Compelled to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed, child soldiers are forced to give violent expression to the hatreds of adults -- Olara Otunnu
In the country of Uganda lies terror in the minds of many children. Many people are unaware of the inhumane and wretched experiences that happen in Uganda. Families cannot sleep peacefully at night because of unwanted attacks from rebels who torture and abduct their children. These children are then forced to be placed into an army, comprised mostly of children in an environment that radically changes their soul. Like the quote from Olara Otunnu, children are used as objects to carry forth actions that certain adults feel towards their civilization. If one is fortunate enough to escape or rescued then they must deal with the cruel effects of reintegrating into society. Research confirms that it is immoral to have child soldiers in Uganda because war-related experiences inhibit a healthy growth as a one suffers from psychological and physical trauma.
Known to be one of the worse humanitarian crises since World War II, the epidemic in Uganda began over twenty years ago. This came about due to a man name Joseph Kony and his ideology of establishing a government based on the Ten Commandments (Benter 1). He believed with a large enough army, he would be able to overthrow the current system residing in Uganda today. One usually associates the idea of an army with adults; men and women who voluntary commit to serve their country for a certain amount of time. Kony believed he represented the people of Uganda, the Alcholi people, but his support dwindled and people ceased to join his army. In the article A Child’s Hell in the Lord’s Resistance Army the author provided reason for child soldiers in Uganda rather than adult soldiers, “Kony was influenced by the idea of using children in this army, convinced that the young were easily influenced and brainwashed in addition to being convenient and cheaper to provide resources” (Brown 1). Children are objects to Kony, to control and manipulate in order achieve a higher power. Twenty years ago child abductions began among villages by rebels in attempts to build Kony’s government in what became to be known as the Lord’s Resistance Army. A child is far too young to even comprehend what the current economic and political status is of Uganda let alone see the good and bad of it. The Lord’s Resistance Army is ninety percent compromised of children as young as seven years old (Brown 1). Children at such young ages bound into a war forces one to become an adult when one is not emotionally or mentally ready for.
Not many people are familiar with the use of child soldiers let alone the term. According to the study Multiple Trauma and Mental Health in Former Ugandan Child Soldiers, the term child soldier refers to any person below eighteen years of age who has been associated with an armed force or armed group (Klasen et al. 573). This can also refer to cooks, porters, or sex slaves (573). At times a child would join the army due to lack of job, education, or even a family with support. Being at a young age, one seeks influence and guidance at that point in time and thus easily controlled by the wrath of the LRA. Kony, a spiritual leader, believed children rubbed in shea oil would be protected from bullets and other weapons. If a child died, then this would mean betrayal against the rebels and spirits. It is dehumanizing for a child to believe that this is a right way of living because being forced to show no emotions ultimately leads to emotional issues as they attempt to unwind from abuse. The tasks of the children include killing, recruiting more children through harsh means, or serving as a rebel’s wife. Not every child works for front-line tasks.
In the Real-Life exhibit based at Medical Teams International in Tigard, Oregon the display of Uganda child soldier’s states that thirty percent of girls are sex slaves. This means that there are more than a quarter of girls who were or are a part of the LRA forced to have sex at an early age. These girls are at risk for physical and psychological trauma. Children become frighten when they hear or see other children enter "the bush" which was the area where a child was killed or trained how to kill. The war in Uganda has led many children to make an 180˚ turn towards living a normal life provoking harmful psychological effects.
As soon as a child becomes part of the army, the first and only thing they learn how to do is to kill. Children are required to do this while being subject to the very same fate. In Multiple Trauma and Mental Health in Former Ugandan Child Soldiers, child soldiers are one of the most complex traumatized populations of children and adolescents because typical experiences inflicted include beatings, torture, witness of killings, and sexual abuse (Klasen et al. 573). These acts induce confusion between what is right and wrong in the world. If a child cries, it would be interpreted to mean they were weak or were thinking of home and be instantly killed. Girls serve as wives for rebels and boys use weapons to kill people within villages. Some would even have to kill their own friends or family. Some of the weapons used would be a machete, knife, rifle, or a pistol. Instead of learning how to ride a bike or drive a car one normally encounters being a child, children become subjected to build violent skills rather than practical skills. Girls serving as a rebels wife encountered rape risking unprotected sex, which lead to pregnancy and/or HIV/AIDS. These horrifying experiences show child soldiering inflicts psychological and physical trauma. In the movie Invisible Children; three American men documented their experience in Uganda. Part of their research led them to shelters near hospitals and bus stations where hundreds of children resided. Children live in these areas to remain safe from rebel groups but the living style can be detrimental to their well-being. These shelters can be cold crawl spaces filled with unsanitary water and rodents that lead to sickness. This is the home for many children and being surrounded by other children has also led to the practice of sex at an early age. The use of protection would be from small plastic bags found among debris near these shelters. Sex at an early age not only came from rebels but from fellow villagers as well. Almost all of these children were orphans, which meant one needed to become an adult right away and learn the necessary skills to survive. Learning these skills is rough for children because this leads to distress as one may not be emotionally, mentally, or physically capable of accomplishing certain tasks. Children have to move from home to home to not risk being caught. They move during the day since attacks and abduction attempts from rebels usually occur during night. A constant move from camp can be daunting for a child because it may halt the chance to establish a stable life. If a child fell behind along the way, one would risk being killed. Escaping or attempts to escape from the LRA is an automatic sentence to death for children and those that successfully escape are put on the wanted lists. In order to stay hydrated children would have to constantly carry a forty pound jug of water from their home to their next home. In the movie, children shared how one wished could return to school and become a teacher or lawyer but are unable to because one cannot afford the education (Bobby et al.). This is an extremely poor lifestyle for children in Uganda that can not only lead to sickness, disease, and even death at an early age, but mental and behavioral issues later on in life.
Many children that escape, rescued, or set free after being a soldier share their experiences so others around the world can become aware of how one can help. One such victim name Grace Akallo shared her experience with a United States senator at the age of twenty six years old. In the article, A Child’s Hell in the Lord’s Resistance Army the author discussed how she arrived in Washington D.C. to discuss with one of the senators about her experience as a child while being part of the LRA for seven months. Grace was abducted at the age of 15 and at that time she was attending school. She recalls when the rebels invaded the school and captured all the girls, “Over a hundred girls were tied to one another and forced to move to the rebel’s camp” (Brown 2). During the move the girls were stopped and their nun begged they should kill her and let all the rest of the girls return home. Thirty girls were picked at random to stay behind with the rebels while the rest were allowed to return home. Grace remembers how the girls were all screaming when the others were allowed to go home. The first thing she encountered was being beaten, so she could be accepted into the army. The next was to learn how to kill or torture. This heart wrenching story proves that the LRA can negatively impact a healthy growth. She provided morbid details of her experience, such as hitting a girl with a stick, “And because she was not hitting hard enough, one of the rebel commanders took a stick and hit Grace in the back of the head: "You know the soft part where it hurts." She blacked out. And when she came to, the little girl was already dead (Brown). Grace was ordered to attack a village but ended up fainting from lack of water. She then awoke in a grave left to wander for three days until she could be saved. Fortunately she was found by another group of escaped children and later by some villagers. Today she is student pursuing a degree in international relations. She hopes to persuade the United States to become more active within in the war in Uganda.
In, I was a Child Soldier for Uganda’s President, Kassim Kiggundu was kidnapped at the age of eleven years old and thirty years later blames the president of Uganda for what has happened to child soldiers. He described himself and forty five other boys being held captive, while tied to one another by a rope. He mentions that, “If one could no longer walk, one was instantly killed” (Black). He was taught to not fear the wild animals because they were part of the rebel’s family. Kassim felt betrayed by the President of Uganda because he felt he was doing nothing wrong, only what he was told to do “I did my job for him. I did terrible things for him. But instead of thanking me, he betrayed me and wished me dead” (Black). Kassim's family died while he was in the army. Feelings of guilt and betrayal were common reactions for former child soldiers.
At the age of twelve Juliet was kidnapped and forced to be a rebel's wife. At the age of sixteen she became pregnant and was left to give painful labor. Due to lack of medical care her baby died within her womb before being surgically removed. She had to convince the rebels that she needed immediate medical attention. This allowed her to escape and return to her family. She is now a student pursuing a degree in law to stop sexual abusers. Some children have even gone as far as to killing their own family members. In the Real-life exhibit one boy who wanted to remain anonymous remembers having to kill his own father. A quote on display says he can still hear his screams in his nightmares.
These lifestyles of a child soldier gave a harsh outlook on life for the children, one that one must learn to undue once away from the army. Victims that live to tell their experiences confirm that one is forced with inhumane responsibilities.
Much of the experiences dealt with in the army bring about some form of issue whether it be mental or physical. In the study, Forced Conscription of Children during Armed Conflict: Experiences of Former Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda, during an average of 1.5 years spent in captivity, nearly all participants (over eight thousand) had participated in war related experiences (Vindevogel et al. 551). The sample of participants also concluded that 75% were sixteen or younger (554). The median age for abduction was thirteen years and mainly happened at their homes. Not only were the children harshly victimized during the abduction but others as well. Even before abduction a child witnesses what life will be in the LRA and thus begins the trauma. The study also mentioned that living conditions in captivity were wretched. 88% of the sample witnessed atrocities against other abductees, civilians, or soldiers and 76% admitted to have perpetrated atrocities, of which were most were targeting civilians (555). One test sample from a former child soldier stated that “I was forced to kill about twenty people. There was a girl I came with from the same village and they forced me to kill her. It was difficult for me to reject, because if you reject they will kill you” (557). The study makes an important note that there is a vastness of abuse in Uganda, which calls for the need for individualized approach and monitoring of returning child soldiers that suffer from psychological trauma. Any sort of violence is detrimental to one’s development.
Children exposed to extreme events are at risk for developing psychosocial symptoms. In the study, Multiple Trauma and Mental Health in Former Ugandan Child Soldiers the research examined the effects of war on the mental health of three hundred and thirty former child soldiers from Uganda. The study conducted by Fionna Klasen, Gabriele Oettingen, Judith Daniels, and Hubertus Adam consisted of hundred and seventy boys and hundred and sixty girls with the average age of 14.4 years old. The results showed that children on average served 19.8 months of service to the army. All children were abducted except one that was born in captivity. Girls were assigned chores such as cooking, caring for younger children, where as boys were responsible for front-line tasks like fighting and abducting civilians. The most common experience was exposure to shooting, beating, starvation, and the witnessing of killings (576). Half of the children tested had personally killed someone and a quarter of the children experienced rape during abduction (576). Boys reported more in killing someone but there were no gender discrepancies regarding rape. One-third of children were abducted more than once, sometimes even five times. Many of the children were orphans. The five most prevalent behavioral and emotional problems were feelings of having to be perfect (80%), headaches (79%), nightmares (74%), worrying a lot (72%), and stomach aches (71%) (578). The study indicated that a third of the children scored the diagnostic range for Major Depressive Disorder, two thirds showed behavioral and emotional problems of clinical significance, and one third scored in the range of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (578). The other emotional or behavioral problems involved anxiety or depression as well as somatic complaints and social problems. This study solidifies the internalizing issues that post-child soldiers endure and must learn to adapt to or overcome when reintegrating into society.
Most studies conducted about Uganda child soldiers researches on the internalizing issues as a child progresses into their community. However, in Posttraumatic Resilience in Former Ugandan Child Soldiers, the research examines the absence of clinically severe psychopathology in the aftermath of heavy trauma exposure. 330 former soldiers were tested were the average age was 14.44 years old. The results showed that the average age during abduction was 10.75 years, 90.6% of all tested were beaten, 87.9% witnessed murder, 86.4% were threatened by death, and 25.8% were raped by members or the armed group. (Klasen et al 1103). More than half of these participants had kidnapped other children or killed another person. More than every fourth child (27.6%) showed resilient mental health outcome (1104). This means that the rest showed symptoms of psychopathology, including 33% who met the criteria for Posttraumatic stress disorder and 36.4% who met the criteria for major depression (1104). 61.2% of children scored above the cutoff for behavioral or emotional problems. Clearly this demonstrates that most if not all children are impacted by the effects of war and struggle as they attempt to become a part of their society again. Children are pressured to partake in criminal acts which set them up for unfavorable life to a certain extent. Essentially a child is lucky if they are able to escape from the army without any psychological “bruising”.
There are many reasons why it is difficult for a former soldier to return to their home. In From “Rebel” to “Returnee” Daily Life and Reintegration for Young Soldiers in Northern Uganda the authors discuss the reintegration into society after being a soldier. The study examines twenty three males that were abducted by the LRA and what it felt like going from a “rebel” to a “former abducted child”. The results discussed several reasons why it is difficult for a child to return home. Most of the participants that were investigated said that lack of productivity was an issue, “Each day for me is categorized with problems because when I wake up in the morning, I just sit around and do nothing until evening and eventually bed time” (Annan et al. 648). A former soldier has difficulty returning to work or school because lack of money or fear of being captured by the LRA again. Physical injury was a crucial factor of being able to work or go back to school. In Uganda, a child works and contributes their income to their family. When they are unable to do this they are seen as nobody. 90% of participants reported that there were no issues with acceptance by their family (653). For the other 10% problems came from family members outside of their immediate family or neighbors. Passive response to conflict was also a common result as children would respond to any form of conflict silently and choose to move away from the issue. A possible reason for this is that the former soldiers did not want to show any form of appearance as a “rebel” in their community (654).
Fear was a reoccurring theme in responses. This confirms the idea that a child has to compromise with some form of mental wounds as they attempt to reintegrate into their society. Fear either came from being recaptured and killed by the LRA or rejection from their community. Part of this also meant for child soldiers to forget about their past and move on. A child felt that if they were to discuss their experience in the war they would be seen as guilty for committing such atrocities. Meaning for abductions would also be taken into account among some former soldiers. Those who had been able to return home felt God was looking out for them or that one was sent to war because God wanted them to learn how to defend for themselves (662). The main conversation of the article asserts that a child experiences hardships after dealing with the LRA as they try to reintegrate into their home. A child has to constantly deal with judgment by the people within their community. Much fear and anxiety arise when a child has to learn ways to be productive within their family, respond passively to others, forget their past experiences, and to find the meaning of their abduction.
There has been some promise for Uganda in past several years despite lack of media attention internationally. Since 2006 the number of child abductions has reduced. In April of 2006, 1200 U.S. citizens camped outside the White House and wrote letter to George Bush to appoint a peace negotiator for Uganda, “We are sleeping here because the kids in Uganda have to sleep outside because they fear being abducted by the rebels” (Brown). According to the website for Invisible Children, on October 12th, 2011 Obama sent hundreds of U.S. troops were sent to Uganda for assistance. This was not offensive intervening but more of assistance with peace negotiations, helping families, and military control. Joseph Kony has been listed on the U.S. nation's most wanted people. Kony and members of the LRA have been accused of committing crimes against war and humanity for practicing murder, torture and sexual enslavement that three out of five children have been affected under the age of fifteen. In the study Child Abuse and Neglect it is estimated that 2,000 captives remain within the LRA and abductions continue to take place on a daily basis in neighboring countries.
In, Child Soldiers in Uganda, many psychological centers, humanitarian aides, organizations etc. have been active in Uganda. The Social Centre in Gulu has heavily impacted children and wives because they seem to be most impacted by the war, “Wives have severely been hit by the war since rebels kill their husbands leaving them alone to raise a child” (Benter). This organization has provided medical, nutritional, and educational care for over two-hundred and fifty families. Medical Teams International is another organization that has consistently provided medical care for orphan children and families that have been targeted. This organization has donated many hygienic supplies so families can become immune to sicknesses or infections. According from the article Weary from War, there has not been an official Disarmament, Demobilization, and Rehabilitation program established within Uganda, but in Sudan where some rescued Ugandan children have registered for assistance. The DDR program was established to help child soldiers through various forms of therapy so one was able to reintegrate into society successfully. Many girls are saved by this program especially since they encounter rape and become either pregnant or carriers of HIV/AIDS. Most of the girls in the program suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder or low self-esteem. The DDR program requires several months for children to be treated, to learn how to begin a normal life again. In 2005 the number of children in these programs was six hundred and by the middle of 2007 some of the centers were nearly empty (Child Soldiers Global Report). The hard part for many children is reintegrating back into their villages. Some of the psychological effects found in these centers after exposure to war were depression, low self-esteem, post-traumatic stress disorder, and aggressive like behavior. There is hope for Uganda despite the amount of assistance needed for children with emotional and medical care.
Child soldiers suffer from wretched experiences that inhibit them from a healthy growth as one endures psychological and physical trauma. Every child within the nation of Uganda has been affected by the war to some extent. Being a citizen in a nation that is known as the land of opportunity it reminds one how fortunate and advantageous their lifestyle is compared to that of one who lives in Uganda. But as the more people know about these kind of epidemics the more humans can unite together to bring an end to such inhumane acts. The research and stories should be powerful to the extent that they make one uncomfortable. This should make everyone uncomfortable. One can embrace that discomfort, learn from it, and move forward and learn how to help the nation of Uganda.

Works Cited Annan, J., M. Brier, and F. Aryemo. "From "Rebel" to "Returnee": Daily Life and Reintegration for Young Soldiers in Northern Uganda. " Journal of Adolescent Research 24.6 (2009): 639. Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.
Benter, Imme. "Child Soldiers in Uganda-Child Soldiers." Child Soldiers-Children in Conflict. Web. 17 Oct.2011
Brown, DeNeen L. "A Child's Hell in the Lord's Resistance Army." The Washington Post:National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines-The Washington Post. Ertl, Verena et al. "Community-Implemented Trauma Therapy for Former Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda." The Journal of Medical Association. 26 Oct. 2011. 306. 1733-1818.
"Hope for Uganda's Child Soldiers?-TIME." TIME.com Web. 14 Oct.2011. "I Was a Child Soldier for Uganda's President." New Internationalist. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. "Invisible Children." Carol Mansour. Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole, and Jason Russell. 2006. Film. Kim, Susanna. "Weary from War." Harvard International Review 27.4 (2006):7-8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. Klasen, Fionna et al. “Multiple Trauma and Mental Health in Former Ugandan Soldiers.” Journal of Traumatic Stress. Vol. 23 No. 5 Oct.2010 pp. 573-581.

Klasen, F., G. Oettingen, J. Daniels, M. Post, C. Hoyer, and H. Adam. "Posttraumatic Resilience in Former Ugandan Child Soldiers. " Child Development 81.4 (2010): 1096. Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. Vindevogel, Sofie, et al. "Forced Conscription of Children during Armed Conflict: Experiences of Former Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda." Science Direct. 35. 7. July 2011. pp. 551-562.