Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2008, Page 37
children under the same regime may fit into different psychological categories, and
therefore, mass diagnosis—i.e., labeling children ‗brainwashed,‘ sociopathic, symptomatic of
‗post-traumatic stress,‘ or victims—is impossible. Moreover, mass diagnosis has major
effects for current and escaped LRA abductees.21 For example, the UPDF‘s controversial
policy of shooting escaped children before they perform a violent act results from the
UPDF‘s fear that all children in the LRA are brainwashed, vicious killers.
Many people believe that children in the LRA are ruthless and are easily brainwashed: ―‗The
rebels ...target the children, because they are brainwashed very fast ...and when they do
something they don‘t really reason: ―What I am doing is bad‖...‘‖ (an escapee quoted in
Allen 2006, 42). Most abducted children, however, do not become as violent or obedient as
the LRA hopes. Escapees from the LRA often express that they always knew violence was
wrong, but they were frightened of what would happen if they disobeyed. The consequences
of disobedience are severe—physical abuse, death, or escape into an ambivalent (often
hostile) society. The majority of escapees, however, are children who committed atrocities
but did not internalize their experience in the LRA as a desirable or permanent part of their
identities. These children, therefore, cannot speak for all children who remain in the
movement.
Nevertheless, many escapees find that their history with the LRA makes it difficult to
suppress their violent tendencies after they enter a rehabilitation center or return home.
Anthony Vinci (2005, 37) mentions that there are some instances of ―sociopathic returnees
killing siblings because they ‗would not be quiet‘‖ (Vinci 2005, 37). Moreover, a girl who
spoke to the Sunday Vision (2007) informed journalists that she attempted to murder her
sister despite her guilt regarding her former involvement with the LRA. These returnees‘
violent compulsions reflect the strict obedience and severe punishment that they
experienced within the LRA.
Even with the terror that the LRA inflicts, northern Ugandans and their children suffer the
most from fear and instability as people abandon their way of life to seek refuge from
violent terrorism to find only unsafe living conditions within internally displaced persons‘
camps. This article has focused specifically on the role of children within the LRA because
without children—most of whom are unwilling participants—the LRA could not maintain its
power. The LRA forces children to attack and mutilate their own communities, while it
isolates them in extremely harsh conditions. The LRA‘s use of religious jargon, psychological
manipulation, and physical abuse makes both escape and disobedience to its rules seem
impossible for many children. Most children abducted by the LRA die from the environment
and the violence that direct the lives of LRA soldiers. Children who survive the environment,
however, must either fulfill the roles that the LRA forces upon them while they are awaiting
escape, or internalize the LRA‘s violent lifestyle. As a result, many LRA members appear to
be ruthless soldiers, and many escapees appear to be helpless victims. In reality, however,
it is impossible to tell which children are pretending to internalize their roles in the LRA and
which cannot successfully leave the group.
Bibliography
Allen, Tim. (2006). Trial Justice: the International Criminal Court and the Lord‟s Resistance Army. New
York: Zed Books.
Amnesty International. (1997). “Breaking God‟s Commands”: the Destruction of Childhood by the
Lord‟s Resistance Army. New York: Amnesty International United States of America. Accessed on
13 February 2006 from http://web.amnesty.org
/library/pdf/AFR590011997ENGLISH/$File/AFR5900197.pdf.
Behrend, Heike. (1998). ―War in Northern Uganda.‖ African Guerrillas. Ed. Christopher Clapham.
Indiana: Indiana University Press. 107-118.
------.(1999a). Alice Lakwena and the Holy Spirits: War in Northern Uganda, 1985-1997. Trans. Mitch
Cohen. Oxford, UK: J. Currey.
children under the same regime may fit into different psychological categories, and
therefore, mass diagnosis—i.e., labeling children ‗brainwashed,‘ sociopathic, symptomatic of
‗post-traumatic stress,‘ or victims—is impossible. Moreover, mass diagnosis has major
effects for current and escaped LRA abductees.21 For example, the UPDF‘s controversial
policy of shooting escaped children before they perform a violent act results from the
UPDF‘s fear that all children in the LRA are brainwashed, vicious killers.
Many people believe that children in the LRA are ruthless and are easily brainwashed: ―‗The
rebels ...target the children, because they are brainwashed very fast ...and when they do
something they don‘t really reason: ―What I am doing is bad‖...‘‖ (an escapee quoted in
Allen 2006, 42). Most abducted children, however, do not become as violent or obedient as
the LRA hopes. Escapees from the LRA often express that they always knew violence was
wrong, but they were frightened of what would happen if they disobeyed. The consequences
of disobedience are severe—physical abuse, death, or escape into an ambivalent (often
hostile) society. The majority of escapees, however, are children who committed atrocities
but did not internalize their experience in the LRA as a desirable or permanent part of their
identities. These children, therefore, cannot speak for all children who remain in the
movement.
Nevertheless, many escapees find that their history with the LRA makes it difficult to
suppress their violent tendencies after they enter a rehabilitation center or return home.
Anthony Vinci (2005, 37) mentions that there are some instances of ―sociopathic returnees
killing siblings because they ‗would not be quiet‘‖ (Vinci 2005, 37). Moreover, a girl who
spoke to the Sunday Vision (2007) informed journalists that she attempted to murder her
sister despite her guilt regarding her former involvement with the LRA. These returnees‘
violent compulsions reflect the strict obedience and severe punishment that they
experienced within the LRA.
Even with the terror that the LRA inflicts, northern Ugandans and their children suffer the
most from fear and instability as people abandon their way of life to seek refuge from
violent terrorism to find only unsafe living conditions within internally displaced persons‘
camps. This article has focused specifically on the role of children within the LRA because
without children—most of whom are unwilling participants—the LRA could not maintain its
power. The LRA forces children to attack and mutilate their own communities, while it
isolates them in extremely harsh conditions. The LRA‘s use of religious jargon, psychological
manipulation, and physical abuse makes both escape and disobedience to its rules seem
impossible for many children. Most children abducted by the LRA die from the environment
and the violence that direct the lives of LRA soldiers. Children who survive the environment,
however, must either fulfill the roles that the LRA forces upon them while they are awaiting
escape, or internalize the LRA‘s violent lifestyle. As a result, many LRA members appear to
be ruthless soldiers, and many escapees appear to be helpless victims. In reality, however,
it is impossible to tell which children are pretending to internalize their roles in the LRA and
which cannot successfully leave the group.
Bibliography
Allen, Tim. (2006). Trial Justice: the International Criminal Court and the Lord‟s Resistance Army. New
York: Zed Books.
Amnesty International. (1997). “Breaking God‟s Commands”: the Destruction of Childhood by the
Lord‟s Resistance Army. New York: Amnesty International United States of America. Accessed on
13 February 2006 from http://web.amnesty.org
/library/pdf/AFR590011997ENGLISH/$File/AFR5900197.pdf.
Behrend, Heike. (1998). ―War in Northern Uganda.‖ African Guerrillas. Ed. Christopher Clapham.
Indiana: Indiana University Press. 107-118.
------.(1999a). Alice Lakwena and the Holy Spirits: War in Northern Uganda, 1985-1997. Trans. Mitch
Cohen. Oxford, UK: J. Currey.
