Child Abuse

In 2003, there was a group of journalist that traveled to Uganda to uncover a tragic story. They discovered that in Northern Uganda, children have been captured from there families and used as slaves and soldiers. Some children were even killed during a war that has been in affect for over 20 years. Many children over the age of ten have been forced to live in concentration camps. These children suffer from diseases, starvation, and nighttime attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The leader of the LRA is Joseph Kony.

Alice Lakwena was the person who started the Lord's Resistance Army. Alice Lakwena led here followers in a bloody battle against the Northern Ugandan government. The rebellion failed as the Northern Ugandan government over powered the LRA with machine guns and heavy artillery. Joseph Kony was one of the LRA soldiers who survived the bloody battle. Kony later developed a stronger LRA and began another rebellion. Kony's prime victims are children from the ages of 5 to 12. these children are old enough to use guns and are small enough to sneak in homes and capture other children. As the children are captured, the rebels would bring the children in the forest to train them for war against the government. The rebels would also introduce the children to drugs and sex. The drugs were used to get the children high before combat. The boy soldiers are mostly used for combat, while the girls are used for sex. The United Nations has known about this problem but continue to ignore it (www.invisiblechildren.com)

The children of Northern Uganda have been beaten , raped, and killed in the concentration camps they reside in. In Northern Uganda, there are groups of children called Night commuters that walked hundreds of miles each day to prevent getting abducted by the LRA. Although the United Nations has made plans to bring the civil war to an end, there are still children dieing. Hopefully, the United Nations will pay more attention to this tragedy and the children of Northern Uganda can live in peace.

Child Soldiers in the African Civil War.

During the civil war in Africa, native children were kidnapped and turned into soldiers. These children were not only trained to kill, but were also brainwashed. Robbed of their childhood, these children were brainwashed to think that the country was going to be destroyed by the government. The rebels taught the children how to use guns and drugs. These children often went into battle high on drugs. Child soldiers would also create their own organization to win wars against the government. The reason why children were chosen to be soldiers is because children are easy to intimidate. Therefore, children would be forced to obey their new "masters". Children were also chosen over adults because they were cheaper to take care. Most of the children ate small amounts of food. However most children would use drugs to satisfy their starvation. These children soldiers resided in countries such as; Angola, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, which were significant locations for conflict diamonds.

In some countries, governments participating in the African civil war also used children to defend their purpose. The military provided certain guns to children to use for combat. AK47's were the most common gun a child soldier would use for combat. The AK47's were light enough for child soldiers to carry and were automatic weapons. Child soldiers that fought for the rebels would also use AK47's for battle.

Approximately 300,000 children under 18 currently participate in dozens of armed conflicts. Thousands more either face recruitment or are members of armed forces not currently at war (http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol4/v4n27child.html). These children have difficulty rejoining their families and communities. These child soldiers are feared because they have the skill to kill any human being no matter what age. After escaping the war, some former child soldiers are still brainwashed. There are special projects in Mozambique, Angola, and Somalia helping former child soldiers recover from the war (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/childrenofconflict/soldier.shtml).

The links shown on this blog give useful information about child soldiers. These websites provide links as well as pictures of child soldiers in the African civil war. These websites also provide visitors with links to the Mozambique and Angola projects to help former child soldiers. Hopefully by looking at these websites visitors will make an effort to make a difference.