The Lost Children Of Uganda

 Tonight I am writing about something that we all need to be made aware of, the children of Uganda. Now you may be asking your self, who are the children of Uganda and why am I telling you?  Well let me explain, In Uganda there is war that has been going on for almost 20yrs. A war that very few of us have ever heard about. In the midst of this war is the LRA which stands for

The Lord's Resistance Army

and its led by a diabolical man named Joseph Kony. Now I know this name doesnt mean anything to you but in Uganda, his name instills terror to all who hear it. This some background on this man.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) , led by Joseph Kony, operated in the north from bases in southern Sudan. The LRA committed numerous abuses and atrocities, including the abduction, rape, maiming, and killing of civilians, including children. In addition to destabilising northern Uganda from bases in Sudan, the LRA congregated in the Bunia area in eastern Congo. They linked up with the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR) and other rebel groups battling with forces from the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD)

What makes this man so evil is his method of recruiting for his army, his main and favorite method is child abduction, children as young as five are abducted from their villages, from their homes and family and taken to what is called the bush. In the bush they are trained and brainwashed to become child soldiers. The main method that Kony uses to train is fear, he will routinely shoot and kill another child in front of them to show them what will happen if they try to run away or do not follow orders.  Heres more on what the LRA does:

The LRA has abducted large numbers of civilians for training as guerrillas; most victims were children and young adults. The LRA abducted young girls as sex and labor slaves. Other children, mainly girls, were reported to have been sold, traded, or given as gifts by the LRA to arms dealers in Sudan. While some later escaped or were rescued, the whereabouts of many children remain unknown.

In particular, the LRA abducted numerous children and, at clandestine bases, terrorized them into virtual slavery as guards, concubines, and soldiers. In addition to being beaten, raped, and forced to march until exhausted, abducted children were forced to participate in the killing of other children who had attempted to escape. Amnesty International reported that without child abductions, the LRA would have few combatants. More than 6,000 children were abducted during 1998, although many of those abducted later escaped or were released. Most human rights NGOs place the number of abducted children still held captive by the LRA at around 3,000, although estimates vary substantially. You may be asking yourself why you haven't heard about this and the answer is simple, not enough people care about what is happening in Uganda and to these children. Or if we do hear about it, we tell ourselves its not our problem but it should be. These children are taken at the high point of their innocence and are turned to brutal, cold, heartless child soldiers. Then there are the displaced children whose entire life consists of moving at night from town to town with no parents no one to really care for them, their main objective is to stay ahead of the LRA, so that they won't be abducted, many of them have had their entire families killed by the LRA. Some were child soldiers and managed to escape. Its time for the United States of America to care about what happens to these children and to the war in Uganda. We need to speak up and spread the word. We need to stop Joseph Kony. These children need our help, they just want to be able to live without fear and death. If this was happening here there would be a great outrage. Why should the lives of these children mean less or be less precious. To read more about this movement visit www.theinvisiblechildren.com and to hear first had accounts from children who have been abducted and escaped please visit  http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/lra.htm. These children are waiting for some one to hear their cries.