Lakendra Richey
Professor Tetterton
ENGL 1100-110
Final Project
06 December 2012
Kidnapping is Sometimes Easier on the Other Side
In the United States of America, a
nation that holds a population of approximately three hundred million, a child
is kidnapped every forty seconds (U.S. & World Population Clocks). Even though this number adds up to a large
sum of 765,000 a year (U.S. & World), ironically, there is always some type
of rescue squad or Amber alert in motion to help find these missing
children. Moreover, if these missing children
are fortunate enough to be broadcasted on the news, due to their family
contacting the media, many companies and people offer large sums of money to
anyone who has useful information in hopes of each child’s safe return
home. However, in the country of Uganda,
technology is not as advanced so therefore the numbers are not as precise. Uganda boasts a fairly small population of
approximately thirty-three million (Raffaele), but a vast ratio of that number
decreases day by day due to Uganda’s increasing rate of children being
kidnapped. Statistics show that over
20,000 kids have gone missing in Uganda year-to-date (Uganda’s Child Soldier). Although this number may seem significantly
smaller in comparison to the United States; both countries actually have around
the same percentage of kidnappings each year, which roughly equates to less
than one percent. However, the difference
between these two nations lies in the actions put forth to combat the issues of
abduction and public safety that is constantly being tainted by violators amongst
their societies. While the United States’ government grants billions of dollars
to fund federal programs that return children safely to their parents, Uganda’s
government allows rebels to steal their own people in staggering numbers. Also
when these violators have been caught, the United States takes immediate action
to prosecute the kidnappers; Uganda, however, tries a more peaceful approach by
granting amnesty to the leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army in exchange for
the children’s safe return home.
Each year, many children in the
United States are kidnapped in order to pleasure the fantasies of pedophiles, to
fulfill the dreams of infertile women, and even in some cases for the
entertainment of torturing. In Uganda,
most of the children are being kidnapped for solely one purpose; that purpose is
to become a member of the Lord’s Resistance Army and fight one man’s war. This man is Joseph Kony. Joseph Kony is a man
who has no mercy towards mankind let alone an innocent, defenseless child. He
is believed to possess demonic powers that link him to the spiritual world
(Wearn). As a myth of these powers became a reality amongst many people, there
has been complete decimation in many Ugandan villages, which has many children
growing up with the fear of a hopeless future. As a result, the children now
realize that they are human items to be captured, while discovering that their
government is virtually non-existent. Due to the Ugandan government becoming
virtually non-existent and allowing the Lord’s Resistance Army to take over,
the conflicts between them has done nothing, but burden the people of this country.
Over the past two decades, the issue
between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army has caused the displacement
of almost two million people (Talwar). The government has provided “safety
camps” that are filled with approximately 7,000 temporary beds to house people
in the city of Gulu (“Midnight’s Children”).
However, the phrase “safety camps” is an understatement; the camps are actually
meant for internally displaced persons, lacking clean drinking water and
adequate sanitary facilities. Thus, making theft an easy access and murder more
common in their present day society due to the ruthless warlords under Kony’s
control.
A local Ugandan, Elijah, a former father
of fourteen children described the camps as being very bad and most of them
died due to the conditions of the camps and the rest were killed by rebels. He also
comments that he would “Rather die than live anymore of this life because people
have lost their morals and that it’s sad to only be able to relax in the day,
but have an increased sense of fear and worry as soon as the sun sets” (“Midnight’s
Children”).
In the United States, there are also
camps that have been set up to help its citizens out of poverty, but only in
the sense of helping them acquire a stable financial foundation. These camps are referred to as government
housing or in another sense, the projects.
Government housing in the United States also suffers from the negative impacts
of theft and murder. However, the consequences of these crimes are much more
severe than those committed in Uganda. A convict who commits a crime in the
United States can serve anywhere from a year to life without parole and
possibly even the death sentence depending upon the severity of the crime they
committed. While a convict in Uganda can commit the exact crime and fail to receive
punishment unless it is acted upon on a personal basis.
Even though these two countries differ
dramatically between the differences in how the government prefers to act upon certain
situations, one fact remains true for each country and that fact is that every abducted
child, no matter the country, has a story to tell about the pain they endured
(mentally or physically) while living through the nightmare of captivity.
Laweel, an Ugandan teenager who had been
held captive by the Lord’s Resistance Army, was mutilated and forced to eat her
own flesh along with ten other females who had to fight the rebels. (Andersson). Afterwards they were humiliated in front of
many people and forced to eat every bit of their own flesh. They were then sent
home as an example to others as to what can happen if the orders of the Lord’s
Resistance Army were disrespected (Andersson).
After this traumatic experience, each day she is reminded of her tragic
ordeal. She senses deep feelings of
shame and defeat due to the looks of appallment she receives from people in her
village once they have seen the disfigurement of her face.
Elizabeth, an American teenager, was
held captive in the basement of her abductor and mothered seven children with
him. Three of the children were forced
to live in the basement with her while the other four were raised by her
abductor and his wife. When they were
discovered, they had been in the cellar for so long that they had developed
their own type of communication which featured grunts, growls, and animal like
sounds (Frater). Although Elizabeth’s
abduction doesn’t house as much severity as Laweel’s, each of them, involuntarily
took part in the crime of abduction.
They each were made to take a horrible keepsake to remind them of their
time spent with each one of their kidnappers.
Laweel, will always receive that same look from strangers for the rest
of her life due to the extensive disfigurement done to her face. Also,
Elizabeth will always remember the times spent in the cellar of her abductor’s
house due to the seven children she mothered with him because each child is a
part of her and that can never be taken away (Frater). Both of these young women are victims of
circumstance and rage, but their stories are only amongst the thousands that
have not yet to be heard. The fact that
there are still stories that have yet to be heard is evidence, that both
countries, Uganda and the United States, should work on ways to fill the void
that is allowing criminals to sneak through and have the opportunity to take
advantage of a system that has failed.
Even though Uganda is considered an
undeveloped country and the United States is considered developed, each country
has the same problem that is heavily associated with abduction. Uganda might have fewer resources than the United
States, but there are still many ways to protect the children of that country. For instance, Uganda can solicit for global
help in order to help find Kony and bring him to justice instead of offering
him amnesty in place of allowing all of the children to be returned home. Secondly, Uganda should began to question the
missing 90% of the $130 million from the humanitarian community so that efforts
can be made in order to provide the necessary resources needed to place people
in safer environments so that the abduction rate can be reduced (Talwar). Equally as important, Uganda should also
offer options for food and clean water to the citizens so that they will be in
better health to fight in numbers.
The United States should use their
technology to make it easier for citizens to track criminals. A proposed method
to control abductors can lead to the innovation of a GPS chip that is injected
into the arm of a criminal in order for their location to always be known by
the people around them. Awareness ads should be advertised on billboards,
televisions, radios, and even made to be a requirement in schools so that
children and parents will be more educated on why the buddy system should be
used and also taught the skill to be more aware of their surroundings.
Unfortunately, the ways of keeping
children safe has yet to be considered a main issue. Therefore, the percentage
of children missing in the United States versus those missing in Uganda will
began to outweigh each other over and over.
Children will continue to be forced to leave their rightful home against
their will and parents will continue to feel that same separation anxiety until
a change is made in either country. We
will constantly be reminded of tragedies with stories like that of scarred
victims like Laweel and Elizabeth and we will also constantly hear of “safety camps” or “the projects” being
subject to crime until the issue is fixed by each country instead of being
covered up with temporary fixes. Unfortunately,
these are not the only two countries that are suffering from abduction issues,
but they are two of the most prevalent in present day news. Once every country comes together as one and
helps each other create new ways to keep their citizens, mostly children, safe
then the abduction rate will continue to climb until the situation spirals out
of control.
Works Cited
Andersson,
Hilary. Uganda’s Lost Innocents. BBC
News, 2003. Web. 27 Sept. 2012
Frater,
Jamie. 10 Terrible Cases of Kidnapping
and Abuse. Listverse, 2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2012.
“Midnight’s
Children” Harper’s Magazine 309.1851
(2004): 22. Student Edition. Web. 21
Sept. 2012.
Raffaele,
Paul. Uganda: The Horror. People
& Places, 2005. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.
Talwar,
Namrita. “Fostering Terror: Child Soldier Crisis in Uganda.” UN Chronicle 41.2 (2004): 7. Student
Edition. Web. 8 Sept. 2012.
Uganda’s Child Soldier.
Kabiza Wilderness Safaris, 2011. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.
U.S. & World
Population Clocks. United States Census Bureau, 2012.
Web. 6 Sept. 2012.
Wearn,
Rebecca. “The Long Wait for Peace.” New
Internationalist 40.3 (2007): 21. Student Edition. Web. 15
Sept. 2012.
