Table 3.2 Incidents within the Immediate Community
| Year | Incidents |
| 1987 | – 9 women and children were killed by UPDA, left unburied and eaten by pigs |
| – Children were massacred while dancing in Lawiyeadul village | |
| 1988 | – NRA killed 8 men and dumped their bodies in a stream |
| 1991 | – LRA kill 6 |
| – Serious NRA operation with people taken forcefully to various places for screening | |
| 1995 | – Brutal killings (Atiak, Palaro, Alero, Pabo, Paicho, Patiko, Acoyo, Pawere, Awere) |
| 1996 | – 10 boys (10-12 years old) abducted by LRA, return after 2 weeks |
| – 2 school girls abducted by LRA | |
| – 80 huts were burned by the LRA | |
| – Neighbour's shop was looted 3 times by LRA | |
| – 2 boys abducted but returned | |
| – Individuals were displaced in Gulu town | |
| 1997 | – 9 children abducted (1 girl, eight boys: seven boys return, one killed) |
| – 3 men killed by LRA | |
| – UPDF shoot dead a man when he failed to give the money they demanded | |
| 1998 | – After the LRA had passed through the UPDF destroyed tobacco being fire-cured as well as other properties |
| – 7 boys were abducted, 2 returned (LRA) | |
| – Dispensary looted (LRA) | |
| – 2 boys shot but survived in hospital (LRA) | |
| – 8 UPDF soldiers raped a woman in Laliya | |
| 1999 | – February: 1 girl abducted and items looted by LRA |
| – LRA shot dead a catechist and his wife |
The women's own personal trauma was compounded by constant reminders of their extreme vulnerability in their immediate community. People were caught between army and rebels, with dozens abducted or killed by the LRA, and others rounded up and taken away as a result of the army's screening operations. Women were being gang-raped by their supposed protectors. It was a situation in which there was no one to turn to for safety (see Chapter 5).
This sense of vulnerability is deepened by an awareness of events in the wider war zone, and at national and even international level. From the collective memory of the thirteen women, five of whom had had no formal education at all, and only three of whom had completed secondary schooling, it was possible to construct a time line of many of the defining moments of the war at district and national level (Table 3.3).
Table 3.3 Incidents at District and National Level
| Year | Incidents at a District Level | National Level |
| 1986 | – People forced by NRA from Olwiyo and Purongo to Karuma in Masindi district | NRA/NRM took over power from the Government |
| – HIV/AIDS in Gulu and Malnutrition | ||
| 1987 | NRA shot at children during confrontation with UPDA; 6 girls die, as well as some boys | Holy Spirit Movement attempt to reach Kampala, stopped in Jinja |
| 1988 | NRA confiscated land without compensation (100 homesteads) | UPDA and NRA sign peace agreement |
| 1989 | Presidential amnesty to followers of rebels, not leaders | |
| 1990 | NRA marched to attack Rwanda | |
| 1991 | LRA maimings and mutilations | Acholi students at Makerere shot at by Uganda Police Force |
| 1992 | Landmines planted along roads | |
| 1994 | NRA attack community in Atiak market place | Peace talks led by Betty Bigombe flop because some people |
| brainwashed Museveni and he gave a 7 day ultimatum | ||
| 1995 | – LRA massacre in Atiak | |
| – Meningitis outbreak | ||
| – Massive planting of anti-personnel mines | ||
| 1996 | – 80 huts burnt by LRA in Pece and Coyo | Sudan Government said to be supporting the LRA rebels |
| – Jago of Anaka killed by LRA vehicle landmine | ||
| – People forced into camps by UPDF | ||
| – Scorched earth policy used by UPDF on people of Purongo | ||
| – UPDF mobile raped women in market in Palaro sub-county | ||
| – 2 elders killed by LRA (Okot Ogoni and Lagony) while pursuing dialogue for peace | ||
| 1997 | – 82 huts of IDPs burnt in Limo by LRA, 13 year old girl burnt and dies | – Uganda accused by Sudan of hosting rebels |
| – 99 huts burnt in Go-down, Layibi by LRA | – Discussions on blanket amnesty in parliament | |
| – SPLA hosted and seen in Gulu town (Garang himself and various vehicles) | ||
| 1998 | – UPDF shot people at funeral, 2 die, others wounded | Outbreak of cholera in most districts |
| – Vehicle shot by LRA, medical staff die | ||
| – Bishop of Moyo killed in ambush on Gulu-Adjumani road | ||
| 1999 | – Vehicle shot/ambushed by LRA in Wiayago river | |
| – Houses burnt: Pabbo 70, Anaka 50, Parabongo 6 |
This group of women were very aware of what was happening elsewhere in the conflict zone – and often knew who the perpetrators were. Maimings and landmines were attributed to the LRA, people being forced into camps to the UPDF. That the SPLA were ‘hosted’ and seen in Gulu town was noted, as were specific incidents such as the killing of the Bishop of Moyo. They knew of the major peace initiatives, and of the tensions with the Government of Sudan. The shooting of Acholi students in Makerere University by Ugandan police force in 1991 was remembered, suggestive of the extent to which Acholi see themselves as a devalued minority group under attack in Uganda as a whole (see Chapter 7).
The exercise conducted with this group was repeated with nine other self-help groups of youth, farmers, and People Living with Aids (PLWA). A total of 171 people were involved (85 male, 86 female). Of the 136 who gave their educational status 10.2 per cent had no formal education, 46.7 per cent had 1–7 years of primary education, 25.5 per cent had reached GCE/GCSE‘O’ level, 3.6 per cent had GCE/GCSE‘A’ level, 6.6 per cent had further education, and 7.3 per cent had some tertiary education. Eighty-two per cent were married. Regardless of gender, age, formal education level or occupation, similar patterns of traumatic experiences, together with similar levels of observation, well-guarded memory and sophisticated analysis would emerge. Adolescent youth recalled as many traumatic incidents as elderly farmers (see Chapter 7 for youth analysis of the actors in the war).
Out of the 171 people in the focus groups, eight (4.7 per cent) had themselves been beaten/tortured by government soldiers, twelve (7.0 per cent) by rebels. One had been imprisoned by government, fourteen (8.2 per cent) had been abducted by rebels. One had been raped by government soldiers, while six (3.5 per cent) had been shot and wounded (three by government, and three by rebels). When the number of instances was expanded to include close relatives, the extent to which the general population had experienced violation was clear (Table 3.4).
Table 3.4 Summary of Experiences of Individuals as Drawn from Timelines (1986–1999) Developed with 10 Self-Help Groups, Gulu District, February 1999
Whereas abduction was clearly a rebel preserve, killing was not. Twenty-nine out of seventy-seven killings were attributed to Government troops. Four out of five rape cases were also attributed to Government forces. Thus although overall the rebels were responsible for 70.4 per cent of major traumatic incidents to individual persons, the Government was responsible for nearly one third. When attributing responsibility for damages to personal properties, the picture was more or less 50:50 (Table