" Child soldiers

Thousands of Acholi children have been abducted from the Northern districts of Uganda, and forced to be child soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army. Most of the rebel force is made up of abductees.

Most of these lose their lives. Some die during the travel following abduction, some die because there's no food and water - and some are killed by their captors.

Children who escape from the ranks of the rebel army and return to Kitgum district, are brought to centres in Kitgum and Gulu towns for rehabilitation. Many have carried and used weapons, and the girls may have been forced into 'marriage' with soldiers. Drawing, painting and discussion are part of their rehabilitation process.

Many of these damaged children see killing as normal. The rebels tell them to kill, or they will be killed. If a child tries to escape and is caught, the rebels may order the other abductees to kill the child.

Jennifer's story

	Jennifer at a class at Kotido Mixed Primary School, Jie County, Kotido, Uganda. 2,000 children arrived in Jie County between July and October 2002 alone, fleeing the threat of abduction. Photo Credit : Crispin Hughes / Oxfam.

Jennifer Oroma, 15, describes the horror of the rebel attack from which she fled...

"We began leaving our homes at night to sleep in the bush. I was so afraid I could not sleep. Many of my family and friends have been taken. My aunt was killed by the rebels.

"About a week later, during class, our teacher told us we should go home. The teachers said the rebels were coming to attack. When I saw the rebels' torches, I knew it was true.

They caught many children, but I ran away and they did not find me. My uncle was crying. He said we had to leave and go to Kotido. I said I wanted to stay, but he insisted I must go. It was difficult because we left quickly - we just picked up things quickly and ran.

"I want to be a nurse, and I want to work in Pader. I will go back there one day, but I won't go back until the rebels have left.. Those who have come to Kotido since I left, say that if you run, the rebels chase you into the bush. If you are a girl, they will take you away for sure. And if you are a boy, they may beat you to death or force you to take a gun.

"Even though I don't have my family with me, and I don't have clothes and my books, life is much better for me in Kotido. I don't want to go back to that life of sleeping in the bush. I was frightened of what would happen to me. We are all happier here. The rebels cannot come into our sight."

Many children in the Acholi regions of Northern Uganda are terrified of being abducted by the LRA. Many run away or are sent by their families to Karamoja areas where the Lord's Resistance Army is not active. They are also desperate to go to school as most schools in their rural home reas have shut down for fear of rebel attacks. They arrive unaccompanied in Kotido with nowhere to live, but eager to go back to school."

This is happening in your world? Where you aware of that? What are you going to do about it?

I first learned about the situation when i was in SSC and have been thinking about it daily ever since. Children should have the right to live without fear, they are angels to love and be loved but this is not the situation in Uganda where they live in terror and where is the international community in all this???? I will stop asking for the international community to react coz in the end we the people, the citizens of the world are what should comprmise the int'l community, and if we continue to not know and continue to shut up abt it, then will jeniffer ever go to school again? Will she ever see her family again? What abt the thousands of children abducted each day? Who will speak in their name? will they be forever invisible?!

not if u know, and let the world know....

An example of one of the grass root org working there is Oxfam as i recently learned from a fellow aiesecer. "Oxfam is working building and updating school dormitories, providing fencing, cooking equipment, blankets, clothes, soap and toiletries for schools so the children can live on site in safety and receive the education they deserve."

And they deserve even more than that...There is also AIESEC Uganda which is working actively there..and remember that @ can always be a very powerful tool to acheive what took leaders endless years and has not yet been acheived.

And what's even more frustrating is this...

"The government has failed to tackle the problem, many of its soldiers adding to it, by abusing civilians and forcing them into poorly protected camps that are frequently raided by the rebels.

We were told that in the local market you could buy a gun for less than £2. In a country lacking good health care and education, the government spends obscene amounts on military hardware – 26% percent of their budget last year. The UK is a big donor to Uganda."

So if their governments forget abt them, will you? Iwont.