"War trauma" and "post-traumatic stress" are buzz words that cannot begin to express the complete emotional paralysis that results from war. Most of us do not have the life experience to be capable of understanding the level of trauma people in Northern Uganda endured during the region’s 20-year conflict. No photograph or testimonial can paint an accurate picture.
Imagine being a child at school – a place that is supposed to be safe in a civilized world – and having the school invaded by rebel soldiers. Imagine being kidnapped, brutally raped, tortured, and forced to commit atrocities upon others. Imagine living in a never-ending nightmare that has taken everything from you: your sense of safety, your family, your friends, your home, your hope, and your sanity.
Imagine being a child at school – a place that is supposed to be safe in a civilized world – and having the school invaded by rebel soldiers. Imagine being kidnapped, brutally raped, tortured, and forced to commit atrocities upon others. Imagine living in a never-ending nightmare that has taken everything from you: your sense of safety, your family, your friends, your home, your hope, and your sanity.
Imagine finally escaping from the nightmare of your abduction and returning to your village. Yet, the safety and sense of belonging you thought you would find “back home” is instead poisoned by rejection, hate, and cruelty from other people, because you are now only seen as one of the “bad people”.
Imagine emerging from the bush after years of torture and now having multiple children in tow who were birthed from the violence of rape.
Imagine not being able to sleep at night because your mind keeps replaying the unimaginably horrible scenes of murder and torture that have been burned in your memory. You are physically safe now, but your mind is still in a place of terror. Emotional peace seems unattainable.
We can’t really imagine any of this because it is so far outside our range of human experience. Yet, for so many people, this became their life story.
It has been estimated that more than 70% of people in Northern Uganda experience these crippling effects of their wartime traumas.
You can understand why war survivors have difficulty trusting people again. It wouldn't surprise you to know many try to escape from their mental torture through any means possible. It's understandable that they would isolate themselves and have difficulty reintegrating into society. And no one would be shocked to learn that the risk of suicide is astronomically high.
Add to the emotional trauma of Northern Uganda's war survivors the severe hardships of living in one of the most impoverished places on earth. There are few jobs, and those who were kidnapped from school and spent a decade in the bush didn't have the chance to learn to read or write or learn the skills needed to become self-sufficient. Being hungry - every day - is the norm here, and the primary focus is finding a way to get some food or to get medicine for your poor child who has malaria or typhoid- or both at the same time. If you ask people what they do for fun, they will look at you as if you're from outer space.
This is the broken world that people in Northern Uganda find themselves trapped in. This is why people lose hope.
The world’s response to the war in Uganda was wholly inadequate. You often hear stories about people escaping years of forced service in the rebel army and aid organizations giving them a blanket and a jerry can and sending them on their way to figure out how to reintegrate into society. We achieved peace again in Northern Uganda when Joseph Kony’s Lord's Resistance Army was pushed out of the country, but we forgot about peace of mind for the people left behind.
The BIG FIX Uganda is working to help those traumatized by war, through developing strong bonds with companion dogs, called Comfort Dogs. Why not find out how you can help?
Imagine emerging from the bush after years of torture and now having multiple children in tow who were birthed from the violence of rape.
Imagine not being able to sleep at night because your mind keeps replaying the unimaginably horrible scenes of murder and torture that have been burned in your memory. You are physically safe now, but your mind is still in a place of terror. Emotional peace seems unattainable.
We can’t really imagine any of this because it is so far outside our range of human experience. Yet, for so many people, this became their life story.
It has been estimated that more than 70% of people in Northern Uganda experience these crippling effects of their wartime traumas.
You can understand why war survivors have difficulty trusting people again. It wouldn't surprise you to know many try to escape from their mental torture through any means possible. It's understandable that they would isolate themselves and have difficulty reintegrating into society. And no one would be shocked to learn that the risk of suicide is astronomically high.
Add to the emotional trauma of Northern Uganda's war survivors the severe hardships of living in one of the most impoverished places on earth. There are few jobs, and those who were kidnapped from school and spent a decade in the bush didn't have the chance to learn to read or write or learn the skills needed to become self-sufficient. Being hungry - every day - is the norm here, and the primary focus is finding a way to get some food or to get medicine for your poor child who has malaria or typhoid- or both at the same time. If you ask people what they do for fun, they will look at you as if you're from outer space.
This is the broken world that people in Northern Uganda find themselves trapped in. This is why people lose hope.
The world’s response to the war in Uganda was wholly inadequate. You often hear stories about people escaping years of forced service in the rebel army and aid organizations giving them a blanket and a jerry can and sending them on their way to figure out how to reintegrate into society. We achieved peace again in Northern Uganda when Joseph Kony’s Lord's Resistance Army was pushed out of the country, but we forgot about peace of mind for the people left behind.
The BIG FIX Uganda is working to help those traumatized by war, through developing strong bonds with companion dogs, called Comfort Dogs. Why not find out how you can help?