Half my story

Half my story

As a boy growing up during the height of insurgency in the north, I find my self on crossroads if my childhood experiences shaped me or wrecked havoc on my intuition.
I witnessed so much first hand bloodshed, horror and death that made me loose my emotive senses.
While children in other parts of the country were having a normal childhood up bringing of playing with toys in play grounds and going to the beach on weekends.
On my part my playground was running to the battle front to count how many of our brothers were killed on that days battle, ironically the NRA permitted this to happen and I find it still very disturbing to this day,some of us would end up finding their dead relatives among the heaps of dead fighters .
The then Uganda soldiers NRA, only fortified themselves in the town centers and snubbed protecting the rural areas this brought the battles closer for us to watch.At that time as innocent as I was I felt it was just another visit to a fair park but forgetting these were real people dead some destroyed by bombs and bullets beyond recognition, body parts and headless torsos dotted in fields.
This went on for 3 years but thank God amidst all this horrors I still attended school, tragically the govt couldn't guarantee our safety even at school, in fact we were prune to the raids of the "mysterious cattle rustlers" who made my life and others a living hell at school every other week I had to run with my tin box case and 3 inch mattress over my head trekking for over 8 kms.
The govt soldiers then the NRA at one point started to aggressively round up former UNLA soldiers who had peacefully settled home after being demobilized..One of them was my brother, on one occasion I went to take him some food from home to the barracks where he was detained. I witnessed as a boy an ugliest incident that changed me forever,I saw my brother tortured right before me, tied kandoya style on a tree with soldiers pouring cold water and constantly lashing him with strokes at any part of the body it was unbeatable agony even for me watching.
The saddest part was that we relatives were strictly forbidden from showing emotions while this torture was going on,they claimed they did these hideous things as a deterrent for us not to join rebellion,therefore we were to painfully watch them savages torturing our relatives.
Looking back, those who subjected me to these horrors and deprived me of a normal childhood are still boisterous and intend to rule for life without admitting errors.
When I look at how ISIS group are inhumane in nature it reminds me of how wicked NRA commanders were especially the Banyarwanda commanders.
I am not the only one to have gone through this horrifying history, but I attest to a story of many people of the north.
To the present crop of youth who don't know this dark history ,me and many more went through under Museveni and his henchmen, you will regret when your time comes.
For me it has left me an emotional wreck who sheds not tears.