Flame International: Mending torn hearts in the north
The New Vision Newspaper of Uganda – 3rd October 2006
The remarkable article below was printed in ‘The New Vision’ newspaper (the equivalent of Britain’s ‘Daily Telegraph’) on October 3rd 2006, just after Flame International’s visit to Northern Uganda. A reporter came to the conference in Lira and wrote a wonderful account, read by millions throughout Uganda. We give God all the praise!
By Harriette Onyalla
A hearty laughter veils it all. The fear, the failure, and the fate of
many whose lives ended at his command. Rev. Bosco Oryem extends his large
hand, his handshake is firm. A smile creeps across his dark pimple speckled
face to his eyes. This is a man whose future was carved at 12 years — when
the LRA abducted him.
It was a bright moonlit night. Oryem’s father was hacked to death by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels as his children watched. Then Oryem and his two sisters were led away and forced to serve in the rebel ranks. By the time he was 14, Oryem was ill with cholera and was quarantined outside the rebel camp to await death. But another rebel commander, Okwanga, discovered him and ordered his men to carry him along.
Years later, Oryem climbed the rebel ranks to became a commander. Okwanga remained his best friend. Because of his success as a field commander, Oryem was promoted to become rebel leader Joseph Kony’s escort in charge of the LRA communication centre. In 1998, the UPDF attacked Kony’s base.
“We were not willing to surrender, but the UPDF had teamed up with Dinka fighters who called us in their language saying they had come to reinforce us. Instead, they disarmed and handed us over to the UPDF,” Oryem says.
After receiving counselling from the World Vision Centre in Gulu, Oryem went back home and began working as a catechist. In 1999, he wedded Sunday, the girl he had been given as a wife in the bush. They now have four children.
In 2000, Oryem went to Janan Luwum Theological College in Gulu for a
Catechists’ training.
In 2001, he went back and obtained a certificate in theology. He was ordained
as an Anglican reverend in 2005. A new life! And yet Oryem’s
new life has just began. It is September 13. Oryem, together with over
200 other church leaders and priests from war-torn northern Uganda, is
attending a three-day conference on trauma healing. The conference, organised
by Flame International, is taking place at St Augustine Church in Lira.
The hot afternoon sunrays lazily filter in through the large church windows. Inside, the churchmen and women sit, their eyes glued onto the raised pulpit. Jan Ransom, the executive director of Flame International is teaching about forgiveness.
“We have to forgive,” she says softly. “God commands us to forgive no matter how badly someone has hurt us — even if the person has not asked for forgiveness. Forgiveness is for our good. When we forgive, we let that person off our hearts. But if we don’t we carry that person in our hearts and the weight wears us down.”
Forty minutes later, Ransom winds up. “It is not easy to forgive,” she says, “because we have been hurt. But we have to choose to forgive. Otherwise, that person continues having power over us... that person continues hurting us.”
The men and women of God are then asked if any of them would like to choose to forgive someone. All of them stand up. All these people have had awful experiences from the 20-year-old war. Some have been beaten, others have lost property, some have lost wives and children while some, like Oryem, were abducted and forced to commit all sorts of atrocities. They stole, abducted people, and killed. And these are the people who are leading the millions of people in northern Uganda.
"This is very important for us especially now that there are signs of peace. The Church is a structure, which goes down to the grassroots. And in the face of war, the Church is the only institution, which stuck by the people. The Church did not run away when teachers, nurses, doctors and other service providers did. But people also believe in the Church more than the government or NGOs whom they now think are benefiting from their suffering. So any message passed through the Church is going to be listened to. The people trust church leaders,” Rev. Can. Milton Otto Olima says.
Unfortunately, the Church is also hurting like the people.
They have also borne the brunt of the war. Some church leaders have been
accused of supporting and sheltering LRA rebels. Yet they have the burden
of ministering healing to a people who have so been disillusioned and destroyed
by the war.
“With the coming of peace, there is a lot to face up to — issues of resettlement, as people go back to their villages and resettlement of formerly abducted children. Then there are those rebels who have been notorious for killing and maiming people. The burden of beginning to lead a normal life is enormous.
Sadly, the psychosocial aspect of returning home is being ignored. The few organisations attempting to do it are using the wrong channels. They employ counsellors who the people consider foreigners. The people view them with suspicion. They will only be dismissed as people who do not understand their pain.
But the workload is also huge. How many counsellors will you employ to effectively handle the millions of people in this region who are so traumatised? The Church is surely the best way out.
The Church will work systematically reaching out to everyone,” Otto Olima says.
Ransom says, “Our heart is to teach pastors and church leaders but also the military about peace, reconciliation and freedom from trauma. This is a major step to bringing healing in any land torn by war.” She says in Sudan, Flame International ministered to about 3,000 former soldiers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Rumbek. “Over 2,000 of them accepted Christ. One of the men had been hearing drumming in his ears day and night after killing someone, the drumming stopped after he repented but also forgave. He found peace,” she says.
But we have also had whole communities stopping to witchhunt one another because they were seeking revenge on those who hurt them during conflict situations. That is why we believe the teaching of simple biblical principles of forgiveness, repentance, how to handle bereavement and trauma is important for permanent resettlement for the people of northern Uganda.
We speak God’s word to the individual. Peace begins from an individual. When people’s lives change, then the whole nation is ultimately transformed. This is Christian teaching but we believe you don’t have to be a Christian to repent, forgive and receive healing from the Holy Spirit,” she says.
Flame International was started in 2003 by three former British soldiers,
Rtd Lt. Col. Jan Ransom, Rtd Brig. Val and Maj. Katja. They have worked
in Borneo in Asia, Malta in Europe, as well as Sierra Leone, Sudan and
Rwanda in Africa. “Because of our military background, we felt
called to minister to war-torn countries,” Ransom says.
And so, slowly, Oryem inches forward. Tall and towerings over others, he has himself to forgive first.
“I was leading my troop on a mission to steal food from Southern Sudan. Unfortunately on our way back, the UPDF ambushed us. Many of my fighters were killed. They were like my brothers. We used to look out to each other. But I couldn’t help them,” Oryem says crestfallen. “I had to save those who survived so I ordered them to withdraw. I blame myself for the death of my friends. Images of their bullet-riddled blood-socked bodies still haunt me. Maybe if I had been a better commander they would lived,” he adds, his eyes seeking refuge at the sight of his old shoes.
Yet, slowly, Oryem comes to terms with his role as a rebel commander and forgives himself for his failings. But he also repents of the wrongs he did to other people. Looking up, he says, “It is as if a heavy load has been lifted off my shoulders. Now I can be able to serve the people God has entrusted in my care better. I can help them overcome the pain and guilt.”