Abductions by Joseph Kony’s rebel army contribute to hundreds of missing children in central Africa each year. This is a story of one still missing.
Akello Rosemary’s first born was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army in September of 2002. He was only 12 years old and studying at Layibi Central. Rosemary was living with her family in an internally displaced person’s (IDP) camp. Because of the limited access to food in the camps, families continued to farm their land, sometimes remaining in the village during the harvest season despite the risk of LRA attack. On the day Ojok Daniel Opoka was abducted, Rosemary had taken her family to the village to help harvest groundnuts.
“We were sleeping when they arrived. They ordered all the children out and we could hear them ordering my son to pick items from the house. He would do it fast not knowing that they wanted to see how fast he was. I could hear them say my son is sharp and would make a good soldier.”
Daniel was abducted alongside his stepsister, but she was released later that night. According to the accounts of his stepsister, he was not the only one abducted that night; many other children were abducted, most of them boys.
Rosemary describes her son as a hard-working, obedient and loving boy who would do anything to protect his siblings. He was always top of his class and wanted to be a lawyer when he grew up. “All his dreams were shattered by the LRA,” she said.
One of Rosemary’s treasured possessions is a photo she has of Daniel. “When I miss him or start having thoughts of him, I look at the photo,” she says with tears rolling down from her eyes. “It brings me so much pain but I cannot let go of it because it is the only memory I have of my son.”
Although Rosemary says she feels powerless to bring her son back, she still prays for his safe return.
“Only God knows if my son will come back. I had hoped that he would come back sooner but it’s been over 10 years now,” Rosemary said. “However I still have hope that one day he will come back because I hear on radio that others come back even after 12 years. I pray that one day I receive a call that he is back or I see him walk through my door. The only thing I would ask of God is to keep him alive and bring him back to me, it has been long.”
Ojok Daniel is the boy holding the orange balloon in this family photo
Think people should hear about this?