Negotiating reintegration: the formerly abducted in Uganda

Drawing on qualitative data from Uganda, this research paper investigates formerly abductees’ experiences in reintegration processes and the construction of the self. These experiences consciously take into consideration social relationships with peer(s) and the community. Spurred by a psychological need to belong and to create a sense of ‘home’ these relationships are built on the attempt to secure the best possible futures for themselves. Inherently interdependent in time and dependent on other social actors in the community, social relations depend on meanings given to spaces and its effect on the formerly abductees’ ability to negotiate reintegration. Four external factors are understood to positively influence the negotiation process. Negative meanings are often given to those returned from the bush. Returnees are discriminated against, abused and gossiped about. They may be socially excluded, which leads to the need to devise a coping mechanism. Though the Declaration of Amnesty of 1999 has led to diminished abuse, it is widely known by the formerly abducted that it is done: Keeping silent arose as the most common coping mechanism. Chapter 5 offers a reflection on the role of religion in coping in post-conflict ‘cosmology’.