I have read countless articles and watched a few
documentaries on this subject so far. I have come up with some answers to some of
the questions, and naturally have got more questions then I did when I first
started. Lest answer some first.
How is a child recruited? This is a loaded question. Most of
the information I found was based around Uganda and the Lords of Resistance Army
also known as the LRA. The LRA is the major player in the terrorist acts
plaguing northern Uganda. When a child in “recruited” by the LRA it means
they’re abducted from their homes. Often when a child is first stolen they are
forced to kill another abducted child, a parent, a sibling, or just a random stranger
as an act of hazing into the group. I read a story about two brothers who were
forced to beat they two younger brothers to death with sticks, because the LRA
soldiers said having their brothers in the army would make them weak. Also the
children are beating as part of the hazing. They are told this is done to
straighten them for battle, and they’re not aloud to cry. For if they do they
will me killed. One child cried during his beating, so the LRA soldiers forced
him lay face down in the road and they beat him over the back of the head with
logs until he was dead.
Is there a way for them to leave the fight? The answer is a
resounding no. There is no leaving the Lords of Resistance Army. Some children
who are daring enough to make an escape attempt make it out. But if you are caught
trying to escape the consequences are dire. Some escapees are put to death;
often the newly abducted children are forced to do this. Others are brutally
maimed to serve as a constant reminder to the new “recruits” of their fate if
they try to escape.
I’ve got more questions on top of the others I came up with earlier.
Where did the Lords of Resistance Army come from? What are people doing about
them? Hopefully I can answer questions fast than I can come up with them.
Soldier Child. Dir. Neil Abramson. Perf. Danny
Glover. 1998. DVD.
A documentary centered around the rehabilitation centers in Northern Uganda.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361175/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361175/
Moscardino, Ughetta, Sara Scrimin, Francesca Cadei,
and Gianmarco Altoè. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology
Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 Apr. 2012. Web. 10 July
2013.
This is an article that compares abducted ex-child soldiers and children how had never been abducted.
Is the LRA the group that was led by Joseph Cooney?
ReplyDeleteNoah Tobias, Yes Joseph Kony is the leader of the LRA.
ReplyDeleteThe LRA is 1/7 of the waggon train that is circling the DRC in the ongoing civil war. I say 1/7 because there are 7 different warring factions within the DRC, and the LRA is considered one of the most deadly. They are responsible for a great number of mass rapes, murders, and child soldier recruitments, as well as abductions.
ReplyDeleteI found that one of the ways in which they recruit child soldiers is first making them orphans. The child is now in that vulnerable state of loneliness and self loathing,and then they pounce!
Many times the child is the one who is used to murder his/parents. This puts the child in an obligatory position because he/she cannot fend for themselves, so the captor becomes the savior. With the constant initiation process, eventually the child comes to a decision : Survival is the name of the game, so kill or be killed.
Their crimes now become a survival tool for them. This is why when they escape it takes a very long time to 'detoxify' them.
They are used particularly when they find it easier and more lucrative to employ the agility, and normalcy of child-like appearance to commit certain crimes. After all, who is not taken in by the innocence of a child?
Ryan, this is going to be a journey for us. Take a look at my blog when you get a chance. It coincides, or I should say, it is a segway into your subject matter.
We should have a chat sometime! Great work!