South Sudanese refugees at Omugo camp in Uganda and host communities have agreed to continuously use dialogues to resolve conflict sensitive issues in the area.
According to Radio Easter, the comments came during a dialogue organized by Community Development Centre, Uganda in partnership with Center for Democracy and Development on Thursday in Omugo One.
Omugo refugee camp is under Rhino Refugee settlement, Arua District in the West Nile region of Uganda.
The dialogue in Omugo One brought together seventy-five participants including refugees, members of the host community and their local leaders.
The dialogue meeting has ‘given us a platform to meet the owners of this area and agree on what to do and not to do’, said Omugo One Chairperson of Refugees Welfare Committee.
The Local Council One Chairperson Asomi Frederick thanked the organizations for the dialogue and appealed for more meetings that would include officials from Sub County and office of the Prime Minister.
Barnabas Samuel, Community Development Centre, Development Programme manager, urged both sides to always use such meetings to peacefully resolve their issues.
He emphasized that dialogues enable both sides to resolve conflicts within refugees and host communities without violence.
CEDED Executive Director Eric J Moses assured them that they would continue helping refugees and host communities to resolve local conflicts.
Several community dialogues and trainings on Trauma Healing, forgiveness and reconciliation have been held in different zones of Rhino Cap refugee settlement.
Omugo’s dialogue was the first of its kind the organizations arranged in the area.
Last Wednesday, trauma healing, forgiveness and reconciliation training was concluded for refugees in Wanyange village of Odobu zone of Rhino camp.
Both sides raised conflict delicate issues pointing to the sharing of the limited resources, theft, unemployment and use of abusive language.
They identified land, trees, grass, water, health facilities and schools as some of the limited resources being shared in the area.
Refugees added that they face lack of cemetery for burial of deceased ones, lack of knowledge on channeling of grievances to host community and animals destruction of crops.
Meanwhile, members of the host community decried bricks laying in unauthorized areas, merciless cutting of trees including those that are painted not to be cut and burial near streams.
One of the nine resolutions is to embrace dialogue to help gather local solutions to their challenges.