UGANDA: Uganda Diaries

NAIROBI, 24 September 2007 (IRIN) - (updated: 24 September) These ‘Uganda diaries’ form part of IRIN's coverage of the humanitarian impact of the decades-long conflict in northern Uganda and the ongoing peace talks between the Lord's Resistance Army rebels and the government. Our aim is to tell the stories of ordinary people and how the violence has changed their lives; how they feel about the potential peace, leaving the camps and returning home; starting over and justice. These are stories of immense courage and above all, hope, that after 20 years, a return to normality is possible.

The diaries were gathered over multiple interviews beginning in July 2007 and each person's diary will be regularly updated to reveal greater depths to the individual experience of the war. Visit Living with the LRA for more in-depth coverage of the situation.

Monica Atto "Things were difficult when I went back. Because I was a returnee my uncle expected that I’d had lots of help from NGOs and was wanting things from me"
	Dalson Oyo "We have a lady who cooks for the children in the school. The parents don’t have money so instead they will dig her garden for her" [Updated 3 September]
Esther Lalam "The quick learners learn but the slow learners are just there to sit. Everything floats over them. In real teaching you have to move around and look over their shoulders and assist those who don’t understand but in a class of that size, what can you do?" [updated 24 Sep]
	Owiny Lakaragic "When I first came back all I could hear was the birds singing. So quiet, it was beautiful. I thought I was dreaming and started to cry" [Update: 15 September]
George Oringa "When so many people couldn’t dig they just went to the bar to drink. They lost their dignity. And now some are finding those habits difficult to change" [more soon]