Child soldier

Young Otim Bony is one of tens of thousands of north Ugandan children
who have been abducted from their homes to be turned into brutal
"child soldier's."

The 16 year old was just 11 when he was taken at around midnight as he slept with his
family in May 2004.

He was turned into a slave-like killing machine for the evil Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) – who looted his village while kidnapping and
murdering the rest of his tribe.

He was forced through fear to kill with machetes before being given a gun to
take part in attacks against the Ugandan army and to participate in
village massacres – which the LRA have been doing for over 20 years.

Most recently on Christmas Eve last in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) the LRA burned over 200 people to death in a church after
raping and killing women in the bush.

Their war with the Ugandan government has resulted in the forced
displacement of almost the entire population of northern Uganda –
totalling 2 million people, since 1996 – with about half already
making their way back due to a sketchy ceasefire.

"I feel bad about the whole thing," Bony told me about what he
was forced to do for the LRA.

During one raid on the Ugandan army, Bony was told not come back to
the LRA camp without a gun, and got grazed in the scalp with a bullet
while trying to grab a gun off a soldier.

He was then shot in the left leg while being carried away – and though
recovering from his injuries, a bullet remains lodged in his leg
today.

"After this they gave me a gun and put me back out to fight," he said.

He bravely recounted his horrific ordeal to me at his home
village of Bobi in the Gulu district, north Uganda, in a round village
hut, with a straw roof and clay wall and floor.

His fellow villagers have all returned home after spending at least a
year in "displacement camps."

They return to dried up land that was once green an cultivated, and
have to completely rebuild their lives with nothing.

Bony sat on a floormat, twiddling with his toes and avoiding eye
contact, as he quietly spoke of his ordeal.

His words were translated by Flora Aling – the project officer for the
Gulu District NGO Forum, which is funded by the Irish charity Trocaire.

Trocaire's Ugandan project officer, Sean Farrell, brought me to the camp to see what work they have done there to help the people who live there in the aftermath of war and massacre.

Bony looks nothing like someone who has killed more people than he can
remember – and appears to have made a remarkable recovery so far with
the help of his family and the support and assistance they get from
Trocaire funded organisations.

When asked how many people he killed while with the LRA, he paused to
think, then said: "I have killed many," and added that he killed many
of them with various tools struck into the back of their heads.

The tough youngster said this without getting upset or being in anyway
reluctant to continue talking.

His village group, Apoicen, which has five "returnee" child soldiers,
believe that if they do not tell their story, then nobody will know
what has happened.

Bony recalled: "After we were taken they [the LRA] made us carry
things for them and when my uncle fell to the ground they wanted to
kill him.

"They wanted me to participate in the killing, but I was too upset.
They beat him in the head and left him there.

"They went to another sub-county [in north Uganda] and killed a lot of people.

"After a year they gave me a gun and thought me how to use it.

"They told me to go and confront the Government troops in the front line."

Bony said after many attacks on villages and against the Ugandan government troops, he became annoyed at the lack of food and military equipment they had – recalling that they were quickly running out of bullet magazines or "tins" for their guns.

He said their answer was to "raid a village for food and ammunition."

He thought of ways to escape and confided in his sister, who was also
abducted to become a sex slave for an LRA commander when she was just
13.

She warned that they would kill him if he was caught.

One night he teamed up with a friend and the pair tried to walk away
from the LRA camp, but other rebels caught them.

Bony quickly gave the excuse that they thought they could smell
tomatoes and wanted to try and find them.

Luckily, when the rebels checked, they found there were tomatoes
growing in the bush.

Not long afterwards, sometime in early 2008, Bony and his friend got
their lucky escape while the LRA were on the move.

"As they moved we stayed behind and walked in a different direction," he said.

Having escaped and dumped their weapons, they walked for about a month
living mainly on water, until they found government troops, who took
them to an agency that cared for former child soldiers.

Bony said his sister, who is now 18, remains in "the bush" with the LRA.

"I still think about her a lot," he said.

When he was reunited with his mother, Helen Abang, he was delighted
she was still alive – having had nightmares during his four year
ordeal that she was killed.

"I was so excited when I saw my mother again," he said.

Bony said he now hopes to get an education and that organisations like
Trocaire can help him and others achieve this.

"If you can, could you please facilitate my education?" he asked.

After the interview Bony joined his family and friends in singing and clapping as they bid myself and Sean Farrell from Trocaire farewell.

Bony is one of the many children being helped to recover their lost
childhood and chance of a good life by Trocaire in Uganda.

Through the Gulu NGO Forum they are providing the animals, equipment
and seeds they need to grow food and sell it locally to raise money so
that young members of their community can become educated and build up
an impoverished Uganda.