Elijah's story
Elijah (70), resident of an IDP camp in Gulu, northern Uganda
I was born in Awac [about 20 km northeast of Gulu town] in 1933. I had to leave my land in 1989. I've never gone back. Instead, I've been forced to move from place to place. This camp is now my home. I know I will die here.
I had 14 children. Some are dead. Most of them died in camps. They were killed by rebels. We didn't even bury them; we left them where they had been killed. The situation was really bad. Only four of them are left. This war has affected us in many ways. I've lost my children, so I don't get the help I had before. I am weak and I can't work for myself any more.
At night, my eight grandchildren sleep in the bush with no blankets. I don't know where they sleep, and they always choose a different spot. Not even your mother is supposed to know your hiding place. Rebels always force parents to show them where the children are hiding.
Life in the camp is very bad. I am seeing a lot of new things that I never saw before. I prefer to die than to see any more of this life. These children live like wild animals. They have to be alert all the time. Their morals are changing. We don't see the respect we had with young people any more. During the day like this, we are relaxed. But when the sun sets, we start to worry. We don't know what can happen.
We hardly have anything to eat. Before this war, Acholi people were not used to depending on relief food. We did a lot of things on our own. Now we can't do the same things we did to survive. Even the food WFP shares out will go to the rebels if you don't hide some of it. They always tell us that it is because of them that we receive humanitarian food. So they have to take the food away, because it does not belong to us. When they don't find food, they get very angry.
We hear gunshots all night. We are always on our toes. Anytime, anything can happen, and we might be forced to move again.
Links
IRIN In-Depth on the crisis in Northern Uganda
Elijah (70), resident of an IDP camp in Gulu, northern Uganda
I was born in Awac [about 20 km northeast of Gulu town] in 1933. I had to leave my land in 1989. I've never gone back. Instead, I've been forced to move from place to place. This camp is now my home. I know I will die here.
I had 14 children. Some are dead. Most of them died in camps. They were killed by rebels. We didn't even bury them; we left them where they had been killed. The situation was really bad. Only four of them are left. This war has affected us in many ways. I've lost my children, so I don't get the help I had before. I am weak and I can't work for myself any more.
At night, my eight grandchildren sleep in the bush with no blankets. I don't know where they sleep, and they always choose a different spot. Not even your mother is supposed to know your hiding place. Rebels always force parents to show them where the children are hiding.
Life in the camp is very bad. I am seeing a lot of new things that I never saw before. I prefer to die than to see any more of this life. These children live like wild animals. They have to be alert all the time. Their morals are changing. We don't see the respect we had with young people any more. During the day like this, we are relaxed. But when the sun sets, we start to worry. We don't know what can happen.
We hardly have anything to eat. Before this war, Acholi people were not used to depending on relief food. We did a lot of things on our own. Now we can't do the same things we did to survive. Even the food WFP shares out will go to the rebels if you don't hide some of it. They always tell us that it is because of them that we receive humanitarian food. So they have to take the food away, because it does not belong to us. When they don't find food, they get very angry.
We hear gunshots all night. We are always on our toes. Anytime, anything can happen, and we might be forced to move again.
Links
IRIN In-Depth on the crisis in Northern Uganda
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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