Uganda

I was really moved by a friend of mine today, hearing about the situation in Uganda...of which we hear nothing about in our mainstream media. All we hear about are things and places that the West has interest in. Uganda offers us nothing and therefore we close our eyes and ears to it.

I did some research. The picture on the right and article below is found on the IRC site (International Rescue Committee). Make sure you have a look. Apparently these kids are being stolen, and some have been made to bite each other to death, and forced to become child soldiers. It's horrific. It's particularly horrific that humans even have the capacity to do this to children...



"Forced to Flee: Uganda's Young "Night Commuters"

Each night in northern Uganda, tens of thousands of terrified children leave their villages at dusk and walk to town to avoid being kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army—a brutal rebel force that has abducted more than 30,000 children to serve as soldiers and slaves in its 20-year war against the Ugandan government.

Once in captivity, boys are forced to loot and burn villages and torture and kill neighbors. Abducted girls are routinely raped and become sex slaves or “wives” of rebel commanders. All witness unimaginable atrocities and many do not survive.

The International Rescue Committee and its local partners provide counseling, emotional support, food and medical care for the children who are able to flee, while working to locate their parents and arrange family reunions.

But the war continues to take a horrific toll. “Those who live here are witness to a slow genocide, a holocaust of children,” said one IRC staff member assisting former child soldiers. “And we wonder when the world will start paying attention.”

How to Help
Help children uprooted by violence in Uganda. You can donate on the IRC site or become involved. Have a look!