Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Forgotten Children
Lets explore the minds of the Congolese child soldiers. What makes an 11 year old child capable of awful brutality? "I saw my father die, then they killed my aunt. I didn't want to die by machete at home. That's a pointless death. So I decided to join the militia," says 13 year old Eric.
Responsible for the killings of thousands of innocent lives, the feared child militias of the DRC tell how their childhood was lost. Victims of a war no one understands, brutalised by their commanders who turned them into armed brigands, the children became murderers and rapists in a "kill or be killed" conflict.
Thousands of boys and girls, carrying only a small mat to sleep on, walk as far as 8 miles each way in order to escape abduction, rape, and violent attacks by Ugandan rebels. Most of these children end up sleeping on the streets. The fortunate ones may find places to sleep in courtyards and in the churches. But, nearly 14,000 of these children find refuge each night in Gulu. The local people call them the "night commuters."
Most of them have been raped; many of them have been forced to be child mothers with no training on how to take care of a baby ... they are just babies themselves. All of them live in fear of being abducted again by the so-called Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA. Many of the young girls have been infected with AIDS by the rebel soldiers. They have terrifying nightmares and they couldn't even tell their stories without shaking and crying.
Eyes on Darfur
The crisis in Darfur, in western Sudan, has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable, including systematic and widespread murder, rape, abduction and forced displacement. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have died as a result of both deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, and more than 2 million civilians have been forced to flee from their homes. The situation on the ground has been plagued with renewed violence, Janjawid attacks, and aerial bombing by the Government of Sudan's military. Currently, the Government of Sudan is resisting the UN Security Council-mandated peacekeeping operation that is desperately needed.
Amnesty representatives have met with UN, U.S. and European officials to call for their vigorous action and have pressed the governments of Chad and Sudan directly. Amnesty's global membership has also organized letter-writing campaigns and demonstrations to draw attention to the crisis.
The international community must, at long last, put a stop to these atrocities and bring relief to those who have survived but continue to suffer. Join the growing movement of citizens worldwide who are taking action for Darfur.
See the devastation for yourself!
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