Abductions by Joseph Kony’s rebel army have contributed to thousands of missing children throughout East and central Africa. This is a story of one still missing.
Odong Martin was released after being abducted by the LRA. His brother Oryem Simon is still missing.
One evening in 1997, the Lord’s Resistance Army attacked a home in Gulu District, leaving the family devastated. Two of the sons, Odong Martin, 19, and Oryem Simon, 18, were abducted. Their father, Akena John, and their uncle Vincent were killed.
“My father was pleading and offered himself instead for us to be spared; they mocked him and hacked him and my uncle to death,” Martin remembered. The brothers were forced to walk all night, and at dawn Martin was released.
Simon had been in secondary school, studying to become a lawyer one day.
“He would always tease me and brag that one day he will be a lawyer,” Martin recalled. “He referred to me as a farmer because I loved farming and animals more.”
Martin said that in 2001, one of the boys from their village escaped and informed them that Simon was still alive. Since then, Martin has never heard anything concerning his brother.
“My brother loved playing traditional music instruments like lukeme (thumb piano) and was a member of a music group in this village,” Martin said. “Every time I listen to the kind of music he loved, I remember him and wish he was still with us.”
Martin said that his family lost hope of seeing Simon again, and decided to perform funeral rites for him.
“I know of families who have performed funeral rites for a brother or father, and later on their loved ones came back,” said Martin. “We still love him so much.”
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