RE: the nature of Live in the Village for returnees

[Charles Feslad]

Odongkara Feslad Charles

100.7 POL FM - Kitgum

A 15 years old Ochan George travelled on foot covered 48km from Madi Opei Sub County in Lamwo District to my Office and socked me with his narration that he was captured by LRA and stayed in the bush for 6 years. When he came out from the bush after rescued by the UPDF, he was handed over to World Vision rehabilitation Center in Gulu. After he was given alot of gift and goods including money and taken back to their home Village. Now form the village after all what he came with finished, the relative where he is staying with started mistreating him and calling him rebel (Dwog Paco), after they consumed all his money. Both the parents are not there, they are dead. Now he is looking for assistant because he feels like killing himself.

What I did first, I cooled him down. After long discussion and some refreshment/entertainment with him, I gave him some small assistant then I took him to the Office of Amnesty Commission from where appreciated me and promised to handle everything. 

So that is what most of the returnees are facing.

[tondosangana]

Hi Charles

 

This story shows the challenges that such young people are facing... and how complex the process of healing and reintegration really is. I'm sure your kindness helped this young man so much. By listening to him, and taking the time to be with him, you helped him to recover his courage and to know that he has at least one friend in a difficult world. 

 

Are you planning to do a story about this for your station? Perhaps it would make a good topic for a phone-in talk-show. If the young man does not want to give his name, he wouldn't need to. Maybe you could just tell the story yourself (also taking care not to mention his name or village, if this is best) and talk about the questions and challenges his story opens up.

 

I think, when we raise such issues on radio, we have try not to "point the finger of blame" because this doesn't help people to change their attitudes - instead it might harden such attitudes. 

 

It's not easy to stay cool - especially when a young person has experienced injustice at the hands of those who should have sheltered him. But I'm guessing that it is also not easy for the villagers to understand that this young person was - like them - a victim of a terrible conflict, in which they too suffered. Perhaps they look at him and can only see "the rebel".

 

This is often the case in countries where children have been kidnapped and forced to become soldiers. I remember that, when I worked in Sierra Leone for example, some people resented the "special treatment" that was given to former child soldiers after the conflict, when "the real victims" were not compensated at all for what they ahd lost.

 

There is no "quick fix" solution to such situations. But we can, as journalists and human beings, do what we can to challenge stereotyping and to help people to see each other as human beings - whilst recognising their pain.

 

I wonder if there is any support group for former child soldiers in your area? A place where these young people can meet in safety to share their experiences and to give each other encouragement? Perhaps War Child can give you some advice about this?

 

Meanwhile, thank you so much for sharing tyour story with us. Maybe you feel that you wanted to do more for this young man, but I'm sure that your kindness helped him more than anyone will ever know - especially at such a desperate time in his life, when he may have felt he had not a single friend in the whole world.

 

What does everyone else in Free Children Forum think?

 

I send lots of good wishes to you all. It's great to be able to stay in touch through this network!

 

Fiona

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