Former refugee singing for peace

Prischa Janeth Amony was five years when her village Paluga in Lamwo District then a part of Kitgum District, was attacked by the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels in 1995. Hiding in the bush for two days without water and food, the families came home to find all their belongings robbed and houses razed to the ground.

“Everything was different and the village was almost empty, granaries were empty and animals had been stolen. Everyone was fleeing the village for safety,” she recounts. They sought refuge in Padibe internally displaced people’s camp where living conditions were so bad.
“The war separated families because they kept being moved to different camps. The situation was terrible for young girls who were lost or abandoned because they were either married off at a young age, or sexually abused since they were unprotected,” Amony relates.

IDP woes
Amony reveals that one of the biggest problems in the camp was the overwhelming sense of lack of resources which dehumanised people. “Most of the violence was fueled by a lack of food and money. Women were battered by their husbands for giving them little food and women fought their men if they suspected he was spending money somewhere,” the singer notes.

After a few months in Padibe IDP camp Amony and her family was transferred to Gangdyang IDP camp in 1996 where life was a bit better. “There were opportunities for families to sell part of their relief provision to get money for other needs. Sadly some men would spend their money on alcohol, which escalated fights in homes,” Amony notes.
In 1998, after leaving the camp Amony went back to school at Padibe Boys Primary School in Primary Three. In 2005, she joined YY Okot Memorial College in Kitgum for her Secondary School for one term and dropped out due to lack of school fees. In 2011 Amony went to Gulu where she joined Labora Commonwealth Youth Development Centre where she studied tailoring.

Fighting domestic violence
After acquiring skills in tailoring, she could neither find a job nor find money to buy her own machine to start up a tailoring business. Amony finally landed a job as a bakery attendant in Gulu Town where she was earning Shs75,000 weekly which gave her enough money that in six months she had raised capital to start up a business of her own dealing in second hand clothes in Gulu main market.

The business flourished enough to give her money to invest in music. In 2012, she entered a Domestic Violence Musical Competition organised by Save the Children International and her song called Cwara (My husband) won. After the competition Amony chose to continue with music and now has more than 20 songs to her name. Her music carries messages against domestic violence, forced marriages, peace and gospel.

Inspiration
Even though Amony’s road to music was fuelled by IDP camp experience, she says while at home, music was one of the activities that would bring families together. She reveals that her father Darius Kalokwera is one of the most talent traditional Bwola dancers, a royal kind of dance done specifically for the kings. However, she explains that growing up there are some music personalities who influenced her to music and popular among many is Northern Uganda lyrical icon Roselyn Otim.

Awards
This year, Amony was nominated for the prestigious Viga Music Awards for her song, PeApore.