Winnipeg Free Press excerpt
1 media/Sanders 1_thumb.jpg 2020-11-13T18:05:54-05:00 Sarah York-Bertram 79c90f81cbadbcee036c97b91365eec227a9fa16 85 1 In this excerpt, journalist Carol Sanders explains the role Grace Acan and Evelyn Amony were forced to serve as captives of the LRA and the forces they were trapped between as girls in war plain 2020-11-13T18:05:54-05:00 Sarah York-Bertram 79c90f81cbadbcee036c97b91365eec227a9fa16This page is referenced by:
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Justice for Survivors
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Page: contains a discussion of the News Media Analysis theme "Justice for Survivors"
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Acan’s and Amony’s experiences as girls caught between rebel and state forces informs their perspective on war. Sexual violence and conjugal slavery remain neglected parts of armed conflict and there continues to be barriers for justice for survivors. Even though survivors’ experiences of abduction and captivity are different and unique, the Conjugal Slavery in War (CSiW) partnership has found many similarities. These similarities are especially noticeable particularly regarding the stigma survivors face (Bitu Tshikudi, 2019).However, in Acan’s and Amony’s statements to the news media, their message goes far beyond advocating for justice and reparations. They argue for sustained movements for peace and the abolition of war. The instrumentalization of women and girls in armed conflict has been an important tactic used to sustain social reproduction within the LRA and to push the LRA message (Bitu Tshikudi, 2019).
In there conversations with news media, both Acan and Amony explain how they were misrecognized by the Ugandan government through its amnesty mechanism. In a CBC Day 6 (2019) piece, the article states:
While justice is an important area of focus for survivors, Ugandan news media did not engage with themes surrounding amnesty and other barriers to justice. Instead, they focused on other urgent issues that speak to Acan’s and Amony’s message - that is, the healing that needs to be fostered in their local, regional, and national contexts. For Acan and Amony, their messages in Ugandan news media are directed to other survivors of war who are struggling in silence.“The [amnesty] card is meted out to LRA fighters who are forgiven for fighting against the government of Uganda. It’s hard to see what exactly she’s being forgiven for, Amony said. ‘It [was] not our will to be in the bush,’ Amony clarified. And Acan stated that, ‘My life was destroyed. I didn’t hold a gun against the government, so why should I sign that I fought against the government?’ [...] ‘There was no government to protect me, to bring me back’” (2019).
