10/17/2002

Since the war in northern Uganda began in 1996, UNICEF estimates that roughly 10,000 children have been abducted into the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Recently, the number of abductions has increased due to LRA’s attempts to resupply its ranks. Theodora [a pseudonym], a child mother at one of the reception centers for people kidnapped by the LRA in northern Uganda, shifted uncomfortably on the wooden bench as she began the story of her abduction by LRA forces four years ago. Now 19 years old with a three-month old baby, Theodora has the mannerisms of a 15 year-old—her age when she was abducted.

She explained, “The rebels took me from my village on February 18, 1998. I was taken straight to Sudan, where they taught me the basics of military tactics. Some people would sometimes go back to Uganda to fight, but I was not allowed to return to Uganda because they were afraid that I may escape.” Theodora was given an AK-47. Her job was to patrol the LRA base camp where she was living—mainly in the company of others who had been kidnapped. She said, “An order came from the high command, and our leader said that women should not fight. Our job was to pray full-time for the fighters.” In addition, she worked in the fields surrounding the camp that provided food for the rebel fighters. She said that her life in Sudan was good and that she was well treated.

After two years of captivity, she married a commander. She explained, “It was not a forceful thing. It was my choice to marry. Before I married, no one tried to ‘hurt’ (rape) me.” She continued to live in Sudan until Ugandan forces carried out Operation Iron Fist in Southern Sudan in an attempt to destroy LRA bases. Operation Iron Fist did not destroy the LRA but instead drove the rebel army into Uganda—with a vengeance.

Theodora re-entered Uganda after Operation Iron Fist. Although life was not bad with the rebels for her first few years with them, when Operation Iron Fist started this year, she started having to walk extremely long distances. It was this physically exhausting walking, made worse by the recent birth of her child, that made her decide to escape. One day she was chosen to go to a village to loot for supplies. When the group of LRA fighters started to walk back to their base, she slipped towards the back of the group until she was the last one. She ran into the bush and stayed there for the night. In the morning, she went to a villager’s home. They took everything from her except the bed sheet that she was using to carry her child. They told her that she was lucky she had a child or the community would have killed her.

Some community members took her to some UPDF soldiers, and they transferred her to the military barracks where she spent one week. She said that she had a good reception by the UPDF. She was then taken to the NGO-run reception center where she is now staying with her baby. The NGO is helping hundreds of people readjust or heal after their time with the LRA by providing counseling and training. Theodora said she did not know how long she would be in the NGO center. But, she does have plans for the future. She wants to become a tailor. She also expressed a desire to be reunited with her husband, a 23-year old who is still fighting with the LRA. Although Theodora is separated from her husband and the life she has known for the past four years, she was glad to be reunited with her mother. Her mother often comes to the center to check on her. Theodora said she was “very happy” to see her mother and that they “never got lost from one another.”

Although Theodora’s experiences are not representative of all those kidnapped by the LRA, her story illustrates the complexity of the problem in northern Uganda. First and foremost, all but a few of LRA fighters have been kidnapped or are children who have been born in captivity. Most have undergone intense indoctrination and have been forced to commit atrocities against fellow community members. As fighters, they have power and they are able to live better—through looting and theft—than when they were living with their families under threat of continual attack. An aid worker explained, “As rebel fighters, they can eat chicken every night, whereas before, they didn’t know if they would eat. For this reason, among others, they think life as an LRA fighter is not that bad.”

The victims of the UPDF’s military campaign against the LRA are the child fighters, which is one of the reasons that many Acholi people are opposed to military action and would prefer that the government pursue peaceful means to end the war. According to a religious leader in the community, “The UPDF said that it killed two rebels in a village not far from here. One of the local priests went to investigate and the rebels were two boys who were about 10 or 12 years old. They were stripped naked and they had not even gone through puberty. Many of these rebels are innocent victims.”

The NGO that is caring for these former LRA fighters reported that they are receiving many child mothers who had been released by the LRA and who came to the center with babies that had been born in the bush. The LRA has recently been releasing people—mostly those who are extremely weak and mothers with babies. Evidently, the LRA does not want these people to slow them down as they move through the bush. For unknown reasons, there have not been as many escapees recently as there were in past years. However, the UPDF has been rescuing/capturing many children during Operation Iron Fist. The children coming out to the bush now are often difficult to deal with. “In the past, only about five percent of children at the center were considered high risk—cases where it was difficult for children to return to their families and resume a normal life after undergoing counseling. Now the majority of the children who come through our center are high risk—born in captivity, children who have been fighting for a long time and who have a difficult time living as civilians.”

Despite the challenges of taking these children back into homes and communities, the people in Gulu want them returned safely so they can be reunited with their families. Several Acholis explained that they have a culture of forgiveness. One man told RI, “The abducted children will be accepted to come back because they are our children and they never wanted to fight. We are fearing for these young generations because they can die before even reaching our (adult) age.”