"This continent of ours is overcome with injustice."

As I giddily opened Huffington Post today after 2 weeks of being MIA to the world, I was mortified to see that this was the headline in the "big news". It is particularly disturbing for a number of reasons including: 1. the supporting countries to the UN who have failed to contribute forces to the peacekeeping mission in DRC, rendering the troops just witnesses and nothing more. 2. The delay in reporting, this happened July 30-Aug. 4th  3. The realization that this is just the tip of the iceberg in the country.

Some 200 Women Gang-Raped Over 4 Days Near Congo U.N. Base

Yesterday was an emotional day. I left the village of Barlonyo after finishing our program kick-off. The event was the culmination of my work this summer. After 3 months of extensive field work- gathering community feedback on peace leaders in the village and the peace needs and achievements, we convened a meeting with the peace leaders the community chose. This is no small achievement. Let me explain, too often in post-colonial societies, especially those that were colonized by the French or British. The reverence for hierarchy of authority is very deeply rooted. Coupled with the post-colonial hierarchy of power is the village level construct of authority. Elders rule by local tradition, in addition to local political structures. So, to gather a diverse group of community members and expect them to understand that they are to work shoulder to shoulder with one another, is very difficult. We invited 2 NGOs (the others were not selected by community), 3 representatives from the new vocational and technical school, 3 reps from the secondary school, 1 rep from each primary school, 2 youth from the youth group, 1 woman from the women’s peace club, 1 woman from the Lira Women's Peace Initiative, 4 reverends- a rep from each denomination, the LC1 Chairman (political), and a community male.  The committee of peace leaders are now called to work together, voluntarily, to respond to the peace needs of the community.  The organization will continue to work with them individually and as a group to tweak their current activities so that they are more meaningful to the community members.

The community of Barlonyo lost over 300 people in March 2002 when the UPDF launched Operation Iron Fist against the LRA.  Operation Iron Fist led to more destruction and devastation than ever was seen before in the conflict, and Lira district in particular became even more insecure. The LRA began attacking civilians in the area and as a result, nearby civilians in Lira voluntarily created Barlonyo camp between September and November 2002.  In the afternoon of 21 February 2004, over 300 people were murdered in less than three hours and thousands more were displaced to neighboring camps in what is now called the Barlonyo Massacre. The LRA had surrounded the camp and were disguised as Ugandan soldiers. They burnt the huts with people inside and fired at anyone fleeing the perimeter. The survivors today bear the emotional and physical scars. However, 6 years later, the community has seen a number of changes. After the massacre people fled to another IDP camp nearby, which was decongested (disbanded by the government) in 2007 and 2008.

As I look at the work that has gone into the Barlonyo community, and consider the work which needs to now take place as the LRA wreaks havoc on the innocent in Central African Republic and DRC, it is astounding. I believe the work of CTA can benefit these communities tremendously, as the approach is a compete 180 from any other organization. I will pray funding comes through so that the needs of those in pain are cared for.