Faith brings chance for peace

Father John Felix Opio is director of Caritas Gulu, the social arm of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Gulu, Northern Uganda [Caritas Internationalis]

Father John Felix Opio explains how Caritas Gulu will continue to help victims of the 20-year war in Uganda, even after a lasting peace agreement is found

Over the last 20 years, Northern Uganda has been torn apart by conflict between the armed rebel group, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), and the Uganda Government forces.

Almost two million people have been forced to flee their homes, and around 25,000 children abducted during this period.

Father John Felix Opio is a former director of Caritas Gulu, the social arm of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Gulu, Northern Uganda, and has been working in the troubled region since 1999.

He remembers continuing through the most difficult times, even when all the aid agencies, including the Red Cross, stopped working in the region because the security was so bad.

The Archdiocese has been an important player in working to bring peace and protection to the people of Gulu. The Archbishop of Gulu, John Baptist Odama, helped set up an inter-faith council with Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Muslim faith leaders.

“At the time when the conflict was so bad, the faith leaders came to each other and said, ‘our children our dying, we must do something’. They have become a very strong group,” explains Father Felix.

“Because the Archbishop is known as neutral, when the talks reached a sticking point, he is able to ask the people negotiating on each side to move a little, for the sake of peace.“

Beginning to farm again

A cessation of hostilities was agreed between the two sides in August 2006 and, even just a few days after the pact was signed, the impact for the local people was spontaneous and immediate.

Father Felix explains: “There was an immediate drop in insecurity, and people felt it. It was what they wanted, to move freely. This freedom is making people happy and allowing them to do so many things.

With the fragile peace in place, significant numbers of people are trying to return to their villages and begin farming again.

Caritas Gulu, supported by CAFOD, provides seeds and tools, land for cultivation, and teaches good agriculture techniques.

It also runs a Reception and Rehabilitation Centre in Pajule town that treats people who managed to escape captivity, and CAFOD has funded the training of priests and nuns in trauma counselling.

To date, more than 3,000 children have passed through the centre.

The centre treats them from the moment they return from the bush, dirty and tired, to when they are reunited with their families and reintegrated into the community.

Since 2001, Caritas Gulu has trained dozens of people in handling trauma and other social needs in their community.

“Trauma counselling is not only for the victims, but also for the community,” says Father Felix. “We try to get the community to understand the children, and the trauma they have been through, so they can co-exist, and life can continue again.

"But, if we addressed the children only, it would still be a problem. They could be rejected by the community. So we try to help the community reconcile their experiences with those of the child.”

Preparing for the future

If a comprehensive peace agreement is signed for Northern Uganda, Caritas Gulu anticipates an influx of women and children, who are still being held in LRA captivity, to be released back into their communities,

“With the help of CAFOD we’ve been building our manpower, because professional counsellors just aren’t available. There is only one person in the whole of North-Central Uganda.

“If we weren’t doing this, there would be a higher level of violent conflict, and peace and reconciliation at the community level would be very difficult. In short, it would perpetuate the conflict.

“Plus, if the final peace agreement comes, many agencies will withdraw, as they will see there are bigger humanitarian crises elsewhere.

"But we will follow this to its end, we will follow these children and this community for their lives. This war took 20 years, and it will maybe take 50 years to get over it.

"With CAFOD’s help, we can continue.”

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