Rebels in Northern Uganda after their return to civilian life: between a strong we-image and experiences of isolation and discrimination

Abstract

This article is based on biographical interviews and field research carried out in two adjacent regions of northern Uganda on local peace and post-war processes. It focuses on the situation of former rebel fighters following their return to civilian life. In the case of Acholiland, these are primarily former "child soldiers" of the so-called Lord's Resistance Army who were recruited by violent abduction; in West Nile they are primarily men who more or less voluntarily joined local rebel groups as adults. The following questions were investigated: How do rebels who have returned from the "bush" speak about their past and their present? What discourses do they confront within the groupings, or we-groups, to which they are regarded as belonging and whose collective knowledge they refer to? What is the nature of their present situation and how can it be socio-and psychogenetically explained and interpreted? RÉSUMÉCet article s'appuie sur des entretiens biographiques et sur un travail de terrain conduits dans deux régions voisines du nord de l'Ouganda, sur les processus de paix locaux et d'après-guerre. Il se concentre sur la situation des anciens rebelles après leur retour à la vie civile. Dans l'Acholiland, il s'agit d'anciens enfants soldats de la prétendue Armée de Résistance du Seigneur (LRA) qui avaient été recrutés par des enlèvements violents ; dans la province du Nil Occidental, il s'agit principalement d'hommes qui, plus ou moins volontairement, avaient rejoint des groupes rebelles, alors qu'ils étaient déjà des adultes. Les questions suivantes ont été explorées : Comment les rebelles qui sont revenus de « la brousse » parlent-ils de leur passé et de leur présent ? À quel discours sont-ils confrontés dans les regroupements ou les groupes d'intérêt auxquels on considère qu'ils appartiennent, et à quelles connaissances collectives se réfèrent-ils ? Quelle est la nature this is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons attribution-nonCommercial-noderivatives license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.

Social-constructivist and figurational biographical research

“…In order to show the benefits of an approach that combines social-constructivist biographical research with the principles of figurational sociology, we present here some results of our joint field research on local post-war and peace processes in West Nile und Acholiland, two adjacent regions of northern Uganda (for a detailed account, see Bogner and Rosenthal, 2014, 2017b, 2020; cf. also Bogner and Neubert, 2013a; 2013b, 2016).…”

“… 6. Data collected in West Nile (2009–2012): 59 biographical narrative interviews, 71 ethnographic and expert interviews, 19 group discussions (see Bogner and Rosenthal, 2014, 2017b; Bogner and Neubert 2013b, 2016). Most of the interviews were conducted in Lugbara, with the aid of a research assistant. …”

Una mirada desde el mercadeo social a los avances de la literatura sobre estigma hacia excombatientes

“…Se evidencia que existe estigma dado que los excombatientes aceptan que así se sienten frente a sus comunidades (Meier, 2020), por lo que con frecuencia buscan ocultar su identidad y la principal razón de estigmatización es la amenaza de seguridad (Nussio, 2018). Dado que, se tiene el imaginario que los excombatientes son terroristas o intrínsecamente malos y, por lo tanto, incapaces de cambiar y participar en la sociedad (Rhyn, 2019); de la misma forma se presenta dentro de las familias que los acogen de nuevo, en donde son objeto de fuertes prácticas de discriminación (Bogner & Rosenthal, 2017).…”

In Search of Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation in Northern Uganda

“…While it has been argued that Mato Oput helps in restoring broken relations, promotes reconciliation, and transforms lives, numerous studies and reports show that in northern Uganda former LRA rebel returnees, many of them forcibly recruited or abducted, often confront multiple challenges in their daily lives because of their past (Mukasa 2017;Ndossi 2011;IRIN 2005b;Denov and Lakor 2017;Okiror 2018;Bogner and Rosenthal 2017;Kiconco and Nthakomwa 2018;MacDonald and Kerali 2020). Such challenges include socioeconomic marginalization, rejection, violence, resentment, and stigmatization by their family and the community, which can hinder their reintegration and recovery.…”

“…Because of the post-war community stigma and rejection resulting from being born in LRA captivity, many of them wish to return to the bush and re-join the rebel group (Denov and Lakor 2017). As a strategy to manage their stigmatization, LRA returnees conceal their past in the bush, including relocating to urban centers such as Gulu for anonymity (Bogner and Rosenthal 2017). Given this, can we talk of genuine reconciliation, forgiveness, and reintegration in post-war northern Uganda?…”