BECOMING A CHILD SOLDIER: A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE FROM AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL VOICES OPIYO OLOYA A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HIGHER EDUCATION YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO MAY 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-68571-6 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-68571-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduce, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Nntemet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. •+• Canada COPYRIGHT STATEMENT BECOMING A CHILD SOLDIER: A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE FROM AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL VOICES By Opiyo Oloya a dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY © Permission has been granted to: a) YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES to lend or sell copies of this dissertation in paper, microform or electronic formats, and b) LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA to reproduce, lend, distribute, or sell copies of this dissertation anywhere in the world in microform, paper or electronic formats and to authorize or procure the reproduction, loan, distribution or sale of copies of this dissertation anywhere in the world in microform, paper or electronic formats. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the dissertation nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permission. ABSTRACT What happens when children are forced to become child soldiers? How are they transformed from children to combatants? What role does culture play in how children become and remain combatants? The purpose of this dissertation is to address the above questions by exploring how Acholi children abducted by the rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRM/A) in northern Uganda become child combatants. Using non-fictional autobiographical voices of child combatants, it explores how the competencies and disposition the children acquired through environmental and cultural backgrounds enhance their desirability for forced recruitment. Employing the theory which I term liminal repurposing of culture, I investigate how Acholi village children abducted by the LRM/A are forced to undergo specific manipulations of Acholi culture, and are subsequently transformed into child combatants. The main thrust of the study is grounded in the belief that Acholi children in rural northern Uganda are closely attached to their families and communities for physical, emotional and psychological development. After being abducted by the LRM/A and forced to undergo the process of transformation to become combatants, these children seek to restore some normalcy in their lives. They find sense of family and community within the repurposed culture of violence provided by the rebel force. Despite the violence of war, the child combatants develop a strong sense of loyalty to their substitute families within the rebel outfit. Key words: child combatant, violence, autobiographical voice, resilience, ethnocultural conflict, cultural devastation, cultural trauma iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Latin pepwoyo cak kor mine, a child does not thank his/her mother for the breast- milk, is an Acholi saying that acknowledges the inadequacy of words in expressing gratitude and appreciation for certain things in life. I believe that knowledge is one of those things. Still, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to Dr. Warren Crichlow, my dissertation supervisor. Your guidance, patience and support during this process have been most appreciated. I would also like to acknowledge the incisive and insightful suggestions and guidance provided by the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Deborah Britzman and Dr. Pablo Idahosa. You allowed me to walk to the edge of the forest without fear of what lurks beyond. Further appreciation goes to the oral examination panel members Dr. Amin Alhassan (Outside member), Dr. Mario DiPaolantonio (Dean's Representative), and Dr. Erin Baines (External Examiner, University of British Columbia) for your incisive and provocative, yet supportive questions and discussions Thank you to my friend Dr. Aparna Mishra Tare for your insistent and persistent support in the writing process. I also thank Dr. Onek Adyanga of Millersville University, Pennsylvania, Okello Patuda of Ottawa, Ontario, and Paska Otto, for your friendships, support and guidance in shaping deeper understanding of the issues facing the Acholi people. A special thank to my friends and colleagues within the York Catholic District School Board: Director Susan LaRosa for giving me the opportunity to travel to Uganda beginning in March 2000; my friend and colleague Sue Kralik for proof-reading; Sandra Tuzi-Decaro for always being there when I needed you. v I also wish to thank the staff of Gulu Support the Children Organisation (GUSCO), and especially Program Coordinator, Mr. Robert Okeny, for locating the former child combatants and providing a venue for conducting the research. I thank Gulu University, and specifically the Vice Chancellor, Dr. J. H. Nyeko Pen-Mogi for the use of research facilities. I could only make this journey because of my wife Emily and my sons, Oceng and Ogaba. Many a beautiful day was sacrificed because Daddy was at the computer. You kept me grounded so that I could keep on writing. Your love, support and understanding made it possible to peer through the window of knowledge into the world of children whose lives were forever stolen. Finally, to the many children in Acholi, northern Uganda, and elsewhere around the world who never experienced peaceful childhood because they were forced to become combatants. To them, I dedicate this work. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page i Copyright Statement ii Certificate page iii Abstract iv Acknowledgments v Table of contents vii 1. Introduction 1 Lanyut, pointer: War, culture and children in Northern Uganda 1 In search of cultural link. 8 Dano adana, human person. 17 Human personhood, suffering and hope 20 Culture as site of identity crisis for returning child soldiers 28 2. Theoretical considerations, possibilities and limitations 37 Getting the stories 44 Autobiography and voice 51 Fieldwork encounters in Northern Uganda 59 3. Post-colonial conflicts, ethnocultural pride and cultural devastation 67 Defending the ancestral homestead as Acholi ethnocultural identity 70 The colonial policy of promoting ethnocultural conflicts 75 The politics of ethnicity as prelude to conflict and cultural devastation 77 Cultural devastation and the rise of child soldiers 90 vii Defending the homestead and other responses to cultural devastation 97 The Lord's Resistance Movement/Army 99 4. Culture, identity and control in the LRM/A 109 Religious indoctrination and LRM/A's control of child combatants 112 The context of Stockholm Syndrome 115 Limitations of Stockholm Syndrome in explaining child soldiers 119 Toward a theory of liminal repurposing of Acholi culture 123 The eight phases in liminal transformation of children into soldiers 128 5. The autobiographical voices of becoming child soldiers 155 The Jola Amayo stories 155 The cultural context of an Acholi child prior to abduction by LRM/A 157 Prelude to abduction: Learning to look the LRM/A in the face •; 167 Abducted: A night of burglary, bullets and a baby 171 Separation: Goodbye home, hello LRM/A 177 Settling among the rebels, learning the ropes 183 Training for the 1994 peace talks, and prisoner of war 186 Motherhood intervenes 194 6. The autobiographical voices of becoming child soldiers 203 The Ringo Otigo stories 203 The cultural context Ringo Otigo's early life in an Acholi village 205 An education in a village school 212 Abduction in the evening 215 The abduction of the Aboke girls and the question of memory 219 viii Better to kill me outright 226 Friendship on the long walk to Aruu Camp, Sudan 232 Dakta mony, war doctor .237 We have done our part 242 7. Unlearning war 260 Acholi cultural trauma 271 Unlearning war amidst cultural trauma 278 Mato oput, drinking bitter roots 282 Yweyo kom, cleansing the body 284 Pi to Iwit okono odoco, replanting the pumpkin roots 288 8. References 296 9. Footnotes.. 329 10. Appendices 336 IX Chapter I Introduction Lanyut, Pointer: War, Culture and Children in Northern Uganda Everybody in Gulu town in war ravaged northern Uganda has a story to tell about the war. In the Acholi oral storytelling tradition, every labok lok, storyteller needs lawiny lok, a story-listener.