December 08, 2004

Childhood Torture in Uganda. Alex Tien was just 11-years-old when he was abducted. . . . [H]is initiation involved being forced to hack a man to death and drink his blood -- a rebel tactic to brainwash, brutalise and dehumanise those they capture. Caution: Unpleasant photos inside.

For years the Lords Resistance Army has carried out horriffic atrocities in Uganda; the world hasn't felt the need to take any urgent action. Kinda makes you wonder how people can give a rat's ass about the Grammy nominations, eh?

posted by scartol 20 years ago
  • I've seen atrocities first hand throughout Central America and often come back to the States wondering the same thing; how can people just get on with their lives nonchalantly while all this pain and misery exist. Answer: we have to. The human psyche cannot take on that kind of overwhelming grief for too long, it is much-to-much soul crushing. Having said that, Uganda is this generation's Cambodian killing fields.
  • I briefly shared a flat in London with this guy did a series of photo studies of child soldiers in Africa. Here's his work on the mutilated of Sierra Leone
  • That's been going on for 18 years? Holy shit, have I been out to lunch all that time? I guess I have. Since I have no magic words to fix this stuff, and can't go there in my super-little old lady costume to fight the evil forces, what do I do? Email the UN and the whole US government? If it's just me emailing, do I think they'd pay attention? Are there any sites out there which offer ways to offer a protest which isn't just me? All those faces. Too much to shine on. Unbearable, really.
  • This is what evil looks like. It's real. Never forget that.
  • Are there any sites out there which offer ways to offer a protest which isn't just me? There are many. Amnesty International, International Community of the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, and Derechos to name a few. Keep in mind, however, that while you may support any number of these organizations, you're still going to be just you.
  • Argh! s/Community/Committee/
  • Absolutely sickening.
  • How terribly tragic.
  • Has your government signed I thought the US was holding out because we were nervous about letting military recruiters get at the high school kiddies? (The UNICEF site says we signed.)
  • I know several nations signed but also entered reservations, scartol. As I recall, the UK recruits 16 year olds, so made some lame promise not to send them to a war zone "unless they really had to".
  • Yes, like if -- for instance -- their government decided to wage an illegal war of occupation for imperialist goals, say?
  • And this is among the things that angered me so about Iraq and makes US motives there seem so suspect. There are places in the world that the US could intervene and actually save a lot of lives. There is a risk of supporting someone whose hands are not clean, but, overall, many lives can be saved. There is just no reason in the world other than oil that can be given to justify "liberating" Iraq while allowing Uganda, Sudan, and others to go on.
  • I wonder how much of the non-action in regards to the LRA is because they are Christian (albiet a weird flavor of Christian, but Christian).
  • Fairly off topic. I was looking around to see what the historical judgement on Cuban intervention in Africa was and found this which also covers previous US interventions on the continent. Kissinger is a bare-faced liar. Who knew?
  • I wouldn't call them 'christian' would call them a cult. I agree bernockle but Uganda doesn't have oil ;)