
After Kony
Reintegration of ex-child soldiers
Ex-child soldiers face big challenges when they are finally released, in trying to reintegrate in their communities. Can a boy who is forced to kill and slaughter ever return to his innocence state? How come a raped woman is often stigmatized and blamed for the crime that is done to her? The terror caused by the Lord's Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony is one of Africa's longest running and most hidden conflicts. Over the last three decades, the rebel group has been operating in the north of Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan, north-east Congo and is currently in Central African Republic. The LRA has been blamed for the slaughter of more than 100,000 people, rape, sexual enslavement, mutilation, maiming and the kidnapping of more than 60,000 children. Once abducted, young boys are forced to serve as a soldier in the army, girls are used as sexual slaves and domestic servants. Stigmatizing is a big problem during the reintegration of these children after their release. In Lira (Uganda), the Rachele School is giving councelling and education to formerly abducted children. Even though the 'life in the bush' is for these children already some years ago, they are still vulnerable.
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