When it comes to death and suffering brought by war, the Barlonyo people witnessed one of the most inhumane tortures in the hand of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Rebels led by Joseph Kony. Barlonyo is a Langi word meaning “field of Wealth” and it’s a name for a Village in the Lango sub-region, Northern Uganda near Lira Town.
This village is where several Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from most regions of Northern region lived due to the 20 year LRA War. It is found within Orit Parish, in North0eatsern corner of Ogur sub-county in Lira district, just 45 minutes drive from the Town. It contains numerous graves of the victims of the insurgency hence making it a spectacular yet painful tourist site for visitors on a safari in Uganda.
The most magnificent thing that captures the attention of visitors is the V-Shaped 70 meter long grave where the locals of the Village carry on their daily activities. They sit, eat, wash clothes and even drink local brew (known as Malwa).
At the center of the 20 year insurgency was the Lord resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. LRA was/is a rebel group based within the Lango and Acholi sub-region within Northern Uganda. Formed in 1987, the group was responsible for horrible atrocities in the region including the ruthless murder of more than 200 locals at the Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camp found in Barlonyo on 21st February 2004.
It is estimated that 300 to 500 residents were either butchered, burnt alive, gang raped or went missing on that fateful day yet the Government tried to reduce the number of 200 (according to some locals). This day is unforgettable in the history of the land to the point that when the survivors think of it, they can’t help but break down in tears. This day brings back the painful memories because nothing pains than seeing your loved ones being savagely killed or gang raped to death.
When on a safari in Northern Uganda, never miss to visit the site and you will be touched by the stories of the survivors. Be informed that if you really don’t want to cry, then don’t visit this site. The Camp was originally a home to 48,000 Langi living in more than 10,000 grass-thatched huts but has since been disbanded by the Government of Uganda. As of now, plans are underway to open a polytechnic school within the area in memory of the innocent lives that were lost during this painful and unforgettable massacre.
21st February is a day of pain within Lira district. As the night set in on this fateful day, the pregnant clouds eventually started lashing the plains with electrifying strokes of lightning and deafening thunder then it started raining but that’s when over 100 rebels that surrounded the village and went on a killing spree that saw many innocent lives lost.
Any survivors will agree that it was the most painful day of their lives with the camp being occupied with a number of rebels dressed in maroon and army green uniforms. As their lips contaminated the air with obscene language, their hands never got tired of throwing grenades in every corner of the camp and cutting the people like animals while the civilians on the other hand ran for their dear lives.
For every grenade that fell on the huts, it burnt them to the ground hence eventually filling the air with a dense cloud of black and more tear-causing smoke than even tear gas. If the grenades landed on people in the hurts, it exploded like a volcanic eruption, tearing their body parts in every direction. Even soldiers from the nearby army barracks fled for their lives after being overpowered by the rebels hence the people were left at the mercies of the rebels and fate.
The attackers separated the people into three groups, each awaiting different fate. The first one was made up of women and adolescent girls that were gang-raped to unconsciousness, the second group made up of energetic teenagers especially boys being reserved for eventual recruitment into the rebels’ militia and the third was comprised of the weak, children and the elderly who were executed in cold blood.
The main criterion of execution was by chopping using machetes then cooking in big clay pots. When the rebels felt they had cut many people, they would spray bullets randomly at the elderly. Other survivors would be stuffed into huts then set ablaze. While the fire consumed them, they screamed for help while the ruthless attackers mocked and laughed at them sarcastically.
In conclusion, 21st February 2004 will always be a black Saturday to the residents of Barlonyo Village in Lira district Northern Uganda because it is when most of them witnessed how over 350 of their relatives were mercilessly burnt, adolescent girls gang-raped to unconsciousness and others butchered by rebels of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) under Joseph Kony. A visit to the Barlonyo Massacre Graves will take you through the pain they went through, of which wounds are still fresh, even 13 years down the road.