Reintegration or Re-recruitment: Preventing Old Wars from Fueling New Wars

CONFLICT RESOLUTION - MEDIATION, 27 Nov 2017

Ochan Hannington | Peace News – TRANSCEND Media Service

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbLWSxE2o0s

24 Nov 2017 – The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), devastated Uganda, and its neighbors, for decades, and its leader Joseph Kony became infamous with the Kony2012 campaign.  An estimated 12,906 fighters have returned to civilian after fighting with the LRA, but when fighters return from armed groups their prospects are often limited. Now, experts are alarmed that many are being re-recruited into other violent groups.

“You have youth who are incredibly vulnerable to armed group recruitment,” said Sean Poole, from Invisible Children.

“Whether that is forced recruitment because they live in a really remote location, or incentivized recruitment, that we see so much of in the Central African Republic or the Democratic Republic of the Congo where armed groups become the most viable employment offer in a region,” Mr Poole said.

Returned LRA fighter, Ogot, was abducted when he was 15, and spent 5 years with the rebel group. He told us that violence is a difficult pattern to change after returning.

“Because, you know, when you are in the bush your mind is thinking of killing, arresting [abducting] others. Then afterwards you want to destroy the whole world – you have that black heart,” Ogot said.

“We continue to see victims of one conflict be enveloped into another and we are seeing that right now with central Africa and South Sudan,” said Mr Poole.

“I would say there’s no easy solution to these problems but we see the strongest efforts to push back against armed-group recruitment at the local level, so we really push that we should be supporting local leaders who are developing community-to-community interventions to support victims that are returning and limit the exposure of individuals to armed-group recruitment,” he said.

Aid agencies are providing psycho-social support and conflict-sensitive education for returnees.

“Like Gulu Support the Children Organization (GUSCO), and those of Windle Trust, who gave us advice, and they were even taking others to school,” said Ogot.

“GUSCO helped us a lot, giving me advice. You could stay there and [they would] counsel you like they were your real parents.”

_______________________________________________

International news today is driven by sensationalism. From conflict zones, we hear stories about killings, bombings, and the views of violent extremists. This type of coverage tends to inflame passions and perpetuate negative stereotypes, fueling distrust and violence. Peace News aims to present the other side – stories from conflict zones we often don’t hear. Our stories are about people taking risks for peace. We highlight the opinions of ordinary people who want non-violent solutions to their political differences. Our stories aren’t always about shootings and explosions, but they do tell you stories from war zones that hopefully go some way towards building trust and reconciliation. Founded by Dr Babak Bahador, and launched in 2015, Peace News is a non-partisan, independent, news agency. We are based in New Zealand and Washington D.C., USA, and Kate Roff is the founding, and current, editor.

Go to Original – peacenews.com

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Comments are closed.