A reminder of tomorrow’s Anthropology roundtable discussion :
Ethnographic Methodologies for Justice and Reconciliation in Northern Uganda
1:00 – 2:00 pm Thursday, November 22 in AnSo 203
With the research group from the Liu Institute & Gulu, Uganda
Northern Uganda has experienced 20 years of conflict. 1.7 million people have been displaced into overcrowded and underserved camps. Each week, 1,000 people die of war related causes. The UN Under-secretary General, Jan Egeland recognized northern Uganda as one of the world’s worst, most neglected humanitarian crises. The primary victims of this conflict are civilians. Over 30,000 children as young as six years old have been abducted and forced to commit gross atrocities against thier own communities. If they manage to escape, they return to live in insecure camps. Many experience intense trauma and stigma by their neighbours. The Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) is the result of a 2005 research initiative with Ker Kwaro Acholi, the cultural institution representing the Acholi people of northern Uganda. In order to move forward, culturally sensitive healing and reconciliation must begin to take place within Acholi-land. Yet little is known about traditional practices as they are currently being practiced and adapted to current circumstances. The institution of cultural leaders has been weakened over the course of the war, and there is a need to strengthen it by reconnecting to the grass-roots level. The JRP works directly with victims of the conflict in some of the 100 internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda, providing them with tools for documenting cultural approaches in order to strengthen them. Through Field Reports, dialogues and national and international workshops, we disseminate findings to national and international stakeholders.
See the Justice and Reconciliation Project for more information, including links to publications on this topic.