For the past 20+ years, a rebel army known as the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) has terrorized the Acholi tribe in Gulu, northern Uganda. Led by a madman, Joseph Kony, who wants to overthrow the Ugandan government, the LRA fills their soldiering ranks by abducting innocent children from the villages and forcing them to fight. Children as young as 4 or 5 years old are taught how to handle automatic weapons and are forced to kill others or else they are butchered as an example to their peers. Oftentimes, newly abducted children are forced to murder their own relatives. Young girls are also taken in as sex slaves. It is estimated that over 30,000 children have been abducted by the LRA since the guerilla-style war began in the '80s.
The children forced to fight are not the only ones affected by this conflict. Every single night, thousands of children walk several miles from their villages to sleep in the larger towns. They do this in order to escape abduction by the rebels. These children, also called "night commuters," crowd into wherehouses, bus parks and hospitals. They leave at sunrise and walk miles for a full day of work and school, only to return to the town again before dark.
World Vision runs the Gulu Children of War Center in northern Uganda for the rehabilitation of children that have managed to escape from the LRA, but the war rages on. Increased international pressure is needed to bring Kony and his men to justice and secure peace for the Acholi people, so we can all speak out for these kids by sharing news of this crisis with others. The links below have helped me to stay informed about the conflict and provide some great ways to support the war-torn region of Gulu and help bring an end to this horrific crisis.
Learn more: @ World Vision
Read the story of Grace Akallo - a former child soldier
Add your name to the "No Child Soldiers" Declaration
Check out an amazing documentary made about the children caught up in this conflict: Invisible Children
No comments:
Post a Comment