Meet Ochola John... Well, he is not in fact someone you are actually likely to meet in the street - at least not in Europe because Ochola John is from Uganda and unlikely to venture far from his homeland. Ochola is like many people we all know. Friends of ours. He has a nice home, a loving wife and a baby boy. He has a job, friends and, in common with the rest of the world he has his own problems. Unlike most us however he lacks certain body parts. He has no hands, no ears, no lips and no nose. And no, he wasn't born like that. A few years ago Ochola was kidnapped along with a number of other people from his village in northern Uganda and for 12 days they were tortured, mutilated and many of them killed.
Elsewhere in the country every night tens of thousands of children, known as the 'night commuters' walk long distances to local town centres. They do so, not for the nightlife the towns' have to offer, but for the protection afforded by large numbers of people gathered together. These children and their parents are afraid of what might happen to them in the night when men come to kill, kidnap and mutilate them. These men come mainly at night when families are sleeping. Children are separated and taken away. However, before being taken away the men have a little ploy to prevent them escaping and running back to their families. They force the children to kill their parents or other children in the village. Children with no parents or a place to return to will less likely try to escape. They have no where to run to even if they have a place to hide along the road.
The man responsible for these atrocities is Joseph Kony of the Lords Resistance Army. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague. However he travels freely in northern Uganda and South Sudan signing ‘peace deals’ with the government of Uganda who have reportedly offered him an amnesty. Joseph Kony is a terrorist in the true sense of the term – he inspires terror among the people of northern Uganda. Hundreds of thousands are unable to sleep in their own homes because of Joseph Kony. Ten of thousands can not walk or tie their shoelaces, or kiss their wives, or hear or see their children because of Joseph Kony. Many can not have children or have sex because of Joseph Kony.
If the Ugandan government offer him an amnesty it is more likely that you will meet Joseph Kony in the street than one of his victims. In case you don't know what he looks like, meet Joseph Kony...
