Livelihoods and Security in Kitgum District, Northern Uganda
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Movement on the Margins: Livelihoods and Security in Kitgum District, Northern Uganda Elizabeth Stites Dyan Mazurana Khristopher Carlson The Feinstein International Center develops and promotes operational and policy responses to protect and strengthen the lives and livelihoods of people living in crisis-affected and -marginalized communities. FIC works globally in partnership with national and international organizations to bring about institutional changes that enhance effective policy reform and promote best practice. Report also available at fic.tufts.edu Table of Contents Employment and Labor...................................40 Protective Strategies ......................................41 Threats to Social Capital.................................43 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................3 VII. HUMAN CAPITAL ........................45 LIST OF ACRONYMS.............................3 Labor...............................................................45 Health .............................................................46 Education ........................................................48 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.........................4 Study Methods and Sites.................................. 4 VIII. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ...............50 Frequency and Injuries Sustained by Victims of EXECUTIVE FINDINGS.........................6 Domestic Violence ..........................................50 Semi-Settled Villages ....................................... 6 Causes of Domestic Violence ..........................50 Internal Displacement Camps.......................... 6 Seeking Assistance, Protection and Redress: Livelihood Assets.............................................. 6 Local Responses to Domestic Violence...........51 Domestic Violence............................................ 9 Domestic Violence Injuries and Medical UPDF and LDUs............................................... 10 Assistance.......................................................53 I. INTRODUCTION .............................11 IX. UPDF AND LDUS...........................55 Study Purpose ................................................ 11 Frequency of Problems Related to Forces ......55 Report Overview ............................................ 13 Common Problems..........................................55 Historical Background .................................... 13 Local Responses to Problems with UPDF and Shifts in Livelihoods and Human Security in LDUs................................................................55 Kitgum District ............................................... 14 X. CONCLUSION.................................57 II. STUDY METHODS AND SITES .......17 Movement .......................................................57 Land Access ....................................................58 III. SEMI-SETTLED VILLAGES AND Food Security ..................................................59 Protective Strategies ......................................60 INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT CAMPS ...19 Domestic Violence ..........................................61 Semi-Settled Villages ..................................... 19 Health .............................................................62 Internal Displacement Camps........................ 21 Returning Home..............................................62 IV. NATURAL RESOURCES .................24 ENDNOTES.........................................63 Land Access.................................................... 24 Wood and Wild Foods..................................... 27 Water.............................................................. 30 V. FINANCIAL CAPITAL......................32 Income Streams ............................................. 32 Moveable Assets............................................. 34 Market Opportunities ..................................... 37 VI. SOCIAL CAPITAL ..........................40 Land Access.................................................... 40 Feinstein International Center z NOVEMBER 2006 2 Acknowledgements List of Acronyms Many people and organizations facilitated the AVSI Associazione Voluntari per il Servizio research for this study. The Tufts team greatly Internazionale appreciates the dedication and commitment of our CSB Corn-soya blend research associates in Uganda, Peter Acuch, Ezra EVI Extremely Vulnerable Individual Anyala and Judith Onen, who worked with us to FAO Food and Agriculture Organization conduct the research in Kitgum district. Our work GBSV Gender Based Sexual Violence would not have been possible without the generous GoU Government of Uganda logistic support and conceptual input of the Unicef HSM Holy Spirit Movement office in Kitgum. We are also indebted to staff from ICC International Criminal Court AVSI, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and ICRC International Committee of the Red the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in Kitgum, who Cross provided important insights and feedback throughout IDP Internally Displaced Person the study. Chris Blattman, Jeannie Annan, Roger IRC International Rescue Committee Horton, and Godfrey Okot of SWAY Uganda assisted IRIN United Nations Integrated Regional us greatly while we conducted the work in Kitgum Information Network and provided us with feedback during the process of LC Local Council data collection. We are grateful for the support we LDU Local Defense Unit received from our colleagues at the Feinstein LRA Lord’s Resistance Army International Center throughout the study, including MSF Médecins Sans Frontières Peter Walker, Ann O’Brien, Andrew Whitacre, Rosa NGO Non Governmental Group Pendenza and Jennifer Gatto. The team also wishes to NRA National Resistance Army thank the many people in Kitgum who generously NRC Norwegian Refugee Council gave their time to participate in our study. NUSAF Northern Uganda Social Action Fund OCHA United Nations Office for the Cover photo: A woman passes through an Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs abandoned village near Agoro trading center as RDC Resident District Commissioner she returns from collecting wood. SCiU Save the Children in Uganda SPLA Sudanese People’s Liberation Army TBA Traditional Birth Attendant UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNLA Uganda National Liberation Army UPDF Uganda People’s Defense Force USh Ugandan Shillings WFP World Food Program Feinstein International Center z NOVEMBER 2006 3 Executive Summary The findings of this study provide important insights into what prompts people to stay in camps, leave In the face of armed attacks, insecurity, loss of camps, re-enter villages or re-establish villages. It agrarian livelihood systems, reduced food aid rations, offers insight into the dynamics of movement among and inadequate health and sanitation conditions, these locations and helps to more clearly identify through what means do people in internal push and pull factors. Throughout, it provides a displacement camps and semi-settled villages in careful gender and generational analysis in order to Kitgum district maintain themselves and their provide a greater understanding of how different households? As the security situation improves or categories of people have developed livelihood and takes a turn for the worse, how do people adapt their protective strategies to meet their needs and the livelihood and protective strategies? What movement needs of their households. The report puts forward patterns based on livelihood and protective strategies information on the types of risk faced by different exist among people in the camps and the semi-settled groups of people and the protective strategies villages? Who leaves the camps, why, for how long, developed in attempt to mitigate these risks. The and how do they attempt to stay safe? Which report highlights where protective strategies are protective strategies work and why? Which strategies working and why, where they fail and why, and who fail and who is the most exposed to risk in these is at heightened risk when these strategies fail. The circumstances? How do factors of gender and age play report ends with a forward looking conclusion that into all these responses and strategies? These underscores the study’s main findings and reflects on questions are at the heart of research carried out by a how these findings can be applied to on-going and team from the Feinstein International Center of Tufts future work in northern Uganda. University1 in Kitgum district, north central Uganda, in March and April 2006. The report presents findings Study Methods and Sites that seek to answer these questions. The report The study was conducted in Kitgum district in April documents and analyzes shifts in livelihood and and March 2006. The Tufts team used a combined protective strategies as people attempt to provide for livelihood and human security framework for data themselves and their households and respond to collection and analysis. This combined framework insecurity and threats.2 allows for a more complete understanding of the ways in which the intersections between livelihoods and The findings of this study are particularly timely given human security may result in increased vulnerability the current situation of increased population or increased resilience. It is hoped that the findings in movement in northern Uganda. These movements are this report will assist donors, policy makers and due to a variety of factors, including the current programmers to: cessation of hostilities between the armed forces of the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the rebel Lord’s • Better identify the threats