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LRA victims stuck in cycle of fear and flight, says new report

A new report released today offers a revealing insight into the realities of life for those who live side-by-side with one of the most vicious and notorious armed groups in the world, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

GENEVA, 17 SEPTEMBER 2013 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The report, A life of fear and flight: The Legacy of LRA Brutality in north-east Democratic Republic of Congo released today by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and supported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) focusses on internal displacement in Orientale province, in the north east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

With today’s announcement of UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award winner Sister Angelique, whose work is dedicated to supporting victims of the LRA, the report highlights how In LRA affected areas of the DRC, Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan more than 20% of the population are currently internally displaced.

‘Such high proportions are rarely seen in national displacement crises’ says Jan Egeland, Secretary General of NRC. ‘Such figures are comparable to some of the world’s most complex internal displacement crises such as Syria and Colombia’.

Fear as a trigger of flight, and a barrier to returning home

‘The LRA have a long history of extreme violence and have committed some of the most horrendous mass atrocities in the world’ says Egeland. ‘The deeply entrenched fear that this long history of violence has inspired means that today, the mere rumor of perceived ‘LRA’ activity is enough to cause whole villages to flee in fear of their lives’ .

The report further highlights how those displaced in previous LRA attacks are too afraid and traumatised to return home, with 55% of over the 320,000 people currently displaced by the LRA in Orientale province living in displacement situations for up to 5 years.

A drop in violence should not lead to a drop in the provision of aid

‘While we have seen protracted displacement situations in other areas of DRC, what makes this particularly unique is the high levels of fear and trauma within these communities’ says Egeland. ‘It is this extreme fear that is fueling the repeated and protracted nature of displacement’

‘The drop in LRA attacks should not be a cause for premature withdrawal of aid’ says Egeland. ‘Right now, there is an ever-growing need for specialised long-term support for communities affected by LRA, such as trauma counseling and help for former abductees facing stigmatisation. Only in doing so can we ensure that the displaced can collectively move forward from the horrendous atrocities that have been inflicted on them over the last 30 years, and find peace.’

For more information, please contact:

Clare Spurrell, Head of Communications

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre E-Mail: clare.spurrell@nrc.ch Mobile: 41 79 379 89 52

Julia Blocher, Communications Officer

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) E-Mail: julia.blocher@nrc.ch Mobile: 41 (0)79 175 88 87