problems that seem nearly insurmountable
but many of the other LWF Country Directors explained how this set-up was
working really well and so much better than their equivalent programs in the
countries they are working in. One major contributor to this overall positive
situation is the government of Uganda.
A further drive on the same bumpy roads finally brought us
to Adjumani town where LWF and UNHCR have their regional headquarters. It was
7.30pm and we were all tired and ready for dinner and our beds.
In the morning we visited another settlement nearby after
which we drove back down to Gulu and climbed into the plane for our flight back
down to Kajjansi. We landed at 5.30pm. Jesse who is the Country Director of LWF in
Uganda then passed on the good news that 92’000 dollars had just been confirmed
and allocated for the rehabilitation of the Adjumani airstrip. They hope to
tender out the job and have the airstrip open within the next month or two.
This will significantly help them and a handful of other NGO’s working in the
settlements cut down on travelling time and costs.
The 15 kilometers drive from Kajjansi to the MAF office took
me well over one hour due to blocked traffic on the tarmac roads. Not difficult
to endure compared to the plight of the tens of thousands of refugees finding
themselves caught in a conflict none of them want to be part of...
