We need action on missing children
Feb 04, 2007
Save the Children announced that 10,000 children abducted by the LRA are still unaccounted for. Another 1,500 are still in the hands of the rebels, abused, starved, forced to commit atrocities and exposed to life-threatening conditions, either in Congo, Sudan or Uganda.
Save the Children announced that 10,000 children abducted by the LRA are still unaccounted for. Another 1,500 are still in the hands of the rebels, abused, starved, forced to commit atrocities and exposed to life-threatening conditions, either in Congo, Sudan or Uganda.
Over 25,000 have passed through the various reception centres in northern Uganda. Thousands more never passed through any centre: they either went home straight after escaping, or they came out before any centre was in place.
One can safely conclude that 40,000 children have been abducted in the past 20 years. That is double the number usually reported. Unicef maintains that 25,000 children were abducted, a figure which has not changed since 1997.
The true figures are staggering. Knowing that most of these children were eventually used as soldiers, it means that the LRA force was almost as big as the UPDF!
But a more fundamental question jumps to mind when hearing such revelations. Where are the parents? How can thousands of children go missing and nobody ever reported their disappearance? In European countries, even one child missing can trigger a nation-wide search.
The answer is two-fold: fear for reprisals, and nobody to report to. Which leads to the next question: Why have local governments not bothered to list the children who were abducted and are still unaccounted for? Why do we have to rely on foreign organisations to keep track of our missing children?
This suffering in silence, the gnawing uncertainty, not knowing whether your child is alive or dead, with nobody to turn to for information or help, must be one of the worst effects of the war in northern Uganda.
The governments at all levels need to show that they care. They need to immediately set up databases on missing children in each district. They need to distribute those lists to those who visit the LRA leaders in their hide-outs in order to establish who is alive. The release of the remaining children should be a top priority in any talks. A mass burial should be organised for the thousands who are confirmed dead. It is the least we can do for all those parents who have been suffering in silence for too long.
Over 25,000 have passed through the various reception centres in northern Uganda. Thousands more never passed through any centre: they either went home straight after escaping, or they came out before any centre was in place.
One can safely conclude that 40,000 children have been abducted in the past 20 years. That is double the number usually reported. Unicef maintains that 25,000 children were abducted, a figure which has not changed since 1997.
The true figures are staggering. Knowing that most of these children were eventually used as soldiers, it means that the LRA force was almost as big as the UPDF!
But a more fundamental question jumps to mind when hearing such revelations. Where are the parents? How can thousands of children go missing and nobody ever reported their disappearance? In European countries, even one child missing can trigger a nation-wide search.
The answer is two-fold: fear for reprisals, and nobody to report to. Which leads to the next question: Why have local governments not bothered to list the children who were abducted and are still unaccounted for? Why do we have to rely on foreign organisations to keep track of our missing children?
This suffering in silence, the gnawing uncertainty, not knowing whether your child is alive or dead, with nobody to turn to for information or help, must be one of the worst effects of the war in northern Uganda.
The governments at all levels need to show that they care. They need to immediately set up databases on missing children in each district. They need to distribute those lists to those who visit the LRA leaders in their hide-outs in order to establish who is alive. The release of the remaining children should be a top priority in any talks. A mass burial should be organised for the thousands who are confirmed dead. It is the least we can do for all those parents who have been suffering in silence for too long.