heres the link https://twitter.com/about/resources/widgets
Here is a screenshot of what I made:
Showing posts with label central concept. Show all posts
Showing posts with label central concept. Show all posts
Friday, March 9, 2012
Twitter Feed
I created a Twitter Feed for our Missing Children Link in the story. I wanted to see how it would be done and if it would work. I created it using Twitter's search widget, that you can customize with your own search query's. It can be incorporated into any website we create, our blog and social media accounts.
Small Soldiers link to Home
The link
How to incorporate the link into our story
- Fictitional story based on what would normally happen if a child went missing in Ireland
- Twitter feed on the topic of #missing, #child etc.
- Fictitional social media account with the story of the missing person being covered by it
"Kony 2012" gone viral
Since march the 5th a film made by the organization Invisible Children has gotton nearly 50 million views on You Tube. This film "Kony 2012" aims at raising awareness worldwide and stopping Joseph Kony the leader of the LRA, a rebel group in Africa by the end of this year. The film want's to do this by making Kony famous, giving him celebrity status and making him a household name which in turn will force governments, mainly America to capture him. The film certainly has achieved it's virality but also has put the organization under scrutiny. People argue that what they state in the film is untrue and that stopping Kony will not stop the LRA.
Although it is bringing the situation to light and using social media's power to do so, The video has been viewed nearly 50 million times on youtube in 4 days, #Kony2012, #Kony, #Uganda, #LRA have become worldwide trends on Twitter, the campaign has been the talk of newstations/papers/articles since.
Here is the film..
What Kony 2012 does right:
- Uses social media to gain a worldwide audience fast
- Created an immersive film
- Involves people in the campaign, by allowing them to sign up for the pledge, get an action kit and so on.
- Using and making Kony a celebrity to make him known and aid in his capture.
- Used huge worldwide celebrities and politicians to back the campaign, spread the word and get their fans involved for example Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Bono, George Clooney.
- Using creative, artistic methods and peoples talents throughout the campaign
- Being Inspired and doing what they believe is right, the founders went to Uganda found a story and were shocked and promised friends they made their that they would help. They also were inspired by the arab spring and how Facebook fueled it.
- Hard work, The organization have been preparing for this campaign for years.
What Kony 2012 does wrong:
- Not intirely true statements. The LRA are not in Uganda anymore, they are in CAR, DR of Congo and South Sudan.
- Catching Kony does not mean an end to the LRA, poverty and inequality are major problems at the root of the conflict.
- Aimed mainly at an American audience
- Putting American 'advisors' on the ground in Uganda. The LRA are not in Uganda, the people may not want them there and they may have alternate motives such as oil and being near somalia.
- An aim of the film overlooked was getting america to join the International Criminal Court
- Local people are just as scared of their army as they are of the LRA.
How this effects our project and what we could take from it:
- Have correct and accurate information
- The power of social media and it's advantages and disadvantages
- Catching Kony may not be the solution
- Kony 2012 is mainly targeted at an american audience and getting the american government or army to stop Kony, we can raise awareness in Ireland and Europe and maybe see what European governments can do.
- America should join the International Criminal Court
- Kony 2012's creative methods and using peoples talents was sucessful
- Getting existing celebrities and politicians to back the campaign
- immersive and engaging content
- user/audience involvement
Links, references and more information:
Twitter: #Kony2012, #Uganda , #LRA, #Kony, #stopKony, #invisiblechildren
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Possible ways of telling the story using the web(part one)
Mapping Technology
Telling a story through maps, location of characters, images and text. For example We tell stories, "The 21 steps". Umapper is one example of how this can be created.
Membership Website
A website that allows the user to join, the story is told through many mediums such as video, images, text, social media etc. Example "Conspiracy for good" website.
Social Media
Use of social media to tell a story. "the Hyp replacement" is an example. It is about four characters who live in the same area in Brooklyn, New York. The main story is told on the website through a series of short chapters in a 3rd person narrative. The characters each have different social media accounts one is on twitter, another on tumblr, another on blogspot, and another on YouTube. These accounts are incorporated and embedded into the main story. Prose + social media = The Hyp Replacement
Storytelling URL's
Using the url of a webpage to tell a story, and lead you to an answer.
HTML5 interactive websites
Personalizes the experience by incorporating google maps images of where you are from into the video. You can also write and draw a postcard to yourself. It also uses pop up windows very cleverly.
to be continued..
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Update to project proposal
Since the original project proposal there have been updates.
The original document stated "The primary aim of the project is to raise awareness of the problem of children being recruited into armed forces in African countries, these children are known as child soldiers. "
The update specifies which African countries the project aims to raise awareness of and why.
Countries:
- Uganda
- South Sudan
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Republic of Central Africa
Why:
- the LRA are active in these countries (explained below)
- the LRA abduct children and force them to become soldiers
LRA (Lords Resistance Army)
The LRA, Lords Resistance Army have been terrorizing the country of Uganda for the past 23 years. The LRA left Uganda in June 2006 when the Juba Peace Talks began. Ever since the peace talks fell apart in 2008, the LRA has been active in the border regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Joseph Kony is founder and leader of the LRA. Joseph Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The LRA are an unbelievably brutal rebel group. They abduct children and indoctrinate them into their ranks and they murder, rape, beat and mutilate men, women and children. Under Kony's leadership the LRA has displaced 2 million people, abducted 60,000 including 30,000 children. It is estimated that more than 90% of the LRA’s troops were abducted as children. It is normal that children being introduced into the group are forced to murder their own parents.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Documentary's watched and more
I have watched documentary's related to child soldiers and the LRA
- Invisible Children
This is a documentary based on Uganda and its trouble's with the LRA and how it effects the children. It gave a good insight into the history and situation in Uganda.
- Tony
When the previous documentary "invisible children" was created, the creators followed it up by starting a charity/activists company called invisible children. They created another documentary called "Tony". This is about a Ugandan boy called Tony and his story.
- People & Power - The LRA and Sudan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdnXLCiFTw0
This is a documentary on the current location of the LRA, the history of the LRA and mainly how the LRA have and may effect Sudan.
- Waltz with Bashir
I purchased the movie Waltz with Bashir, which we are going to watch mainly for design aspects of the project.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Child Soldiers in Uganda
It is now over one year since peace talks between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance began in Sudan. A year later little has changed and people are still suffering, especially women and children.
The endless war in northern Uganda has affected mostly women and children. Many women have become widows as a result of the rebels killing their husbands. Consequently, they are overloaded with the heavy responsibility of looking after orphans.
And women do not have time to rest. They wake up early in the morning to find ways of feeding their children, with whom they have to move long distances in search of food. At the end of the day, they come back very tired, and so stressed and frustrated that they cannot sleep at night.
The majority of women are suffering due to the loss of their husbands and relatives. They look for money to take their children to school yet they have no proper source of income, nobody to give them a hand, because almost everybody finds herself in the same situation.
Children in the aftermath of war
The SOS Social Centre in Gulu supports over 250 children and mothers in the community who have been affected by the civil war with counseling, and medical, nutritional and educational support. Former child soldiers also receive counseling.
Education, health care and employment are human rights. Due to poverty, illness and the political unrest in the area, the number of children without the support of their natural family is increasing steadily and SOS Children is constantly developing its approach to child care in order to meet these changing needs.The aim of our “Family Strengthening Programmes” and SOS Social Centres is to respond realistically and effectively to the situation of orphans, vulnerable children and their families and to prevent child abandonment. Through skills training, literacy classes, education, counseling and improved nutrition the families know they can become independent, self-reliant and confident in their own ability to provide for the children in their care. Ultimately the communities want to care for their children.
The Social Centre opened in June 2002 and currently provides all the services mentioned above to 250 children and female guardians/mothers. The parents/guardians are also supported with training in agriculture and tailoring, for example, and those who want to set up small businesses are offered business training and micro loans; they will ultimately be more able to financially and emotionally support the children in their care and this lessens the risk of child abandonment. We also run a day-care centre for 50 children from single-parent families here, and the SOS Medical Centre, which is part of the SOS Social Centre, cares for 60-80 patients per day (roughly 25,500 people each year). The patients receive health counseling (for example, counseling for people affected by HIV/AIDS), health education and immunization programmes. Preventative medical services are the mainstay of this clinic, but medicines are also provided to the sick.
Socially, most women have low self-esteem as a result of this war that has left with them lifelong bad memories. Either they have been sexually abused by the rebels and other people taking advantage of war, or they have been abducted from their families and taken to the bush, where they have seen their loved ones being killed. They find themselves lonely and isolated leading to low self-esteem and inability to cope in the society.
Many young women are child mothers who bore children after being forced into marriage by the rebels at a young age. This has affected their own mothers who see their daughters returning home, at the age of 20, with several children. And the social life of the local Acholi women has greatly changed. Some women have become unfaithful while others have unwanted pregnancies and end up either aborting or abandoning the babies on failing to be supported.
Children are traumatised
Children, on the other hand, have been very much abused. They return home from the bush when they are mentally traumatised and unable to live with other normal children. They display inappropriate behaviour to the extent that handling them requires specialists, who are lacking in our community. Men have abandoned their families and children have suffered most. This explains why there is an increasing number of street children in Gulu town and other towns in northern Uganda.
However, despite the overwhelming numbers of needy children, SOS Children is playing a very important role in preventing child abandonment and catering for the orphaned and abandoned children of northern Uganda. For the sake of the women and children of northern Uganda, the peace talks must not fail.
http://www.child-soldier.org/children-in-conflict-child-soldiers-in-uganda
The endless war in northern Uganda has affected mostly women and children. Many women have become widows as a result of the rebels killing their husbands. Consequently, they are overloaded with the heavy responsibility of looking after orphans.
And women do not have time to rest. They wake up early in the morning to find ways of feeding their children, with whom they have to move long distances in search of food. At the end of the day, they come back very tired, and so stressed and frustrated that they cannot sleep at night.
The majority of women are suffering due to the loss of their husbands and relatives. They look for money to take their children to school yet they have no proper source of income, nobody to give them a hand, because almost everybody finds herself in the same situation.
Children in the aftermath of war
The SOS Social Centre in Gulu supports over 250 children and mothers in the community who have been affected by the civil war with counseling, and medical, nutritional and educational support. Former child soldiers also receive counseling.
Education, health care and employment are human rights. Due to poverty, illness and the political unrest in the area, the number of children without the support of their natural family is increasing steadily and SOS Children is constantly developing its approach to child care in order to meet these changing needs.The aim of our “Family Strengthening Programmes” and SOS Social Centres is to respond realistically and effectively to the situation of orphans, vulnerable children and their families and to prevent child abandonment. Through skills training, literacy classes, education, counseling and improved nutrition the families know they can become independent, self-reliant and confident in their own ability to provide for the children in their care. Ultimately the communities want to care for their children.
The Social Centre opened in June 2002 and currently provides all the services mentioned above to 250 children and female guardians/mothers. The parents/guardians are also supported with training in agriculture and tailoring, for example, and those who want to set up small businesses are offered business training and micro loans; they will ultimately be more able to financially and emotionally support the children in their care and this lessens the risk of child abandonment. We also run a day-care centre for 50 children from single-parent families here, and the SOS Medical Centre, which is part of the SOS Social Centre, cares for 60-80 patients per day (roughly 25,500 people each year). The patients receive health counseling (for example, counseling for people affected by HIV/AIDS), health education and immunization programmes. Preventative medical services are the mainstay of this clinic, but medicines are also provided to the sick.
Socially, most women have low self-esteem as a result of this war that has left with them lifelong bad memories. Either they have been sexually abused by the rebels and other people taking advantage of war, or they have been abducted from their families and taken to the bush, where they have seen their loved ones being killed. They find themselves lonely and isolated leading to low self-esteem and inability to cope in the society.
Many young women are child mothers who bore children after being forced into marriage by the rebels at a young age. This has affected their own mothers who see their daughters returning home, at the age of 20, with several children. And the social life of the local Acholi women has greatly changed. Some women have become unfaithful while others have unwanted pregnancies and end up either aborting or abandoning the babies on failing to be supported.
Children are traumatised
Children, on the other hand, have been very much abused. They return home from the bush when they are mentally traumatised and unable to live with other normal children. They display inappropriate behaviour to the extent that handling them requires specialists, who are lacking in our community. Men have abandoned their families and children have suffered most. This explains why there is an increasing number of street children in Gulu town and other towns in northern Uganda.
However, despite the overwhelming numbers of needy children, SOS Children is playing a very important role in preventing child abandonment and catering for the orphaned and abandoned children of northern Uganda. For the sake of the women and children of northern Uganda, the peace talks must not fail.
http://www.child-soldier.org/children-in-conflict-child-soldiers-in-uganda
David Cameron's reponse to Juliets letter
http://www.scribd.com/doc/36061066/Letter-From-David-Cameron-to-Juliet
The LRA's effect on Sudan, Democratic republic of Congo and the republic of Central Africa
SUDAN
The above video gives a good account and history of the LRA in Uganda its effects on the people and former LRA soldiers, it goes on to explain the current situation of the LRA and its effect on Sudan.
Besides the obvious problem of the havoc, murders and abductions the LRA are carrying out in south Sudan, there are other underlying problems. They could possibly be kept hidden from their hunters in northern Sudan by the Sudan government and military. The Sudan government have previously funded the LRA and have close ties. The president of Kartoum, Bashir also is wanted by the international criminal court, could this be a commonality that will link Bashir with Kony? A civil war could also occur due to increased tension and history between north and south of Sudan as they are on the verge of seperation.
CONGO
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
RAISE AWARENESS STOP THE LRA, "LET THE WORLD KNOW".
Juliets letter to British Priminister David Cameron
Dear David Cameron,
My name is Juliet. I come from Northern Uganda. I am visiting London this week because the charity war child helped me to come to England to share my story with school children and politicians. I am weiting to you to appeal for your support for girls like me who have been affected by conflict. when I was 12, I was abducted by rebels from Lord's Resistence Army. I experience many terrible things. I saw many children being killed. We moved long distances, carrying heavy luggage with children on our backs. My friend whom we were abducted together also died. At 14, I was forced into sexual relationship with a man above my age. I got pregnant and had painful labour for two weeks. in the bush there is no hospital. I was not in a position to deliver so the baby died and I got health problems. Eventually I was taken to kenya for treentment and from there I planned my escape.
I was lucky and i managed to get away. I made it back to my family and got help to rebuild my life. many people and organisations helped me including The Christian Counseling Fellowship and WarChild Uk who helped me back to school, get medical support and counselling.
when I was in the bush I missed school for 6 years but alwys had the desire to go back to school. I now joined the school that was founded to help children who have been affected by war including child mothers. the school has a day care centre so girls with babies can still study and breastfeed during break times. Expectant mothers get medical support from school.
This is the only school in Uganda like this, without this school, girl mothers and former girl soldiers would not be able to be in education. Returning to studies after a long time away was very difficult but I am making it. I am Head Girl and I hope to continue to university to study law.
I want to be a lawyer so I can defend girls who have been sexually abused and to bring men who abuse to justice.
Many girls in northern Uganda and other countries affected by conflict all over the world have experienced the same situation that I went through. Girls suffer most in the war. Girls and many young woman are making up more than half the people in these countries. I appreciate the UK government for their kindness upon the children of northern Uganda. I thank you for giving money to help my country and I ask that your money reaches girls affected by conflict so the impact of you will be greater as more people will be helped.
When you meet the United nations this September to talk about developement in poor countries, please remember us girls who went through conflict. We can get great thing if supported in education.
I have never forgotten about the children and girls who are still in the bush. I also appeal to you to find a way to relaease the girls and children who are still in the bush with the LRA in the Demcratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa Republic and South Sudan. They should come back home and be supported with studies. This is an international problems and I ask you to take international leadership to stop this injustice which is still carrying on.
I request your support to help girls and v=children like me. We should be in school and in a position to achieve in life. We should not be forced into war and early marraige.
I also give you a present. on the CD is a message from my friends in northern Uganda and also some of the children I met in England.
Thank you very much
Apio Juliet
http://www.flickr.com/photos/warchild/4792633847/in/photostream/
My name is Juliet. I come from Northern Uganda. I am visiting London this week because the charity war child helped me to come to England to share my story with school children and politicians. I am weiting to you to appeal for your support for girls like me who have been affected by conflict. when I was 12, I was abducted by rebels from Lord's Resistence Army. I experience many terrible things. I saw many children being killed. We moved long distances, carrying heavy luggage with children on our backs. My friend whom we were abducted together also died. At 14, I was forced into sexual relationship with a man above my age. I got pregnant and had painful labour for two weeks. in the bush there is no hospital. I was not in a position to deliver so the baby died and I got health problems. Eventually I was taken to kenya for treentment and from there I planned my escape.
I was lucky and i managed to get away. I made it back to my family and got help to rebuild my life. many people and organisations helped me including The Christian Counseling Fellowship and WarChild Uk who helped me back to school, get medical support and counselling.
when I was in the bush I missed school for 6 years but alwys had the desire to go back to school. I now joined the school that was founded to help children who have been affected by war including child mothers. the school has a day care centre so girls with babies can still study and breastfeed during break times. Expectant mothers get medical support from school.
This is the only school in Uganda like this, without this school, girl mothers and former girl soldiers would not be able to be in education. Returning to studies after a long time away was very difficult but I am making it. I am Head Girl and I hope to continue to university to study law.
I want to be a lawyer so I can defend girls who have been sexually abused and to bring men who abuse to justice.
Many girls in northern Uganda and other countries affected by conflict all over the world have experienced the same situation that I went through. Girls suffer most in the war. Girls and many young woman are making up more than half the people in these countries. I appreciate the UK government for their kindness upon the children of northern Uganda. I thank you for giving money to help my country and I ask that your money reaches girls affected by conflict so the impact of you will be greater as more people will be helped.
When you meet the United nations this September to talk about developement in poor countries, please remember us girls who went through conflict. We can get great thing if supported in education.
I have never forgotten about the children and girls who are still in the bush. I also appeal to you to find a way to relaease the girls and children who are still in the bush with the LRA in the Demcratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa Republic and South Sudan. They should come back home and be supported with studies. This is an international problems and I ask you to take international leadership to stop this injustice which is still carrying on.
I request your support to help girls and v=children like me. We should be in school and in a position to achieve in life. We should not be forced into war and early marraige.
I also give you a present. on the CD is a message from my friends in northern Uganda and also some of the children I met in England.
Thank you very much
Apio Juliet
http://www.flickr.com/photos/warchild/4792633847/in/photostream/
Child Soldiers Facts
Child soldiers
The use of children in armed conflict is one of the most atrocious effects of war.
•An estimated 300,000 boys and girls are currently trained for combat or used as porters, spies or sex slaves in conflicts around the world today.
•In northern Uganda, at least 20,000 children have been abducted by the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) during a ruthless 18-year war.
http://www.rescue-uk.org/in-the-field/how-we-help/children-and-young-people/
The use of children in armed conflict is one of the most atrocious effects of war.
•An estimated 300,000 boys and girls are currently trained for combat or used as porters, spies or sex slaves in conflicts around the world today.
•In northern Uganda, at least 20,000 children have been abducted by the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) during a ruthless 18-year war.
http://www.rescue-uk.org/in-the-field/how-we-help/children-and-young-people/
CNN report on child soldiers, featuring War Child beneficiary Juliet
Bit more in depth look into Juliet's story and child soldiers
LRA Today (continued)
The Protection Plan from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo. This video shows how The LRA have spread to Uganda's surrounding countries of Sudan,DR Congo and Central Africa.
Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery
The "Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery" bill addresses the humanitarian need to intercept the LRA, a Ugandan rebel group led by Joseph Kony that have infamously abducted over 30,000 children, forcing them to become LRA soldiers. The group is additionally identified by their reign of attacks in Iganda, the DR Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The bill gives the Obama administration 180 days to produce a comprehensive strategy that coalesces multilateral and regional partners to capture top LRA leaders, demobilize child soldiers and protect civilians from rebel attacks; and invest in sustainable peace efforts.
Co-sponsored by Republican and Democrat representatives, the "LRA Disarmament and Northern Ugandan Recovery Act" is the most widely supported legislation focused on sub-Saharan Africa in modern American history. The $20 million bill, awaiting President Barack Obama's signature, was passed with a unanimous vote, a rare and momentous victory for human rights activists.
Stopping Joseph Kony and the LRA
This problem of the LRA has been going on for years and needs to be stopped. Raising awareness and providing information to the world is a method of achieving this. Like with the arab spring information can no long be censored or hidden from the world, exposing these problems in Africa to the world and telling the story is the first step in bringing the situation to an end.
Kony 2012 Teaser from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.
Juliet's story - From Child Soldier to Global Campaigner
Captivity
Juliet’s unborn baby turned out to be her saviour.
Kidnapped by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Northern Uganda when she was just 12 years old, Juliet had no means of escape from the bush where she was being held captive.
At 16 she fell pregnant after being forced to become the ‘wife’ of a rebel commander.
“Soldiers are not allowed to fall in love. If one is caught charming a girl he is killed. Girls are there to be used whenever they want.”
During labour, she was forced to walk for miles as the rebels tried to evade the Ugandan army. The journey caused her son to die before he was even born. So Juliet had to endure an agonising operation to remove the baby.
There was no anaesthetic, just a local doctor and a razor blade.
“If your baby dies you are not supposed to mourn for it. If you do, they will kill you. You have just to go somewhere secretly and cry. When you return, you should look like nothing has happened.”
Escape
After the crude operation Juliet’s health rapidly deteriorated. However, during peace talks between the LRA and the Ugandan Government in 2006 she was given the chance to get hospital treatment in neighbouring Kenya – though an LRA escort had to stay with her at all times.
While in hospital Juliet befriended a nurse who heard her story and helped her to escape.
“When I was packing my bags I felt no fear. All I knew is that I was not going back to that place”
Juliet, with the assistance of the Ugandan Embassy, was then able to board a flight back to the Ugandan capital, Kampala.
Reunion
Juliet now attends a school in Northern Uganda created especially for girls who have missed out on education because of the conflict. She is working hard to catch up on the years of schooling she missed whilst in captivity with the LRA
“When I came back I really wanted to go back to school. Although a terrible thing happened to me when my baby died, it led me to get the chance to escape. It shows that something positive can come from something terrible.”
“If you are not educated, you are nothing.”
Juliet
Juliet now hopes to continue her studies at university and qualify as a lawyer so that she can bring those who have recruited and abused girls to justice. As she points out: “Many girls have been through hardship like me, they are denied an education.”
London
To help Juliet get her voice heard and her plight understood, we brought her to London for a week. We supported her to campaign on behalf of the thousands of girls in northern Uganda who are still being denied an education.
She delivered a personal letter and video message to the Prime Minister, appeared on TV and radio, lobbied politicians and inspired school students with her incredible story and compassionate, positive outlook.
Her impact
Juliet’s letter received a personal response from David Cameron and she was mentioned in a debate in the House of Lords by Lord Alton after meeting him. Audiences across CNN, BBC Radio 4, The BBC World Service and beyond heard her incredible story, and she made a real impact on the lives of the young people she met in the two schools she visited whilst she was here.
Hundreds of school students wrote and signed letters in support of Juliet, and we used those to lobby politicians as part of the Global Campaign for Education and the Millennium Development Goals summit meeting in New York in September.
Juliet hopes her journey - from abducted child soldier to global campaigner - will demonstrate the power of education not only in transforming the lives of individuals but also conflict-affected countries as a whole. As Juliet says, “children who experience terrible things can also achieve great things in life – if they are given an education.”
“I feel like I've changed a lot having met you, and I really am going to strive towards my goals the way you have. You had nothing and yet you fought so hard to gain what you now have and that sense of achievement must be absolutely amazing so I truly hope that I can be as successful as you have been.”
Catherine, a 15 year old student from Calthorpe Park School that met Juliet
Child Soldiers
Facts on Child Soldiers
•There are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world today.
•It is estimated that 40% of all child soldiers are girls. They are often used as 'wives' (i.e. sex slaves) of the male combatants.
•Many rebel groups use child soldiers to fight the government, but some governments also use child soldiers in armed conflict.
•Not all children take part in active combat. Some are also used as porters, cooks and spies.
•As part of their recruitment, children are sometimes forced to kill or maim a family member - thus breaking the bonds with their community and making it difficult for them to return home.
Why are children used as soldiers?
Children are used as soldiers because they are easier to condition and brainwash. They don't eat much food, don't need paying much and have an underdeveloped sense of danger so are easier to send into the line of fire.
As children make up the majority demographic in many conflict-affected countries, there's a constant supply of potential recruits. Due to their size and 'expendability', children are often sent into battle as scouts or decoys, or sent in the first wave to draw the enemy's fire.
What are the effects on children?
The effects on children are felt long after their physical scars have healed and their drug dependencies overcome. Many child soldiers are desensitised to violence - often at a very formative time in their development and this can psychologically damage them for life.
Even when they're set free or escape, many children can't go back home to their families and communities because they've been ostracised from them. They may have been forced to kill a family member or neighbour just so they can never go back. Many girls have babies from their time in the rebel groups and their communities/families don't accept them home.
Most have missed out on school - sometimes for many years. Without an education they have very little future prospects and sometimes return to the rebel groups as they have simply no other way of feeding themselves.
How do child soldiers get recruited?
Some are abducted from their homes and forced to become soldiers
a tactic notoriously used by the Lords Resistance Army.)
A village may be forced to provide a certain number of children as soldiers in exchange for staying safe from attack.
Some children are volunteered by their parents due to extreme poverty and hunger at home.
In some rare cases children volunteer to join the fight because of ideological reasons or to avenge the death of their family.
www.warchild.org.uk
•There are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world today.
•It is estimated that 40% of all child soldiers are girls. They are often used as 'wives' (i.e. sex slaves) of the male combatants.
•Many rebel groups use child soldiers to fight the government, but some governments also use child soldiers in armed conflict.
•Not all children take part in active combat. Some are also used as porters, cooks and spies.
•As part of their recruitment, children are sometimes forced to kill or maim a family member - thus breaking the bonds with their community and making it difficult for them to return home.
Why are children used as soldiers?
Children are used as soldiers because they are easier to condition and brainwash. They don't eat much food, don't need paying much and have an underdeveloped sense of danger so are easier to send into the line of fire.
As children make up the majority demographic in many conflict-affected countries, there's a constant supply of potential recruits. Due to their size and 'expendability', children are often sent into battle as scouts or decoys, or sent in the first wave to draw the enemy's fire.
What are the effects on children?
The effects on children are felt long after their physical scars have healed and their drug dependencies overcome. Many child soldiers are desensitised to violence - often at a very formative time in their development and this can psychologically damage them for life.
Even when they're set free or escape, many children can't go back home to their families and communities because they've been ostracised from them. They may have been forced to kill a family member or neighbour just so they can never go back. Many girls have babies from their time in the rebel groups and their communities/families don't accept them home.
Most have missed out on school - sometimes for many years. Without an education they have very little future prospects and sometimes return to the rebel groups as they have simply no other way of feeding themselves.
How do child soldiers get recruited?
Some are abducted from their homes and forced to become soldiers
a tactic notoriously used by the Lords Resistance Army.)
A village may be forced to provide a certain number of children as soldiers in exchange for staying safe from attack.
Some children are volunteered by their parents due to extreme poverty and hunger at home.
In some rare cases children volunteer to join the fight because of ideological reasons or to avenge the death of their family.
www.warchild.org.uk
Uganda's Faces of Evil!!
The key players in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
Joseph Kony - founder and leader of the (LRA)
His top commanders:
Okot Odhiambo
Dominic Ongwen
Raska Lukwiya
Vincent Otti - deputy of Joseph Kony was was executed on Kony’s command in 2007 for his role in peace talks
Bok Abudema - another high profile commander was killed in battle in 2010
How they operate:
The rebels often masquerade as military soldiers, or pounce as villagers gather together for occasions such as church services. They launch vicious attacks, killing the weak and the old with machetes, swords or stones, and cutting off people’s ears, lips and noses to serve as a warning to others. The rebels capture those who can be useful to them, including children strong enough to carry weapons. The captives are tied together and marched to camps where they are violently indoctrinated and turned into soldiers, porters, cooks, or sex slaves. Captives are often forced to kill or rape family members, making it impossible for them to think about returning home. Those who do resist or try to escape are tortured and killed..
By attacking villages and carrying out its notorious vicious attacks, the LRA defies claims that the group is weakening. Rebels also loot villages for food and supplies, and abduct adults and children to fight for them. The attacks also serve to divert military resources towards defending civilians instead of pursuing the rebels.
Children have been affected the most acutely by this conflict, with thousands abducted, used as soldiers and sex slaves, beaten and forced to torture and kill friends, family and innocent people. Those lucky enough to escape the clutches of the LRA deal with ongoing psychological trauma from their experiences, and face huge problems reintegrating back into their communities. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes and are forced to live in camps with poor sanitation and health facilities. Even those not directly in contact with the LRA suffer the consequences of poor education due to schools being destroyed by rebels and not being able to afford fees.
Joseph Kony - founder and leader of the (LRA)
His top commanders:
Okot Odhiambo
Dominic Ongwen
Raska Lukwiya
Vincent Otti - deputy of Joseph Kony was was executed on Kony’s command in 2007 for his role in peace talks
Bok Abudema - another high profile commander was killed in battle in 2010
How they operate:
The rebels often masquerade as military soldiers, or pounce as villagers gather together for occasions such as church services. They launch vicious attacks, killing the weak and the old with machetes, swords or stones, and cutting off people’s ears, lips and noses to serve as a warning to others. The rebels capture those who can be useful to them, including children strong enough to carry weapons. The captives are tied together and marched to camps where they are violently indoctrinated and turned into soldiers, porters, cooks, or sex slaves. Captives are often forced to kill or rape family members, making it impossible for them to think about returning home. Those who do resist or try to escape are tortured and killed..
By attacking villages and carrying out its notorious vicious attacks, the LRA defies claims that the group is weakening. Rebels also loot villages for food and supplies, and abduct adults and children to fight for them. The attacks also serve to divert military resources towards defending civilians instead of pursuing the rebels.
Children have been affected the most acutely by this conflict, with thousands abducted, used as soldiers and sex slaves, beaten and forced to torture and kill friends, family and innocent people. Those lucky enough to escape the clutches of the LRA deal with ongoing psychological trauma from their experiences, and face huge problems reintegrating back into their communities. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes and are forced to live in camps with poor sanitation and health facilities. Even those not directly in contact with the LRA suffer the consequences of poor education due to schools being destroyed by rebels and not being able to afford fees.
Child Soldiers in Uganda
Most of the troubles in Uganda are primarily in the North in the Acholi Region and the Karamoja region of Uganda. In the Acholi region millions of people are forced to flee from their homes and villages because of the governments conflict with Joseph Kony's 'Lords Resistance Army'(LRA). The Karamoja region has been affected by years of tribal violence. cattle raiding causes violence between families and villages and due to climate change and the decrease of natural resources the violence continues and is devasting lives of children and their families.
The start of this video shows briefly child soldiers in Uganda and the rest is how warchild has contributed to helping these children to a better future.
(www.warchild.org.uk)
The start of this video shows briefly child soldiers in Uganda and the rest is how warchild has contributed to helping these children to a better future.
(www.warchild.org.uk)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)