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In-Depth:
Life in northern Uganda
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UGANDA: Testimonies - Ex-abductee
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O.R. (14) was abducted from his home in Kitgum in February 2003. He spent four months in captivity before escaping in June. He recounted his experience to IRIN at a rehabilitation centre for abducted children run by World Vision.
It was raining hard. We were sheltering from the rain when some armed people surrounded our hut. I was with my father. They ordered me out and tied my hands behind me. Then we started to walk towards the bush. They did not bother about my father. They just left him there. He was paralysed with fear. He couldn't say anything. We walked for several days and nights in the bush, only stopping to eat. There were a number of other abducted children with us. Some of them were from my school.
A few days later, we were joined by a bigger group. Some uniformed commanders were leading the group. We continued walking towards Sudan. One day, the UPDF attacked us. During the attack, two children were shot dead by the army in the crossfire. I remained tied up the whole week. My feet were sore and swollen from walking. One commander asked me if I would escape.
I wanted to escape but I couldn't, because I did not think I could find my way back through the bush. He untied me when I said I wouldn't do it. He then gave me a bag of millet flour to carry on my head. Another commander then rubbed some oil on my chest. He said the oil had some magical powers. "If you try to run away you will trip and fall. You will not reach where you are going. And then we will catch up with you and kill you," he said. I didn't believe him. I knew he was only trying to scare me.
"We were told to chop the body into smaller pieces"
On the way to Sudan, they forced us to kill many people. One morning a young boy was brought to us. We were told he had tried to escape. His body was swollen and had cuts from many beatings. They killed him. We were told to chop the body into smaller pieces. Boys were given the heart and liver to eat. Girls were told to cook and eat the rest of the body parts. We did as we were told.
A few days later, a commander called me and said he had a special task for me to carry out. He was carrying a newborn baby. He placed the baby in a large wooden mortar, the one we were using for pounding grain. He gave me a heavy wooden pestle and ordered me to start pounding. I was afraid to do it, but I did as I was told. I knew I would be killed if I didn't. All the boys in the group had been forced to do something similar. I knew the baby's mother. She was one of the captives. She screamed when she saw what I was doing. The commanders beat her up so much, and told her to shut up. But they did not kill her. They told me to continue pounding until they were satisfied the baby was dead.
After some weeks, they started to trust me a little because I always obeyed their orders. They were no longer restricting my movements very much. They gave me a gun and taught me how to use it. But we were still being watched. I decided one day to escape. I slipped into the bush and walked for many hours, avoiding open places. I didn't know which direction I was going, but I kept on walking. When it became too dark, I crept into a thick bush and slept. I found a UPDF military detachment in Kitgum the following day. I reported there. I was told I was in Kitgum district. A few days later, I was brought to this centre. They have been very good to me.
"I am constantly disturbed by what I did in the bush"
But I am constantly disturbed by what I did in the bush. I dream about it all the time. Sometimes I hear voices saying things to me. "There is work waiting for you in the bush," the voices keep telling me.
"Pound faster... faster...harder," other voices keep saying.
In the night I dream of the same things. I fear to go to sleep because of nightmares. I want these dreams to stop tormenting me. I want them to go back home and continue with school.
[ENDS]
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