 In modern history, depending on how the wind blows, it seems like there
is one tragic occurrence or another taking place in Africa. Perhaps
so much so that we have become desensitized. The general western attitude
is: “it’s not happening to us, so, what do we care?” We stand
idle as a devastating war has raged in Uganda for the past two decades indiscriminately destroying the lives of all men, women,
and more specifically, children. Not knowing allows us the liberty to
continue not caring, and so we evade knowing so
that apathy may endure.
The stage for the tragic story unfolding in Uganda was set in the mid-1980s
and escalated to a full-out massacre by 1994. When the decimation of the Rwandan Genocide ceased, amid a counterfeit peace, the tides were steadily rising next door in Sudan. A civil
war was looming and, indeed, it was inevitable. To date, more
than two million lives and counting have been lost. Starvation,
hunger and displacement abound, the effects of which will echo for generations
to come. Most
of Southern Sudanese have fled to Northern Uganda leaving the land barren. There is even more peril awaiting them in the north for another unrelenting
war is sizzling in Northern Uganda, and in this war the prime soldiers
are children, five to twelve years-old.
Gulu, in Northern Uganda,
is home to the Acholi tribe. Nightly, Gulu children commute extensively
to seeking refuge. Here in America, to most little children
an AK47 is a compilation of letters and numbers; in Uganda, children
of the same age are experts at operating one. The
primary objective on the mind of most Gulu children is to avoid abduction. There is no comfort of home for these children. No security. In most cases they go hungry,
marching on in a single outfit that has already begun to deteriorate.
The
door at Lacor’s hospital flings open at about 4:00pm and little ones rush inside scrambling for a space to lay their heads
for the night, so they are not kidnapped and forced to live as soldiers
in a maniac’s militia. Piled on top of one another like packaged
goods in buildings, suffocating verandas and bus stops, hoping to have secured another
day of freedom. Unfortunately, their homes can no longer serve as a bastion,
and the consequence of passing a night there are without a doubt grave. At home, they risk being roused from bed and immediately taken into the bushes
where they are forced to join Lord’s Resistance Army – the rebel
army of Joseph Kony. If they hesitate they brutally tortured and/or killed.
These young souls are sought after by Kony because
they can be easily captured and indoctrinated. They are taught to kill
by being forced to kill – in many cases, they victimize their own
friends or siblings. Children are also favorable to the LRA because they
are big enough to carry guns but small enough to pilfer other children.
Over 50,000 children have been abducted and there is no end in sight.
Young girls who should be playing with dolls are raped and given to
men in the rebel army as wives. If a captured child is too weak to stand
with the LRA he/she is murdered and discarded by the wayside. These
abductees, surrounded by murder and mayhem are transformed into savage, blood thirsty
killing machines.
Joseph Kony perpetually menaces the people via chilling video tapes.
“Your nose will be cut off together with your ears and in the end
the sword will kill you. Your children will be taken into captivity
and they will be burned to death” (Dateline NBC). And so, these “night
commuters” journey to hide for fear of this horrific fate. But even
the minds of the children who have not been in the rebel forces are
sullied with images of blood and war. Madness runs rampant in Gulu because
of war, poverty and desperation. Those who manage to escape
the LRA are in a calamitous mental state when they arrive at recovery
centers which are few and far between. Slues are still haunted by
the dehumanization they’ve to endured.
No child is arbitrary. These
children are our future. They encompass us all. Human life
is valuable regardless of race, economic status or national affliation. We all play a part in the lives of every man. At times it is easy to feel ineffective but there is something that we can
each do to help alleviate the situation growing bleaker day by day in
Uganda. We need not depend directly on the U.S government to
make our actions feel significant. We all, individually, can contribute in various ways.
Many times we turn a blind eye to issues that seem so far away. It is easy to claim ignorance when situations don't face you directly. But now, you have
been informed. What are you going to do about it?
For more information
or to find out how you can help, visit: http://www.invisiblechildren.com
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