Akello Mary received the news that her brother Walter returned home to Uganda in December as one of the Zemio 19. She was eager to see him again. But, in addition to reuniting with Walter for the first time in many years, she also hoped to share messages of encouragement to more members of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to peacefully surrender.

Mary herself is a formerly abducted person. She went by another name in captivity, due to fear that members of the LRA would be able to trace her if she escaped. Ever since her escape, she has been living peacefully with her family. Mary returned from the bush in 2005 with known LRA commander Sam Kolo, another reintegration success story.

IMG_4203

Mary records radio messages with a member of Invisible Children’s defection team.

She had this message to share:

“Now I speak to you who are still in the bush; be courageous for what we were told while in captivity were just lies to brainwash us. I used to honor those lies before I came out…However, I used to listen to radio every Tuesday and Thursday. During these talks, I would hear one person speak today and another time speak another thing. But from the bush they kept deceiving us that those people’s voices were recorded after which they were killed.”

She mentioned that, while in the bush, she was told that people were killed in horrible ways after recording these messages – forced into labor or to eat porridge mixed with broken bottles. But, she emphasizes, this is not actually true.

“I found those whom we were lied about are all alive. The kind of welcome we were given at World Vision is incomparable that is why I still speak now. I was abducted way back in 1997 and now we are in 2014. I came back and I am in good health. So please, come back home because the life in captivity is full of propaganda.”

She encouraged making a quick escape when the next opportunity presented itself.

“Remember, from there if you come across a road, the only response is to run away at a breath taking speed. If you hear my voice, it should be an encouragement to you. Just hide somewhere during battle and go through civilians if they are found in the areas where you are. They too, will not do any harm to you.”