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The Silent War
The Situation:
My friend Aubrey,Trevor, Presly, and I(Emily)have decided to make a myspace dedicated to "The Invisible Children in Africa". The war in Africa is located in Northern Uganda, it is called "The Silent War" because it is not exposed nearly as much as the war in Iraq.In 1987, Joseph Kony started a movement to overthrow the government of Uganda. The movement is now known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).Civilians are terrorized by the LRA. If individuals are suspected of sympathizing with the government, the LRA uses brutal tactics such as cutting off of hands, ears or lips, to intimidate them.Kony creates his army primarily through violent abduction and forced enlistment of children. He chooses children because they are the best canidate to fight. Children from ages 5-14 are the best because they can carry a gun, and their minds can be molded to kill, even their own family.The girls are usually used as sex slaves. More than 25,000 children have been abducted by the L.R.A .These rebels, based in southern Sudan, are reportedly being sheltered and armed by extremists in Sudan's government.About 1.5 million people have been displaced, and are taking refuge, at displacement camps. These people are unable to farm due to war and international food assistance is inadequate. Illness is out of control because the country is too insecure for humanitarian aid agencies or the Ugandan government to provide regular health services. To make matters even worse the L.R.A attacks the displacement camps, and abducts children. Because the camps are not secure, parents often feel that they have no other choice but to send their children to walk ("commute") for several miles to the nearest town, where it may be safer. Their children walk during the night, to refuge, many times the people arn't safe, and when they reach refuge they pray, and thank god simply because they arrived safe. They sleep in a crowded room smooshed, and on top of each other, most of them do not have blankets, they do not have anything. Many of the children do not have parents. They go to refuge, instead of staying at home because they feel safe from the L.R.A. When they get there sometimes they sing, and play. Even though they live under these harsh conditions they do not cry.They say they do not cry, because if you were abducted, and someone caught you crying they would ask you why are you crying. Then they would say you are crying because you are thinking of home, so I should kill you, and they do kill you.Many of the children lost their parents to AIDS, or the L.R.A brutally murdering them. They have lost siblings, and some of them, themselves had been abducted, and escaped.Many people have severe phycological problems after they escape. Some of them when you give them paper, and pencils to draw, all they draw are war pictures, because that is all they can think of, that is all they know. One boy said that he gets a headache when he does not see blood.Note: There is a great documentary on this called Invisible Children. Go to invisiblechildren.com for more information. Do anything possible to get involved in this crises. Donate money, clothes, food, anything that will help. The best thing you can do is to tell people about it, because how is the problem going to get fixed if no one knows a problem exists?I Got Soul
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