Even over the roar of the car’s engine, Bala Walter could hear women ululating and people cheering. The vehicle came to a stop and he climbed out, accompanied by team members from Invisible Children and World Vision who had played a role in his rehabilitation process.
But today was not about celebrating the efforts it took to bring Walter home in the first place. It was instead to celebrate his reunion with his family and his ability to take his life back after his abduction by the Lord’s Resistance Army and the 17 subsequent years he spent in captivity.
Walter is now 29-years-old. Since his abduction, he was forced to do unspeakable things as a young teen and now looks forward to starting a new life at home.
Walter performs a cultural ritual in front of his family and community members. He steps on an egg placed between two branches. The egg symbolizes purity and the opportunity to ask for forgiveness.
“I am almost feeling too excited to speak,” Walter’s grandfather Okello Joseph said. “The way the boy left home was not part of his nature, but we have now seen that he is back. When I first heard that he [returned], I did not believe it. But I accepted it. He is here and this message should not be doubted.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by other family members.
“I am too excited to talk now,” Walter’s brother Simon said.
“Today is a day of happiness,” said his uncle.
“Now we feel at peace,” echoed Walter’s mother Ajok Sabina.
Walter shakes hands with a member of his community.
Walter shared a few words with the crowd himself, but mostly grinned with a quiet smile throughout the afternoon. He embraced family members, including his youngest brother, his siblings’ spouses and a slew of nieces, nephews and cousins that he had never met before.
He greeted many local and district leaders and other community members who joined his family to welcome him home. The afternoon was filled with speeches and welcome messages, a shared meal and dancing.
Walter (in pink) is surrounded by members of his extended family during his first visit home since he was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army 17 years ago.
Walter was one of 19 individuals who escaped from the LRA in Central African Republic at the end of last year. This particular defection was the largest from CAR since 2008 and represented an enormous step in the slow but steadily increasing breakdown of LRA power throughout the region. The number of combatants still fighting in Kony’s army is dropping, due in part to the work of Invisible Children, our community-based partnerships throughout the region and the bravery of former abductees like Walter.
Walter’s mother (second from left) cheers as staff from World Vision and Invisible Children complete his “handover” process to local leadership.
Walter will return to the Children of War Rehabilitation Center in Gulu for follow-up counseling and support after a few weeks with his community. He awaits the receipt of official documentation from the Ugandan government and the Amnesty Commission recognizing his peaceful defection.
Before long, he will return home all together, welcomed back for good by his family and community.
Think people should hear about this?