Dominic Ongwen: Ishmael Beah

Read our report on Ongwen

In our report, we examine the case history of Dominic Ongwen: an indicted war criminal and former child soldier. Abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) when he was around 10 years old, Ongwen's moral development and choices must be contextualized within the rebel group's organizational structure, norms and beliefs. Ongwen's actions may have been his own, but they are necessarily conditioned by his past experience as a victim. This is not to exonerate Ongwen. We have no reason to doubt the allegations against him. Our point is to complicate his status, urging current justice pursuits in Uganda to do likewise. We argue a legal approach is limited in this regard, and that the ICC may have been incorrect in identifying Ongwen as one of the 'most responsible' given his ambiguous political status.

Read our report on www.justiceandreconciliation.com

Friday, July 11, 2008

Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah is a former Sierra Leonean child soldier who wrote the story of his experiences in the best selling memoir, A Long Way Gone. Reflecting on comments made to him during his speaking tour in the US, he remarks:

“A lot of people [who hear my story]...tend to think that ‘oh they can do that, we can’t do that.’ It is a part of human nature, if your in that circumstance, you would act that way as well….Everyone is capable of going beyond their own humanity.’

Ishmael is now a poster child of child rights activists, a symbol of hope. If child soldiers symbolize one of the greatest victims of today’s armed conflicts, then Ishmael – an educated, empowered advocate – represents hope they can be rehabilitated and contribute productively to peace. Ishmael was rescued when he was 16 by UNICEF, spent time ‘deprogramming’ in a UN rehabilitation centre for child soldiers and eventually, made his way to the US where he has become a celebrated survivor. No international human rights advocate, no UNICEF official, no World Vision campaign talks about what happens to child soldiers when they are not rescued and more so, when they grow up to become that which they condemn.

Ishmael and Dominic Ongwen are the same age, more or less. If Dominic had been rescued and Ishmael not, who might be our hero, and who the war criminal?