Peace but no prosperity

Almost everywhere, I see people afraid of taking charge, and a system unable to support them.

Ynske Vandormael, a Belgian who heads ICRC operations at Gulu, says many people are still dependent on handouts.

Before her deployment to Uganda, she worked in Gaza, the 45-km strip between Egypt and Israel that has suffered unending brutality and destruction in the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Rebuilding Gaza is daunting because of the scale of the destruction.

But Vandormael is optimistic that the strip will be back on its feet soon.

She says, “Despite the level of destruction there, the people have a positive attitude. They want to rebuild their nation.” That, she implies, is the spirit needed in Gulu.

Experts say a transitional phase — like the one northern Uganda is in — is critical as there is a high risk the resources initially spent will be wasted.

Pascal Jequier, a communication delegate of ICRC Uganda, says: “You can’t tell when these development programmes will complete the planning phase, and when benefits will reach the communities. So this transitional phase is key.”

For instance, Liberia almost broke down after the long-standing conflict ended as the government could not provide services such as water, health and education, while relief and emergency organisations packed up and left too soon after peace was restored.

Says Jequier: “We reduced our budget by 20 per cent in northern Uganda last year in a gradual scale back phase that will see us stop operations in two to three years.”

Nonetheless, there are too many able-bodied people still in the camps at Mede, Pabbo and Lugore, waiting for help from the World Food Programme.

At best, they run small vegetable gardens within the camp.

The situation could change for the worse as the WFP says it will cut food rations for over 1 million internally displaced people due to an unexpected drop in donor funds.

I travelled to Gulu to assess the region’s readiness to go it alone.

There are commendable efforts by the government and development partners to sustain the ongoing projects.