LONDON, 31 August, 2009: On the final day of her five-day visit to the DR Congo (former Zaire), UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman met with children who had been abducted by the feared and brutal Lords Resistance Army (LRA = Herrens Modstandshær)).
Veneman went to Dungu, a remote community in north-eastern DR Congo where an estimated 320.000 people have been displaced since December 2007.
– The population of Dungu live in constant fear of attacks from the LRA, who inflicted 20 years of terror in Uganda and other neighboring countries, said Veneman. – The LRA is notorious for kidnapping children, forcing them to kill and maim innocent victims and enslaving young girls as their concubines.
One example of their senseless violence was the “Christmas Massacre” of December 26, 2008, when the LRA attacked a Catholic church in a nearby village, hacking to death innocent worshippers.
– I met a boy who had been kidnapped by the LRA. His foot became seriously infected and he was unable to keep up with the daily long-distance treks across the countryside, said Veneman, adding:
– The rebels taunted him and then severely beat him and left him behind. He lay stranded in the bush without food or water for five days before he was found.
Today he is with a foster family in Dungu, but he is unable to walk without assistance.
Many of these children who escape from the LRA are cared for in the Dungu community.
– While I was horrified by the violence inflicted on these children, I was inspired by the sheer will and determination of the community to help, said Veneman. – I met five women, each of whom had taken in traumatized children, despite having limited resources and large families of their own. This kind of community care is a true example of humanitarianism.
The former child soldiers stay with their foster families while, COOPI (an Italian NGO), UNICEF and local partners work together to trace families and provide psycho-social support and basic education.
– I asked the mothers and the children what they wanted most, said Veneman. – The answer was the same. The children said they wanted to go back to school. The women said the children are the future of this country and we need the resources to educate them.
Kilde: www.unicef.org
