Gulu – Uganda. The name of this man cannot be revealed. Neither his face. He was once a child, abducted with his brother at the age of 12 on their way from school. He spent 21 years with the rebels, becoming a military chief. He escaped from the LRA to return to Gulu – his home town in Northern Uganda – under amnesty in 2007. He found that his parents had died, his only friend is another former rebel, and has yet no idea from where to start his new life. Twenty years as a combatant makes it difficult for former rebels to re-integrate in the society. Terrible atrocities have been committed during the war. Those who were raped, tortured, maimed, the formerly abducted persons and ex-LRA combatants who return are all supposed to start living together again. Co-living in peace is the biggest challenge for the Acholi communities, and having a past as a rebel certainly does not help.
The following interview is an honest account of this man’s experience. It was translated and facilitated by Geoffrey Lakwonyero, one of Caritas Gulu’s social workers.
Do you remember the day you were abducted?
It was in 1988. I was in school that day. After school my brother and I headed towards a river to bath. We were abducted on the way along with other two brothers. I am the only one who survived.
How old were you?
I was 12.
What happened after they ambushed you?
We started moving in the bush. We were loaded with heavy luggages. I remember that the rebels were many. We kept on moving all the time. Until they started training us to become soldiers in their camps.
Where did they train you?
We were brought to Southern Sudan. That’s where they trained us. There were many of us and we where divided in groups. Each group had an instructor. During the training they teach you how to use the weapons, how to shoot. But not only. Many other skills are involved. You must be prepared for the enemy to come at any moment, you must be on alert. Creativity is also part of the skills that a good soldiers must have.
What kind of relationship did you have with the other child-soldiers?
We were all like brothers and sisters. The bond among us was difficult to break, because the life of one depends on the life of somebody else. For instance if somebody is left without food, another one would share.
Have you ever been forced to kill one of your friends, one of the child soldiers?
When you are ordered to execute orders you have to do it, otherwise you risk your own life. In captivity there are certain rules. You are not supposed to escape for instance, so why would you? If you tried you would be killed. Usually, there are special squads for this. You have to know that when somebody escapes form captivity, the government wants you to report on everything. The rebels would kill you so to prevent you from giving sensitive information to the government.
Though I guess that the main reason why children would escape from captivity is certainly not to reveal secret information to the government, but rather because they want to go back home!
Whether you are a child or an adult, when you return from captivity you have to report to the government. The returnees are hunted by the governamental forces that want all information.
You have spent 21 years in the bush. Did you become professional a soldier during this time?
Of course. When you spend so many years in the bush you become a professional. I became military director.
What do the LRA rebels fight for?
The LRA are fighting in order to achieve peace and wealth. We fight to have a peaceful coexistence. LRA are fully aware that the government is well off. People here in Gulu are poor. LRA wants the same wealth and stability that the government enjoys. Indeed, if LRA comes to power today, for sure there will be somebody else challenging them. That’s how things work.
Isn’t there another way to achieve peace and wealth a part from war?
A part from war, peace can come through the peace talks. Like us here, around this table. We are discussing peacefully. Acholi have their traditions and the mato oput means reconciliation. We forgive and forget. The government is not willing to talk, they are still hunting the rebels.
After the Juba talks, Kony failed to appear and sign. The unsuccessful operation Lighting Thunder, conducted by Ugandan, Southern Sudanese and Congolese forces to chase Kony, ended up scattering the rebels and pushing them into DR Congo where they killed, maimed, raped and displaced innocent civilians. This seems to suggest that not even the LRA is willing to put guns down. Not so?
When the Ugandan army was chasing Kony, they were the first who went to chase for him. Unsuccessfully. Being a soldier is not easy. The LRA reacted to the governamental troops.
What is Kony’s vision?
Kony needs peace and wealth. He wants better living for his people. He should have power.
But he is using the wrong means to achieve it. By abducting children, for instance, he is hurting his own people!
This war started before Kony. LRA was there under different names before him. There were people fighting at that time. These people went back to the villages. Kony gained power but he could not fight this war alone. That’s why he has to abduct children.
Would you allow the LRA to abduct your children?
It’s not good to come and abduct children. But children are the most active and are full of energies. Of course it is not good because families are concerned. For instance when I came back my parents were already all dead.
Is religion behind the LRA philosophy?
Yes, Christianity is attached to the LRA. When we prayed we really meant it. No matter which religion you belong to, just pray. It helps a lot to bring all soldiers together. The priest helped to reconcile one another.
Did you use the prayers to ask forgiveness when you killed somebody?
When we were going to fight we had to pray in order to save our lives. We prayed of achieving our goal and destroy the enemy.
How did the LRA get the food?
There are ways of getting food. In 1994 communities were contributing and supplying us with food. In Southern Sudan the Arabs would supply us. When the relations between the LRA and Sudan broke down in 2002, we had to find ways of getting the food we needed and if people in villages did not give it spontaneously we would take it by force.
How about the weapons?
Most of the weapons and ammunitions were taken by the UPDF soldiers. When we were fighting we would take the guns of those dead on the battlefield. Otherwise Sudan was supplying us.
After growing up with the rebels, did you start supporting the LRA’s cause, or in the back of your mind there has always been the wish to escape?
I was supporting the LRA cause. But I was hoping to come back one day. We spent a lot of time in Congo and Sudan, but we are neither Congolese nor Sudanese. We are Acholi and our land is here.
How did you escape from the LRA?
Escaping from the LRA is not easy. You cannot leave by saying goodbye. I left during night after a month of planning. When they woke up they realized that I wasn’t there and they looked for me. I was liked by many since I was a chief.
Why did you take this decision after so many years?
We were hoping of returning peacefully all together as a team. But when Oti Vincent – LRA second in command and right-hand man of Kony – who was in charge of the peace talks, was killed by Kony, we realised that the Juba talks were failing and that there was not going to be any peace any time soon. So I left.
How has life been after captivity?
Under amnesty the government had to accept me back. That’s an achievement. The challenges come from our families. My parents died and I don’t know where to start from. As all rebels I chose my wife when I was in captivity and she is here with me and our 5 children. Food is lacking and a place to stay too. On my arrival, I went to the governamental offices. I was brought to Kampala to report. We are asked not to leave Gulu. I don’t want to go back to my villages because that’s the place where I was abducted. The government has not helped ex-combatants to re-integrate. We feel like aliens.
Have you received any support?
Caritas has helped us. They deal with the suffering community. We got to know them during the Juba talks in Ri-Kwangba (Sudan) when Caritas Gulu was in charge of supplying food and medications to the LRA rebels and their families. The government of Sudan and the government of Uganda signed a memorandum of understanding that would allow Caritas Gulu to provide us with help. That’s when I got to know them. Once back in Gulu, Caritas Gulu helped me when I was sick and offered me psychological counselling.
I know that Acholi culture is very rich and you have ceremonies to cleanse people form a past of wrong-doings. Have you ever gone through a traditional Acholi ceremony?
Yes. The paramount chief performed it. We used traditional Acholi ceremonies also in the bush. For instance one day, Kony said we had go and pray. Not in the camp but in the bush. We went with him and we found a sheep. We killed the sheep and sat in a circle. Afterwards we burnt the sheep and elders from LRA took the ashes back to the camp. On the way back Kony said that no one should talk. It happened though that a boy stepped on the foot of another who broke the silence. For six months this boy did not talk. He was just pointing at things. This reveals that it was a very powerful ceremony.
Do you ever have nightmares or memories from the past haunting you?
Nightmares depend on the individuals’ activities. I stayed in captivity for 20 years but I was not driven mad if this is what you ask. You should not think that everyone of us is haunted by the past. It happens that I dream of myself with a gun but that’s normal, I was a soldier.
Do you have any plans for the future?
I want to be settled. I still don’t have a fixed place where to stay, I am roaming.
Do you think that there is ever going to be any stable peace in Northern Uganda?
I think that there is already some peace in Northern Uganda. In many areas people are leaving the IDPs’ camps and go back to the villages.
Do you ever wish you were not abducted?
Yes. I think that if I had not been abducted I would have become somebody. I would have studied and become educated and achieved something in life.
