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From independence to date, frequent episodes of conflict have left Uganda bedeviled with a legacy of mass trauma. In the course of these conflicts numerous people have either witnessed or been involved in grotesque violence, consequently affecting their abilities to cope or to adapt normally in society. All too often, the consequences of these stresses have left individuals and entire societies dysfunctional, and in many instances, it leaves communities divided along different moralities and ways of viewing the world.
Nowhere else is this problem as acute as in northern Uganda, which has been engulfed by a protracted conflict for over two decades resulting in the mass displacement of nearly two million people. In the context of the encampment, the initial psychological impact of being uprooted - something which affects most Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) - has been compounded by the daily challenge of living with the psychological impacts of the loss of social and cultural identities, prolonged exposure to violence, and inadequate or nearly absent response mechanisms. As the Juba peace talks raise widespread hope that the conflict is coming to an end, one important question now facing individuals and communities in this region is whether to forget their experiences or to remember them. At present, there is little clarity on how to remember, forget or cope.
In addressing the consequences of cumulative, prolonged and unhealed traumatic stresses, many initiatives are needed from individuals, researchers, traditional authorities, civil society organisations, humanitarian bodies and the Government. A range of response mechanisms are often fronted to deal with the repercussions of mental health issues. One major dilemma is how to reconcile western and individualised models with traditional/communal response mechanisms.
This debate, just like the debate among legal scholars which has pitted proponents of retributive justice against adherents of restorative justice, is ongoing in northern Uganda. Individualised models, for example, affect the way people live, their cultural norms and practices, and their shared beliefs. On the other hand, issues of confidentiality, whether in the legal arena or in the communities, are real for many individuals and therefore demand individualized responses.
Given the above, psychosocial issues in conflict areas become one of the basic indispensable areas for investigation, advocacy and therapeutic interventions. This is in response to the alarming paradoxical psychosocial dilemma, and its crippling impact to healing, reconciliation, re-integration, justice, and the attainment of sustainable peace in Uganda in this transitional era.
This component of the Project will explore some of the above issues through a series of investigations in different segments of the community including ex-combatants, formerly abducted people, and the general population. In close collaboration with the legal research, it aims to make recommendations about how the wide range of psycho-social issues affecting northern Uganda could best be addressed through the development and implementation of appropriate transitional justice responses.
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