Abductions by Joseph Kony’s rebel army have contributed to tens of thousands of missing children throughout East and central Africa. This is a story of one still missing.
Owiny Charles sat on a bench, twisting blades of grass in his hands while he shared memories of his daughter, Akello Vicky.
“My child loved playing with other children,” he said. “She loved chatting with her friends, and was welcoming to visitors.”
Vicky was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in 2003 when she was still in primary school. Charles recalled that on the night of her abduction, many relatives were at his home because they had been attending a funeral for a family member. They were sleeping when the LRA came.
“We woke up to find the LRA in my house,” Charles said. “They started beating us.”
They entered the room where Vicky was asleep with her cousins, taking Vicky and three other girls with them.
“The LRA tied all of their hands together,” Charles explained what he learned later from the girls who returned. “They were all walking together, then some were able to untie their hands and escape. Vicky wasn’t able to escape. She is still with the LRA. Everyone has returned home except her.”
It has been twelve years since Charles last saw Vicky. In the interim, he has heard reports from others who escaped that she was a babysitter for one of Joseph Kony’s daughters.
“A lot of people have told me that she may be dead,” Charles said. “I still have hope that she is alive because she was seen with Kony. If you are with top commanders, you are safer.”
Charles said that he prays God would do him a favor and keep Vicky alive. His message, if he could speak to his daughter, was this:
“As your father, Charles Owiny, I kindly beg you, my youngest daughter, if you are alive with Kony or living somewhere, please come home. There are people who can help you. The community leaders can help you come home.”
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