Child soldiers of uganda and the lords resistance army. Yet as his mother and father lay on the ground with their hands tied, richard used the blunt end of an ax to crush their skulls. Tales from ugandas female former child soldiers uganda. Joseph kony child soldier returns to terrorised boyhood village. Typically, this classification includes children serving in noncombatant roles such as cooks or messengers, as well as those serving in combatant roles. While children become involved with armed groups in a variety of ways, child soldier expert michael wessells told vision that no choice is a free choice because it is typically grounded in dire circumstances, including poverty, starvation, separation from their families, physical or sexual abuse, or lack of livelihood or education. An estimated 40 percent of child soldiers around the world are girls, many of whom face discrimination and struggle to reintegrate. Jason cowley on african child soldiers books the guardian. Uganda has seen over 4 coups since its inception and has more than its fair share of dictators, the most infamous being idi amin dada who expelled all asians from the country in the 1980s uganda child soldiers history. In 1954, a single book destroyed the popular notion that children are innocent souls. In 2008, it was estimated that 40 percent of child soldiers worldwide were in africa, and that the.
Grace was abducted by the lra from her high school in 1996 and held as a child soldier and wife for seven months. Between 2003 and 2007, nonstate armed groups fighting the lra also used children. The book is a firsthand account of beahs time as a child soldier during the civil war in sierra leone 1990s. Soldier boy is a book that needed to be written and needs to be read by everyone adults and young adults as well. Dominique aubert his abduction took place as he was sneaking back from the family rice field with his father. First edition hardback, the ebook edition and your name in the back of the book. How i came to represent former ugandan child soldier thomas kwoyelo in his war crimes trial. A former ugandan lords resistance army child soldier. Many years have passed since i escaped life as a child soldier. First kill your family is the only book published in american to reveal the full story behind the rise of joseph kony and his lords resistance army. I dont know what the author had in mind here by giving this book the shocking title first kill your family. He later escaped the conflict to a displaced persons camp in northern uganda, and in 2004 made it to canada as a refugee with his mother and younger sister. Providing background and an international persective, mcdonnells chapters provide the context and measures to be taken to prevent such a war from continuing.
Child soldier by china keitetsi goodreads share book. The book has very little to do with child soldiers, which makes up less than five percent of the content. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read first kill your family. The uganda peoples defence force updf, previously known as the national resistance army, is the armed forces of uganda. I am a proud ugandan woman, wife, mother, friend, entrepreneur, counselor, survivor and child of god. A story of hope for northern uganda s children ebook 9781441217011 by faith j. From 2007 to 2011, the international institute for strategic studies estimated the updf had a total strength of 40,00045,000 and consisted of land forces and an air wing. Its narrated by a young ugandan student, pseudonym george, who. In an extract from her book a moonless, starless sky, alexis okeowo tells the story of a child soldier and a kidnapped schoolgirl in uganda and, below, talks about changing perceptions of.
According to figures from the united nations, there are 250,000 child soldiers fighting in countries including zimbabwe, uganda and the democratic republic of congo. Child soldiers of uganda and the lords resistance army is one of the many different books by the same author. Memoirs of a boy soldier 2007 is a memoir written by ishmael beah, an author from sierra leone. Uganda is a country whose past is marred by a rich history of political coups and instability. Told through the voices of those who have suffered, this illuminating expose examines how a forgotten region of one of africas most promising nations uganda, dubbed the pearl of africa by winston churchillhas been systematically destroyed by a bloody, senseless, and seemingly endless war that has gone largely unnoticed by the rest of the world. Since escaping the lra, anywar has dedicated his life to rehabilitating other survivors and advocating for peace in their. Grace, who said she is in her 30s but looked 20 years older, told me that a ugandan government soldier raped her at gunpoint three years ago as she was returning to the camp after taking her child. Beah ran away from his village at the age of 12 after it was attacked by rebels, and he became forever separated from his immediate family. A story of hope for northern ugandas children mcdonnell, faith j. Child soldier is the author china keltetsi s initial attempts to come to terms with her horrific experiences as a child soldier in uganda.
The memoirs of keitetsi, a former child soldier herself, have been translated into french, german, japanese, chinese and other languages. He was ordered to do this by a unit commander of the lords resistance army, a rebel group that has terrorized northern uganda for twenty years. Chikwanine spent weeks as a child soldier with the group before he managed to escape and find his way back home through the help of townspeople who knew his family. Memoirs from child refugees and soldiers in sudan, sierra leone. Be inspired by this heartfelt account and moved to do your part in making sure that these children will not be forgotten. Fighting for my life is china keitetsis memoir of her experience, beginning at age nine, fighting in rebel movement that brought yoweri museveni to power in uganda in 1986. Understanding ugandan literature through six classic titles. Unfortunately, the book is not available on the ugandan. A novel based on a true story from the ugandan civil. A story of hope for northern uganda s children, and is now.
The authors believe that god is protecting the children of uganda, sometimes working miraculous intervention to protect them but they also spotlight activist groups, such as the uganda conflict action network, who are doing their part to make a difference in the lives of child soldiers. In an extract from her book a moonless, starless sky, alexis okeowo tells the story of a child soldier and a kidnapped schoolgirl in uganda and, below, talks about changing perceptions of africa. Science fiction comic books, strips, etc comic books, strips, etc. Eichstaedt puts forth a detailed accounting of the often ignored horrors taking place in uganda, including kidnapping young children to serve as soldiers or brides i. Joseph kony biography, facts, use of child soldiers. The national resistance army also made use of child soldiers. But he wanted to find an innovative format through which to tell their stories. She portrays a difficult upbringing and a dysfunctional family structure. Child soldier is an important book that sheds light on conscription of children into political battles, but it also exposes the dysfunctional family structures and relations in uganda. War crimes trial of former ugandan child soldier dominic. China keitetsi born 1976 is a ugandan activist who has won international renown as a campaigner for the plight of child soldiers. As a nobel peace laureate, i, like most people, agonize over the use of force. Numbers of child soldiers have risen as small, easytouse automatic guns have become more widely available. Ricky richard anywar is the founder of the internationally acclaimed charity friends of orphans, and a former child soldier in ugandan warlord joseph konys lords resistance army lra.
Memoirs from child refugees and soldiers in sudan, sierra leone, and uganda. For several decades a brutal army of rebels has been raiding villages. One of the worlds most brutal rebel groups, joseph konys lords resistance army lra, is on the move from the congo, terrorizing civilians subscribe to ti. She had spent 10 years in captivity as a child soldier and later was forced to marry a member of the. Emmanuel jals profound memoir war child, about his life as a boy and child soldier in sudans civil war in the mid1980s, and peter eichstaedts.
In one of 2016s best books, a former lords resistance army child. A former ugandan lords resistance army child soldier named. Books about child soldiers what should i read next. Chinas story of her life as a child conscript in the ugandan nationa. In some countries, such as nepal, sri lanka and uganda, more than a third of child. Told alternately between graces first hand experience and faiths historical perspective, girl soldier tells the story of the war in northern uganda and the child abductions of joseph konys lra. There is a notion that comic books are a realm only for fictional characters with superhuman powers, bedecked with cape and colourful costume. Since the late 1980s over two million people have been displaced in uganda, and more than 25,000 children. A memoir of innocence lost and humanity regained in northern uganda. A searing, shocking book part nonfiction, part novelbased on the true story of a child soldier in uganda who survived war and enslavement and went on to.
This novel is a biography about the life of a girl who was forced into the fierce fighting of a rebel army. For the most part it describes uganda, from about the time of the presidency of yuveri museveni to mid2008. In one of 2016s best books, a former lords resistance army child soldier reveals the reason behind the mayhem december 23, 2016 2. Lra which terrorized communities in northern uganda, south sudan, the. This paper addresses the continued practice of child soldiering at the hands of the lords resistance army lra, with a concentrated focus on ugandan children, the recruitment process, the states rehabilitation and reintegration methods, and the formula necessary to disband the lra and end this horrific practice. A story of hope for northern ugandas children by faith. Marc ellison has long reported on the postwar plight of former child soldiers in uganda. In girl soldier, graces personal account and faiths historical and spiritual insights are woven together to tell the story of ugandas forgotten children. List of books and articles about child soldiers online. But when it comes to rescuing an innocent people from tyranny or genocide, ive never questioned the. China was a former child soldier who escaped from the brutality of her senior officers.
Child soldiers of uganda and the lords resistance army by. War crimes trial of former ugandan child soldier dominic ongwen to begin. China keitetsi, whose book child soldier relates her own. Kony was reared in the village of odek in northern uganda.
Child soldier is an account of china keitetsis life in uganda. Child soldiers in africa refers to the military use of children under the age of 18 by national armed forces or other armed groups in africa. George explains that what often defeats the lras young soldiers is the endless walking. The lords resistance army hunts children in sudan time. China clearly wrote this novel as a form of selftherapy and as a way to help us get a sense of what life is like as a child soldier in uganda.