Abstract
ABSTRACTThe dearth of knowledge about what life was like for different women and men, communities and institutions during conflict has caused many post-conflict developers to undertake reconstruction using standardised models that may not always reflect the realities of the affected populations. There is a need to engage with and understand the life experiences, transformations and social concerns of people affected by conflict before, during and after the conflict in order to develop appropriate and context embedded post-conflict reconstruction strategies. This article discusses how life histories were deployed to explore how the 20-year conflict in northern Uganda transformed people's lives. It presents how 47 men and women lived, experienced and remembered the war in northern Uganda, and the implications for health care reconstruction. By focusing on what the respondents considered major life events in their narratives of war experiences, the article shows how through using life histories, the respondents were empowered to narrate in their own voices their experiences of war; how gender and power(lessness) shaped their experiences and their ‘situatedness’ within the conflict and thereafter; and the implications this has for post-conflict health reconstruction. The life history method enabled the researchers to surmount the subjective nature of narratives of war and its after effects, permitting the researchers to construct a picture of how experiences and challenges to well-being, health and health care seeking changed through time and what needs to be done to ensure post-conflict development prioritises the multiple health care needs of those most impoverished by the war.
Highlights
How do these constructions of meanings and experiences differ by gender?All facilities charge fees, ranging from the nominal to exorbitant fees depending on the ailment, and the nature of the facility
USING LIFE HISTORIES TO EXPLORE GENDERED EXPERIENCES OF CONFLICT IN GULU DISTRICT, NORTHERN UGANDA: IMPLICATIONS FOR POST-CONFLICT HEALTH RECONSTRUCTION
By focusing on what the respondents considered major life events in their narratives of war experiences, the article shows how through using life histories, the respondents were empowered to narrate in their own voices their experiences of war; how gender and power(lessness) shaped their experiences and their ‘situatedness’ within the conflict and thereafter; and the implications this has for post-conflict health reconstruction
Summary
All facilities charge fees, ranging from the nominal to exorbitant fees depending on the ailment, and the nature of the facility This is a sharp contrast to the conflict period when humanitarian agencies provided free health care services to people in IDP camps. 47 heads of poor households (each aged 45 years and above) were asked to mark significant life events over the three key phases of before, during and after the war, to document changes in their households’ ability to cope with household health care costs over the three time periods. The respondents were asked to narrate the story of their life as far back as they could remember, from whichever year, as long as it was before the war For each phase, they identified their major life event, why they considered it significant, and what memories they attached to it. In addition to the lifelines drawn, the results of these life history in-depth interviews were transcribed, translated from Acholi into English, and analysed thematically using Atlas ti software
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