By Praying
Uganda 🇺🇬 “When women return from war, life can be very difficult. Some have been injured, some are disfigured. Those who do not have physical injuries have mental issues that need to be dealt with.
Like many women, I was forced to get pregnant while the fighting was going on. When a woman is experiencing labour pains and there are heavy bombardments, you have to keep on moving, there is not always food to eat.
“We were like wild animals. We would give birth, then instead of taking care of us after giving birth, you just have to carry the child and start moving again.”
Of course the impact of abusing a child also takes away the intimate feelings from the victim, because you begin to believe that all men are the same because of the pain you went through.
My advice for perpetrators is that they should come and apologise to us for violating young girls.
To the victims: Victims should move on, they should not think about what happened to them in the past. And secondly, they should take care of their children whatever circumstances they were born in during the war. Because whether they were born through rape or not, they are still your children and you should take care of them.
“Victims should know they are heroes and heroines just by looking at amount of time they spent in captivity.”
Some were there for 10 years, others were there for 20 years. Victims should not lose hope in life, no matter what they have to conquer their circumstances. They can look at what is happening in other countries, some children were thrown in the street but they still grew up. Others were raped by their own parents but they are still surviving. They should not lose hope, they should continue praying to the same god they used to pray to while they were still in captivity. We help women victims of war to earn a direct income from making crafts or selling small things in the market. ”
Evelyn Amony was abducted aged 11 during the war in Northern Uganda and forced to marry Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Founder and Leader Joseph Kony. She was rescued by the Ugandan military in 2004 after 11 years of being held captive. Evelyn is now chair of the Women’s Advocacy Network and wrote a memoir is entitled: “I Am Evelyn Amony: Reclaiming My Life from the Lord's Resistance Army”.
Forced pregnancy was ruled a war crime earlier this year during the conviction of former LRA warlord Dominic Ongwen. Journalist and documentary producer Jazzmin Jiwa was reporting on the ruling for the The New Humanitarian as part of their peacebuilding coverage, when she met Evelyn in Gulu. Check out the backstory on this Instagram highlight:
