“Around the world, we’re rising to our feet, so Ugandan children can put down their arms.”
On October 22nd, 2005 people in 32 cities walked in a show of solidarity with these ‘night commuters’, the victims of the all but forgotten 19-year civil war in Uganda.
Every night, as many as 40,000 children in northern Uganda “commute” for several miles, to the nearest town, in search of safety. To stay home means risking abduction and life as a child soldier, sex slave or even death.
Standing in front of the White House with 100+ other rain soaked individuals, candles in hand, I was reminded of the importance of activism. Not many people know of the civil war occurring in Uganda today, nor do many know the effects this war is having on the Ugandan children. This is why I walked three hours in the rain from the Ugandan Embassy to the White House. I have to walk, because they shouldn’t have to…
As I stood thinking of my pruning feet, World Vision Africa Policy director Rory Anderson recount the following story-
“In Gulu, I met an 11-year-old boy in WV’s Children of War center, who — personally — was forced to kill 5 people, while held in captivity by the Lord’s Resistance Army for two years. The first time he killed someone, he told me that, he, along with other children, were forced to bite to death one child who had attempted to escape from the LRA.
Yes, this is correct. He and other children were forced to bite another child to death. Then swallow the dead child’s blood. It was a warning to him and to the others not try to escape, or they would face the same torture.”
On a Saturday evening, when my only worry is the weather- whole societies live in poverty, in war, facing constant child abductions, HIV/AIDS and the lasting psychological impacts of war. As the evening went on we heard testimonies from the chief peace negotiator and the Ugandan ambassador. Each testimony given further compounded the sense of urgency that I felt. Children should not be forced to kill others, nor should they be in a position where they have to walk 4km at night to be ensured a safe place to sleep.
Suffering and cruelty are border-less, and thus so should be our compassion. It is essential that we take action to assist the children who are put in such situations.