Night Commuters (14th July)

The night commuters are still here. While their number may have decreased, there are still thousands in Gulu and Kitgum, plus the security in Pader is still bad and numbers are even higher there. While the total number may have decreased from the 45 000 children it has been at peak, from people I have spoken to I would have a rough guess that the number is still around 20 000. That is 20 000 children too many. 20 000 children walking into the urban centres each night for fear of abduction. Walking for their lives. Even if it was 200 it would be 200 too many.

Some children are still commuting from areas that at the moment are considered “safe”. When I asked them why, many said there is no longer room at their homes for them but most also said they were still scared. They have thought they have been safe before and the rebels have reentered their villages and again started attacking. It is certainly a risk that I would not be willing to take.

Some of you, I hope, have been reading some of my entries and wondering what you can do about the situation in northern Uganda. Firstly, there is a petition you can sign at www.guluwalk.com/sign, plus on October 21st this year the second GuluWalk Day will be held around the world. Last years GuluWalk saw thousands of people in over 40 cities walk for the children in northern Uganda and I believe that the awareness raised through this and other initiatives is a major reason I am witnessing the improvements I am seeing. This year over 100 cities have signed up. I will be organising the walk in Perth and those from other states and countries can check the website to find out about walks in your area. Please join me in this initiative to help bring a normal life to the children here. Even if a peace deal is reached under the current peace talks, it will still be a long time before things will go back to “normal”. These children don’t even know what normal is. They have been displaced from their home villages and for years have walked each night to the towns just to stay alive.

While it may sound removed to your own life at home and just one of those many crises all around the world, I ask you to imagine if you had to send your own son/daughter/grandchild/sister/brother/etc to walk into the city each night, even though the risks (eg rape, HIV/AIDS infection) were high, but not as high as the risk if they were abducted from your home – where they would be tortured and trained to be killers. For many of us it is difficult to fathom. Believe me, the parents here care just as much for their kids as parents do at home.