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Civil War in Sudan
| Peace talks:
LRA must first release abducted children |
| Monday, 26th March, 2007 |
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By Sam Childers
In the United States, there have been many
people sharing many different stories about the conflict in
northern Uganda. One of the biggest concerns is the plight of
the children facing atrocities, abductions and other problems.
Here in the US, these children are called the “Invisible
Children of Northern Uganda.”
They call them invisible children because no one will examine
the suffering they face everyday. The LRA is responsible for
spreading terror throughout northern Uganda, which has now
encompassed Southern Sudan like cancer. Over the last several
years I have personally witnessed the horror the LRA has
afflicted on the people and children during this war.
For eight months or more there have been peace talks between the
government of Uganda and the LRA, but with no success. I feel
the Uganda government has been forced into these talks. I have
sat down and spoken with President Museveni and I know that he
is a man of truth and honour, who desires prosperity for the
people of Uganda. He has continued the legacy of the former
President of South Sudan, John Garang.
The LRA has been fighting this war for many years with no agenda
other than the destruction of innocent men, women and children.
Not only do they say they want peace, but they also want to be
compensated for the war they began with evil intentions. It is
hard to believe they would have the nerve to ask for
compensation when we know they deserve nothing. I believe they
should be given one chance, and that is to surrender.
The LRA leader, Joseph Kony, and others like him, need to pay
for the crimes which they have committed against the innocent. I
know that justice will prevail for these children. I spoke with
some of the children who stay at our orphanage in South Sudan
and I asked them that: “If Joseph Kony received compensation,
what would you like back?” One little guy replied, “I want back
my parents, who the LRA killed, and my eye that they shot out.”
Another woman said, “they cut my ears, lips, and so much more
that I could never ask for those precious things back, not even
the children they killed right before my eyes...” She went on to
say, “but if God was to grant me anything it would be my
children. I will have to carry these scars, inside and out, for
the rest of my life.”
I would like to ask the LRA this question: if we were to give
you land, animals, and finances to start over, what will you
give back to these children whom you have terrorised for so
long? We must stop this nonsense. They want us to believe these
children were just in the way of the war, but that is not so;
they were never in the way, the LRA is.
The LRA have attacked unarmed villages, and left them with no
men or soldiers to defend them. The LRA needs to pay for every
arm, lip and ear they cut off, and every scar they have left on
a child’s face.
In South Sudan we have built an orphanage that is a safe haven
for these children, yet we have to protect it with guards from
the SPLA in fear that the LRA will return to afflict more terror
and death upon these children. As the new President of South
Sudan, Salva Kiir, said, “the LRA must leave now or face the
consequences.” These children may be safe but you can still hear
their cries at night. The memories still linger in their
thoughts and dreams.
After speaking with trained counsellors concerning the trauma
these children have faced, they all agreed that we must let them
be children again. We must give back the life that the LRA has
stolen from them.
For months I was seeking God’s direction as to how we could
begin to bring healing to these children. God spoke to me to
build a playground on the orphanage for the children to play.
Now all you hear is laughter from them each day. It is a sign
that they are on their way to healing and being children again.
The children of northern Uganda and South Sudan can be rescued,
and the tragedies of this war can be put behind them when we
begin to bring hope to a child with no future. We must let them
know that they are not forgotten and abandoned, and as a son or
daughter of God they are not invisible. They are children with a
future and a destiny. Until then, they will keep asking in their
minds: ‘what if the LRA return for me?’
We must come together as countries and nations around the world
and stop these men. Only then can these children be reassured
that their future is prosperous. Many people around the world
have seen and heard of their holocaust but have done nothing; we
shut it out of our minds and forget it.
There should be no negotiations with the LRA until the children
they have abducted are released and the men kept in their evil
stronghold are given the chance to be free. Many criticise the
International Criminal Court (ICC), by saying they have no
business being involved, but they are the only ones willing to
hold the LRA accountable for what they have done. I commend them
and their involvement and hope to see them bring justice to a
place justice seemingly forgot.
The ICC is standing up for the innocent. Until we press on and
press through with prayers and hope for justice we have no room
for talk of peace. I have given up my life to see that justice
be brought forth for these forgotten children.
The writer is a Pastor with the
US-based World Missions World Missions. He runs a
rehabilitation programme for war-affected children in northern
Uganda and southern Sudan |
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