Urbanisation by subtraction: the afterlife of camps in northern Uganda

Abstract

As peace returns to northern Uganda, a unique arithmetic of development is evident in the former Internally Displaced Persons camps. Small trading centres whose populations multiplied as they became camps now envision futures as Town Boards. Subtraction is necessary: the displaced people and the dead buried in the camps are being returned to their rural villages. Urban planners have produced meticulous drawings that envisage the division of land into plots for development. Donors are making additions in the form of new market buildings and water supplies. Yet this arithmetic must reckon with new problems as time passes. The article is based primarily on fieldwork in Awach, a former IDP camp now slated for status as a Town Board. In analysing material from interviews with landowners, ‘remainders’ who stayed behind after the camp closed, local leaders and officials, we emphasise the paradoxes, tensions and conflicts of this special path to development.

The Impact of Social Protection on Resettlement of Displaced Persons: Evidence from Post-Conflict Northern Uganda

“…It is also plausible that some of IDPs got used to access to basic amenities in the semi urban areas where the camps were located. In this context, Whyte, Babiiha, Mukyala, and Meinert () report that local politicians in Northern Uganda advocated for the upgrading of former IDP camps to towns so that young people who grew up in the camps could continue to access clean water, health centres and schools. The provision of FSP at the time of resettlement could be misinterpreted by the IDPs as incentives for continued stay, and hence the negative impact.…”

New Directions in Land Reform: An Editorial Overview

“…The Pinheiro principles seek to protect property rights for displaced people and refugees, with insecure tenure and poor land records affecting recovery of public infrastructure investments [77][78][79]. Displaced person camps, intended as temporary, may become permanent after the relief agency ceases operation, and settlements around the camps continue as trading centres, with land subdivided, and local governance institutions emerging [80][81][82].…”

Marriage as a Connector: A Conversation about Spatial and Temporal Scales of Partnership and Self-accomplishment in Kenya and Uganda

“…The majority were internally displaced living in camps under conditions of "social torture"-as victims of multiple forms of violence from both the rebel army Lord's Resistance Army and the army and government in the Uganda People's Defence Forces (Dolan 2009;Finnström 2008). While post-conflict re-settlement has been far from straightforward (Whyte et al 2014), Gulu has been the site of a bustling post-war economy. At the same time, the discourses of the peace process emphasising "traditional" forms of justice (Branch 2014), resettlement and "return home" also, I think, has shaped a shift in popular culture.…”