InsideAfrica

January 2012

Published by Nilus Tong

FeaturingInterveiwsMusicPoemsAnd more!!

“Poyo too pe rewny”“Death is a scar that never heals”

-Acholi Saying

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Table of ContentsTable of ContentsTable of Contents

Fight like Solidiers Die like ChildrenAn interveiw With Kitino Jacob 4-54-5

TOP Song of the yearTOPTOP6-76-7Featuring the top songs of the yearFeaturing the top songs of the yearFeaturing the top songs of the year

88A poem written by Nilus TOngA poem written by Nilus TOng

9-119-11War BrothersWar BrothersWar BrothersA book reviewA book review

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An African TaleAn African TaleAn African Tale

Biography:13 years old Jacob grew up in the safety of his rich father whose status as a landlord in Gulu, Uganda enables him to have privileges that normal boys in his village wouldn’t have. Spending his days idly playing with his friends, he has a very light and fun attitude and cares for noth-ing but soccer and math-ematics. Thanks to his great mathematics skills, he earned a spot to attend George Jones Seminary School for boys. Soon after his first day of school he meets Norman who

puts his mathematical skills to the test. His life is forev-er changed when on the first night of school the Lords Re-sistance Army breaks into the school and abducts him and his classmates. He has heard rumors about the LRA and

their ruth-less ways of fight-ing, they recruit children to fight for their so called Holy war, but when he gets captured he has a chance to

experience it first hand. We now talk with Jacob about the life he lived before being captured, joining the school, and being captured by the LRA.

Fight like Solidiers

Die like ChildrenAn interview with Kitino Jacob

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Q) When you met the new boy Norman what was your first im-pression as a math competitor and as a total stranger?

A) My initial impression was that “He’s so small. Why do we have to babysit this kid.” But when I learned that he was very good at mathemat-ics I cursed the day that he was born. First I have to take care of him but now I have a new competitor in the math contest. I must admit though I did feel a little sorry for him, he was always alone during Church and he has no friends Q) You lived a life of safety and pleasure before you were captured by the LRA, how did the sudden change feel?

A) The sudden change gave me a shock when we began to march it took me a few minutes to re-alize what was going on. It was weird being treated so poorly and having guns pointed at us. I lived with my father who had guards that protected us.

Q) If the LRA didn’t raid the school would you still be as friendly to Norman as you would’ve been if it didn’t hap-pen?

A) To be completely honest I don’t think I would have been that good and caring of a friend to Norman if the LRA hadn’t raided the school be-cause he is so small and shy. I might not have even noticed him that much if they hadn’t raided the school.

Q) If Tony hadn’t been forced to kill Adam do you think that he wouldn’t have joined the LRA in a willing way?

A) When Tony was forced to kill Adam it really affected him because he wanted to be a priest when he grew up but to be a priest you have to not sin that much or else you seem like a bad priest or you won’t even become one. He just kind of died on the inside after that. He turned into a walking corpse he showed barely any emotion and just ignored us.

Q) When you saw the girl that had her ears cut off how did it make you feel towards the LRA and towards the girl herself?

A) I felt really afraid of the LRA at that point. I mean cut-ting somone’s ears off that’s just Isn’t right.

The Interview

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When I get older, they'll call me free-domJust like a Waving Flag.

[Chorus]When I get older, I will be stronger,They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,And then it goes back, and then it goes back,And then it goes back

Born to a throne, stronger than RomeBut Violent prone, poor people zone,But it's my home, all I have known,Where I got grown, streets we would roam.But out of the darkness, I came the farthest,Among the hardest survival.Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,Except no defeat, surrender retreat,

So we struggling, fighting to eat andWe wondering when we'll be free,So we patiently wait, for that fateful day,It's not far away, so for now we say

[Chorus]When I get older, I will be stronger,They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,And then it goes back, and then it goes back,And then it goes back

So many wars, settling scores,Bringing us promises, leaving us poor,I heard them say, love is the way,Love is the answer, that's what they say,But look how they treat us, Make us believers,We fight their battles, then they deceive us,Try to control us, they couldn't hold us,Cause we just move forward like Buf-falo Soldiers.

But we struggling, fighting to eat,And we wondering, when we'll be freeSo we patiently wait, for that faithful day,It's not far away, but for now we say,

[Chorus]When I get older, I will be stronger,They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,And then it goes back, and then it goes back,And then it goes back

When I get older, I will be stronger,They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,And then it goes back, and then it goes back,And then it goes back

(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)And everybody will be singing it(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)And you and I will be singing it(Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhhh Ohhhh)And we all will be singing it(Ohhh Ohh Ohh Ohh)

[Chorus]When I get older, I will be stronger,They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,And then it goes back, and then it goes back,And then it goes back

When I get older, I will be stronger,They'll call me freedom, just like a Waving Flag,And then it goes back, and then it goes back,And then it goes back

When I get older, when I get olderI will be stronger, just like a Waving Flag,Just like a Waving Flag, just like a Waving flagFlag, flag, Just like a Waving Flag

They Call me Freedom

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For Freedom We WaitI feel that the theme of this song is representing the history of Af-rica or what is currently happen-ing in Africa. At the beginning of the song it starts off with a very dismal beginning. It says that he was born to a throne but it’s in a poor people zone. Simply stated he was lucky enough to be born in the safety of some-one in a very poor area. In many countries in Africa it is like this, the difference in numbers of how many people that are poor to rich is highly in contrast. It also states in the song “out of the darkness I came the farthest” I think this means that he survived the most and that he left others behind.

The song begins with “When I get older, they’ll call me free-domJust like a Waving Flag.” I be-lieve that this means that in the future they will call him freedom

because of what he’s done like help people in distress since this song was made or Africa. I believe they used the flag as a symbol of freedom because a flag represents a country on who they are and what they stand for.

This song relates to “War Broth-ers” because it starts off saying that he was born in a rich and safe home that was in a poor and violent area of the country just like in the book. Also in the chorus of the song it talks about freedom and how he would become it. The main character of my book also wants freedom and he is helping other people achieve it so in a way he is free-dom. And one of the lines in the song is “ So we struggling, fight-ing to eat” In the book it talks about only the fighters or soldiers can get food.

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I am from the single worn out soccer ball in the village. From the many liked to the very envied. I am from the chalky, and scorched streets that thousands trek on everyday. I am from the colossal and dry baobab tree which creeks when the parched wind blows, whose roots grow deeper than my great grandfathers grave. I am from the long walks in the night just to squeeze into an over worn church like sardines in a can. From the wild and dangerous safari that strangers come to hunt. I am from the fortress that people stay for protection. From the sturdy guards at the doors that patrol the treacherous nights. I am from the lighthearted and blissful days carefree from all worries in the world. From the carefree days of playing soccer with my friends. I am from safeguarded schools filled with the smell of musty books. From the great mathematicians to the astounding athletes. I am from frightening school abductions to those who have nearly slept for eternity. From waking up in the moist mud with a gun pointed at my head. I am from the savagely treated to those who have survived like the cockroach. From the hikes in grungy, clammy forests to the plains covered with tall, wispy grass. I am from frightening and humid moonless nights to dry and torrid days. From dishonorable raids on helpless towns to watching the innocent die as they wail for mercy. I reach for crushed dreams as they fall farther and farther into a hole that once used to be my soul. I am from the hopeful saviors to the hell bound sinners. I seek for repentance and justification to those who I have wronged and those who have wronged me.

African Tales

Book

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I am from the single worn out soccer ball in the village. From the many liked to the very envied. I am from the chalky, and scorched streets that thousands trek on everyday. I am from the colossal and dry baobab tree which creeks when the parched wind blows, whose roots grow deeper than my great grandfathers grave. I am from the long walks in the night just to squeeze into an over worn church like sardines in a can. From the wild and dangerous safari that strangers come to hunt. I am from the fortress that people stay for protection. From the sturdy guards at the doors that patrol the treacherous nights. I am from the lighthearted and blissful days carefree from all worries in the world. From the carefree days of playing soccer with my friends. I am from safeguarded schools filled with the smell of musty books. From the great mathematicians to the astounding athletes. I am from frightening school abductions to those who have nearly slept for eternity. From waking up in the moist mud with a gun pointed at my head. I am from the savagely treated to those who have survived like the cockroach. From the hikes in grungy, clammy forests to the plains covered with tall, wispy grass. I am from frightening and humid moonless nights to dry and torrid days. From dishonorable raids on helpless towns to watching the innocent die as they wail for mercy. I reach for crushed dreams as they fall farther and farther into a hole that once used to be my soul. I am from the hopeful saviors to the hell bound sinners. I seek for repentance and justification to those who I have wronged and those who have wronged me.

BookReview

WarBrothers

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“In each

of us there is a

possibility to be a beast, but also a pos-

sibility to reach the stars.” Eleanor Roosevelt. An amaz-

ing quote that explains human nature, this is a quote pulled from War brothers an amazing book. I believe that the curriculum should include the book War Brothers because it contains examples of complex characters and plots, hu-man nature and it provides a real-istic render of the world in areas of the world that usually not reported on and thought provoking.

The book War Brothers contains examples of complex characters and plots because in the book the main character, Jacob starts off living in a very privileged and safe life style in Africa. He gets good education and is one of the best mathematicians in the school. Almost instantly in the book after he heads off to a boarding school the Lords Resistance Army (LRA)

comes and kid-

naps all the kids to join their

child soldier army. Within the LRA ranks life

is brutal and rigorous, the higher ranks treat the rookies as

if they were trash. They heartlessly beat people down with the stocks of their guns, they make them march even if they have suffered a serious injury. This is quite literally the opposite of what Jacob has experienced before. There is also character called Musa Torac Hen-ry who is described as a thought-ful and sagacious. He is the son of Jacob’s father’s friend who goes missing. However though out the book one teenager is constantly picking on Jacob, they called him Lizard but at the end of the book you realize that the cruel and cold-hearted Lizard is actually Musa Torac Hen-ry. This is just one of many exam-ples of complex characters in this book. Another example of com-plex character is Jacob’s friend Toby. He started off as an angelic church loving boy but when the students were kidnapped he was forced to kill his friend. This trau-matic event turned him into an empty soulless shell. As the adven-ture goes on he strays farther and farther away towards the LRA.

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Another reason that this book should be included in the curricu-lum is because it talks about human nature and how certain experi-ences in life can affect our deci-sions. An example of this would be how Jacob was raised. Being raised in a privileged house he grew be-ing taught to be kind to people. He gives his own money to those who need it and support and care for those in distress. An example of this would be when there attempt to save a shy boy named Norman who gets taken to the LRA jail. Even though it was highly risky and they may have lost their lives. Another example of this in the book would be Oteka, unlike Jacob he grew up in a very impoverished fam-ily. He lost his whole family to AIDS and lived in a poorly made shack with an old nearly blind woman. He lived on the streets constantly look-ing for jobs and doesn’t trust any-one. When he joined the LRA and started an alliance with Jacob he didn’t trust any of Jacobs Friends as most of them were weak or too in far in the pit of despair which was the LRA. It shows examples of hu-man nature in this book because it shows that people are capable of horrendous acts such as beating children down and then dressing them up with guns and machetes just to send them out to raid villag-es. However it also shows that hu-mans are also capable of being the

light in the darkness, it shows that people are willing to put their own lives at risk just to save one person when they could’ve just turned and walked away.

Last but not least this book is very thought provoking and it provides a realistic render of the world in areas of the world that usually not reported on, some examples in this book is the fact that most of us will probably never experience something like this but hundreds of children in Africa have to put up with this. It makes you realize how lucky we are to live in such a safe environment. It shows how we in a way are very selfish because some of us just simply turn our backs and walk away from things like this. This book brings up topics like this so we discuss things like this so we can do something to stop things like this. This could soon lead to other topics like child trafficking and so on this is why I think this should be included into the curriculum.

Overall this book should be in-cluded in the curriculum because it brings up important topics such as child soldiers. It is also filled with complex characters an plots. Last but not least it shows examples of human nature, both the good and bad side of the human.

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Help bring awarness toward child soldiers.

Children

See their stroies on the INVISIBLE

CHILDREN websiteYou can make a difference

Go to www.lracrisist

racker.com to

use the LRA crisis tracker to learn

about LRA recent activity.

Invisible