Displacement Beyond Borders

Abstract

This chapter focuses on how the Northern Uganda war between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan Army (1987-2008) reformulated Acholi people's local construction of place, political belonging, material, and emotional connections. In other words, how historical processes with war, flight, and displacement reshaped meaning of being Acholi in Northern Uganda. The two-decade period of war in Northern Uganda (1986-2008) led to the displacement of Acholi people both internally and externally. Almost the whole population of Acholiland were affected by the LRA insurgency that dismantled societal structures that had for long anchored Acholi culture. During this turbulent period, Acholi people lived in camps and in the neighboring countries, especially Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR), and Kenya, among others. This gives this conflict a cross-border dimension.