Uganda in the Hot Zone: Mini-Doc
A terrorized population hopes for an end to 20 years of war.
By Kevin Sites, Fri Oct 21, 1:20 PM ET
VIDEO - Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once referred to Uganda as the "Pearl of Africa," the mysterious source of the Nile River, home to the largest freshwater lake in Africa, Lake Victoria.
But this pearl has also had its blemishes in the 43 years since its independence, most notably a 20-year struggle with a bizarre and savage rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
The LRA's brutal tactics include kidnapping children and forcing them to become fighters, servants and even sex slaves. An estimated 25,000 children have been kidnapped since the conflict began. Thousands of people have been killed.
One result of the conflict is the phenomenon known as "night commuting." Every night thousands of people, mostly children, walk from their villages to the safer city centers, seeking a place to sleep.
And while the rest of Uganda has benefited from one of Africa's most aggressive anti- AIDS campaigns, the infection rate remains high in the north, where the conflict hampers efforts to fight the disease.
The Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) insists the LRA is almost finished. But the struggle has led to the displacement of 1.5 million people, who are confined to squalid camps.
Even if the conflict soon ends -- as the Ugandan government hopes -- the scars, memories and climate of fear will remain.
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