Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 15 June 2004
Leigh Daynes of British Red Cross in northern Uganda
Concy arrived at the Rackoko camp for displaced civilians in northern Uganda two years ago. The camp is on the frontline of a forgotten war in which civilians are bearing the brunt of the conflict.
"The situation in my village was unbearable," she explains. "We just couldn't stay there because the militia were abducting and raping so many villagers. Our homes were torched. We had to come to this camp for our own safety."
The frequent raids on her village left Concy terrified. "I was so scared that we might be abducted that at night I would sleep in the bush with my family rather than in our own home, even in the rain."
Home now is a mud brick hut in an overcrowded camp of 11,000 people that is entirely dependent on the World Food Programme for food and on the Uganda Red Cross for essential items like blankets, cooking pots and jerry cans to store clean water.
The camp offers refuge but it is far from being a safe haven for Concy and her young family. Dysentery and malaria are rife and the militia have abducted some camp residents, further terrifying them.
"I'm very grateful to the Red Cross for helping us," says Concy. "They bring enough, good quality items, for everyone here. We're all vulnerable and in need of help, not just a few of us. The Red Cross is helping everyone and improving our lives. The hygiene and HIV awareness sessions are good too."
Like most people at the camp, Concy dreams of returning home one day when it is safe.
"I wish this conflict would end," she says, "because staying here in the camp is unbearable. We have to rely on handouts and we can't cultivate food to feed ourselves. If it were safe at home we could be self-sufficient."
More than a million civilians in northern Uganda are caught in a cycle of violence, unable to return home and fend for themselves. The Red Cross, the only organisation able to reach displaced communities across northern Uganda without armed escorts, will continue to help Concy, and those like her, to survive with dignity by providing much needed relief items.
But it admits, more needs to be done: "Although we're appealing for a substantial amount of money, relatively speaking it is a drop in the ocean when we consider the many needs in communities across northern Uganda," says Ugandan Red Cross deputy secretary general, Alice Uwesa.
She points to the need to distribute laundry soap more often, and to provide displaced communities with seeds and tools so they can grow their own fresh produce. Greater HIV/AIDS, health and hygiene awareness is also necessary in the camps, and there are still too many people, especially children, dying from malaria.
"One displaced mother once told me that the worst thing about her situation was that she was unable to provide for her children because, like so many others, she is entirely dependent on aid," Uwesa says.
"If the Red Cross can help that woman, and others like her, to provide for herself then we have made a real difference to the lives of people who are suffering."
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