Betty Oyella Bigombe: The keys to peace
Betty Oyella Bigombe: The keys to peace
"Please take me into the bush, so I can ask the rebels what happened to my two sons." The woman came from a village in northern Uganda that had been frequently attacked by soldiers from the notorious Lord's Resistance Army. She had approached Betty Oyella Bigombe, the chief government peace negotiator, during one of Betty's frequent visits to the region.
"She wanted to know if her sons were now rapists and killers," says Betty, who has campaigned tirelessly to bring an end to the ruthless 22-year war, in which more than 20,000 children have been abducted and conscripted as soldiers and sex slaves.
"What struck me," says Betty, "was her initial fear that her children may have been causing others to suffer. I told her I would find out, but I discovered that they were both dead. The pain for women in these types of conflicts never ends. Women's lives bear the brunt of war." A peace advocate and politician, Betty has proved herself to be one of the most influential negotiators in the ongoing talks with the Lord's Resistance Army. "I owe the communities in northern Uganda a chance for peace," she says, "because they taught me everything that I know today."
An early female presence in Uganda
Betty was born in Gulu, northern Uganda, in 1954, one of 11 children. A natural leader and hard worker, she went on to university and was eventually elected as one of Uganda's first female government ministers in 1988.
It was only a few years after Idi Amin, the former dictator, had been overthrown and a former rebel leader, Yoweri Museveni, had just been elected president. But several new rebel movements emerged. As the war dragged on, more than two million people were displaced and thousands more died.
Betty was appointed minister of pacification, in charge of trying to bring peace to the troubled north. "I was of the same tribe as the rebels," she says. "I very soon realized that the rebels were not going to surrender. I had to convince the government of Uganda that they would have to deal with the problems that were leading these rebels to fight.
"If peace talks are left to men, they discuss wages, cars and military," says Betty. "Women broaden the scope; they are more inclined to discuss day-to-day concerns such as water, education and health care. Women are also less threatening" and, she says, paradoxically can thus get away with using stronger language to get the message across. "Women also bring about sustainable peace because they try as hard as possible to ensure what has been agreed upon is implemented."
Finding ways to prevent raids
As chief mediator, Betty occasionally used her own money to buy food for the rebels. "The more they have," she says, "the fewer deadly raids they make on local villages." She has also worked tirelessly to bring food and medical assistance to the communities that have been affected by the conflict, and to create wider awareness of their need.
She helped the Canadian organization Act for Stolen Children release the awareness-raising film Uganda Rising in 2006 with the cooperation of several groups funded by CIDA, including Oxfam, Care Canada, UNICEF and World Vision Canada. Betty has also worked with the Canadian group Guluwalk, which organizes annual awareness and fundraising walks for children affected by the war. And now, the newly formed Betty Bigombe Children of War Foundation aims to generate worldwide awareness of the plight of people in northern Uganda.
Thanks to Betty's remarkable ability to persuade both sides to come to the table, a ceasefire was agreed upon in August 2006. And as a result of increasing world interest in the conflict, largely due to Betty's efforts, the latest round of talks -- ongoing -- are internationally led.
At press time, rebel leader Joseph Kony had several times refused to sign a final peace agreement as scheduled, but Betty remains optimistic. Awareness raising in Canada and other countries is a vital part of the process, she says. "These talks need international support to succeed, and I feel this support is now there."
To read more about the work being done by Boge, Hafsat, Florence and Betty, visit: www.kmgselfhelp.org, www.kind.org, www.ahbfi.org and www.bettybigombefoundation.com.
Meet Afghanistan's women: more inspiring ladies making a difference overseas.
Page 5 of 5
"Please take me into the bush, so I can ask the rebels what happened to my two sons." The woman came from a village in northern Uganda that had been frequently attacked by soldiers from the notorious Lord's Resistance Army. She had approached Betty Oyella Bigombe, the chief government peace negotiator, during one of Betty's frequent visits to the region.
"She wanted to know if her sons were now rapists and killers," says Betty, who has campaigned tirelessly to bring an end to the ruthless 22-year war, in which more than 20,000 children have been abducted and conscripted as soldiers and sex slaves.
"What struck me," says Betty, "was her initial fear that her children may have been causing others to suffer. I told her I would find out, but I discovered that they were both dead. The pain for women in these types of conflicts never ends. Women's lives bear the brunt of war." A peace advocate and politician, Betty has proved herself to be one of the most influential negotiators in the ongoing talks with the Lord's Resistance Army. "I owe the communities in northern Uganda a chance for peace," she says, "because they taught me everything that I know today."
An early female presence in Uganda
Betty was born in Gulu, northern Uganda, in 1954, one of 11 children. A natural leader and hard worker, she went on to university and was eventually elected as one of Uganda's first female government ministers in 1988.
It was only a few years after Idi Amin, the former dictator, had been overthrown and a former rebel leader, Yoweri Museveni, had just been elected president. But several new rebel movements emerged. As the war dragged on, more than two million people were displaced and thousands more died.
Betty was appointed minister of pacification, in charge of trying to bring peace to the troubled north. "I was of the same tribe as the rebels," she says. "I very soon realized that the rebels were not going to surrender. I had to convince the government of Uganda that they would have to deal with the problems that were leading these rebels to fight.
"If peace talks are left to men, they discuss wages, cars and military," says Betty. "Women broaden the scope; they are more inclined to discuss day-to-day concerns such as water, education and health care. Women are also less threatening" and, she says, paradoxically can thus get away with using stronger language to get the message across. "Women also bring about sustainable peace because they try as hard as possible to ensure what has been agreed upon is implemented."
Finding ways to prevent raids
As chief mediator, Betty occasionally used her own money to buy food for the rebels. "The more they have," she says, "the fewer deadly raids they make on local villages." She has also worked tirelessly to bring food and medical assistance to the communities that have been affected by the conflict, and to create wider awareness of their need.
She helped the Canadian organization Act for Stolen Children release the awareness-raising film Uganda Rising in 2006 with the cooperation of several groups funded by CIDA, including Oxfam, Care Canada, UNICEF and World Vision Canada. Betty has also worked with the Canadian group Guluwalk, which organizes annual awareness and fundraising walks for children affected by the war. And now, the newly formed Betty Bigombe Children of War Foundation aims to generate worldwide awareness of the plight of people in northern Uganda.
Thanks to Betty's remarkable ability to persuade both sides to come to the table, a ceasefire was agreed upon in August 2006. And as a result of increasing world interest in the conflict, largely due to Betty's efforts, the latest round of talks -- ongoing -- are internationally led.
At press time, rebel leader Joseph Kony had several times refused to sign a final peace agreement as scheduled, but Betty remains optimistic. Awareness raising in Canada and other countries is a vital part of the process, she says. "These talks need international support to succeed, and I feel this support is now there."
To read more about the work being done by Boge, Hafsat, Florence and Betty, visit: www.kmgselfhelp.org, www.kind.org, www.ahbfi.org and www.bettybigombefoundation.com.
Meet Afghanistan's women: more inspiring ladies making a difference overseas.
Page 5 of 5
 | This article was first printed in the December-January 2009 issue of Homemakers Magazine. Click to subscribe online and never miss an issue. |
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