Child Soldier

by China Keitetsi

China's story of her life as a child conscript in the Ugandan National Resistance Army starts at age 8 and continues for ten years of terror, humiliation and sexual
assault. After rejoining the army years later she serves as bodyguard to the Minister for Records who is disgraced and China is then captured by the Ugandan secret service and is tortured for six months. It is a story from the horrors of the Ugandan civil war, one of Africa's bloodiest and longest-running conflicts, which has gone on for over 40 years and where children are abducted and forced to commit atrocities regularly (as many as 8,000 per year). China's story exposes the reality of their civil war and the terrors committed and endured by children.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, War, Memoir, Biography, Autobiography, Uganda

274 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

No literarily masterpiece, but therefore even more haunting. This book is a attestation of boundless cruelty. The author´s childish style of narration intensifies the reader`s feeling of helplessness and speechlessness in the face of such a dimension of inhumanity. I am still touched by this little girl´s story. A most sincere account of the personal suffering endured by a child.

[Nana · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I ever happened to read.
It is a must read. The writing style, I can't really say anything about that. But the story itself, her story, was well told.

I've had the pleasure to hear her talking about the book and the situation she and many others were (and are) in and I can only recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.

[Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een geweldig goed boek !!! China beschrijft haar jonge leven in Oeganda en hoe ze al op zeer jonge leeftijd gehard wordt door het leven en de meest verschrikkelijke dingen meemaakt. Ze treed hierbij niet in detail wat absoluut niet nodig is want dat zou het boek gewoon verschrikkelijk maken. Maar je merkt wel dat het een geladen boek van misbruik intriges corruptie en vooral misbruik van de kinderen is. Ze is zeker niet alleen en het zijn monster welke kinderen inlijven als soldaat.
In mijn ogen een boek dat thuis hoort op de schoolbanken als verplichte lectuur.

[V.ya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartbreaking story, but one I'm glad I've read because it opens my eyes to the bitter realities in other parts of our world.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘Child Soldier’ takes the misery shock-lit genre to a level that our home-grown ‘crap-childhood’ writers could only have nightmares about. It should be fascinating, it could be fascinating, but having just finished this book I can entirely understand why I found it for just £1.99 in a remaindered book store, marked down from its cover price of £18.99. I wanted to like it – honest I did – and I was genuinely interested to know more about the life of child soldiers but there’s no hiding the conclusion that years of skipping school and fighting left the author poorly prepared to write a compelling or readable autobiography and desperately in need of a good ghost writer and some tougher editing.

China Keitetsi was born in Uganda, and ‘brought up’ (in the loosest sense of the words) by a violent father and a manipulative and deceitful step-mother. She ran away to find her real mother but was so scared that her mother and her neighbours would ‘eat her’ that she ran away again, finding herself ‘co-opted’ into the National Resistance Army of M.V. Museveni. All of this by the age of eight! The army exploited small children as fully fledged and extremely obedient soldiers, using them to trick their enemies and training them as frighteningly loyal body-guards. By becoming the family that these children lacked, the NRA instilled a shocking degree of compliance amongst the child soldiers who soon became hardened to the reality of death and destruction.

Girl soldiers were also exploited sexually by their officers and China had been repeatedly raped long before reaching sexual maturity, sometimes developing bizarre feelings for her exploiters. She becomes head body-guard to an NRA government minister who rapes her every night at 9 pm but despite this, can’t bring herself to betray him when he’s arrested for government crimes. Eventually, and by the most circuitous of routes, China escapes from Uganda and becomes a refugee in Denmark and an international spokesperson and campaigner for the rights and protection of child soldiers.

Now then, if you are thinking that’s all bit too much plot let me just say that nothing above goes beyond what’s written in the cover synopsis. And maybe that’s part of the problem – the introduction, the dedication and the synopsis give away so much plot that there are few surprises left to the reader. We know before we open the first page that she will have a child by another soldier, that she will leave that child behind, that she’ll go to Denmark, become a spokesperson for the plight of child soldiers and meet a bunch of leading politicians. To be honest, if you just read the cover and the dedication you could pretty much skip the rest of the book. For me the biggest surprise was having to plough through 112 pages (out of a total of 272) before the author even mentions the army. Considering the title was ‘Child Soldier‘, I thought this was a bit too much scene-setting.

If you are looking for an “eye-witness account” of life in the NRA as promised in the cover blurb, you will struggle to find it here. Keitetsi is just not capable of describing her experiences in a compelling way. She flits between the significant and the mundane without any filtering of what is and isn’t important (or for that matter, what is or isn’t interesting). We really can’t tell what order things are happening – for example we learn she’s pregnant but up to that point she hasn’t mentioned she was in a relationship so it comes as a surprise. Then a lot later in the book, long after her baby’s birth, she’s writing again about being pregnant but we learn nothing of whether it’s actually the same pregnancy as before or if it’s not, the whole story of that possibly second pregnancy is just left hanging.

I can understand why the story is such a muddle because I know that if someone asked me to recall my childhood it wouldn’t come out in any structured or prioritised flow of information. I would produce a largely incoherent babble of what I remembered but I wouldn’t expect anyone to pay to read it. China’s story really needed effective editing because the way it’s presented takes a fascinating life and makes it into a very poor tale.

This book is painful to read – but sadly it’s not the shock-value of the writer’s experience that causes that pain; it’s the rambling incoherence and inconsistent attempts at pseudo-patois that make it such a drag. China grew up speaking a local Ugandan language, moved to Denmark and presumably learned Danish, so why do we get subjected to this weird form of English where the odd sentence structures serve not to give a sense of authenticity and original ‘voice’? Instead the odd language just distracted me from the story being told. Here’s an extract where China writes about seeing a witchdoctor;

“Before he began to tell me of what had brought me there, he spit on the money and all that I said was “yes…yes…yes’, and at that time I was baffled of his incredible accuracy”.

China today is still a young woman and her campaigning for the rights of child soldiers the world over is undoubtedly important work. I’ve read other accounts of child soldiers in Africa and been intensely moved by the plight of them and their families but this book was a disappointment. It’s also a shame we don’t learn anything about China’s life and work after her escape because the book ends shortly after she reaches Denmark. If you want to read one book on this topic, my recommendation is to go for well-written fiction – such as 'Moses, Citizen and Me' by Delia Jarrett-Macauley (set in Sierra Leone) – rather than well-meaning but badly composed fiction.

[ElenaSquareEyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

China Keietsi's story of her life as a child conscript in the Ugandan National Resistance Army starts at age eight and continues for ten years of terror, humiliation and sexual assault. After re-joining the army years later, she serves as bodyguard to the Minister for Records who is disgraced and eventually, she manages to make a new life for herself in Denmark.

Child Soldier is an incredibly difficult read. Keitetsi doesn’t shy away from the abuse she went through when recounting her story. The thing that kind of surprised me about Child Soldier is that half the book was about Keitetsi’s childhood and mistreatment before she was even recruited into the National Resistance Army. Her father and grandmother would beat her and treat her differently to her father’s other children just because her mother gave birth to a daughter and not a son. Some of her half and stepsiblings also weren’t treated well but the physical abuse Keitetsi went through by the people who are supposed to love you was heart breaking.

Through my Read the World Project I’ve read a few different memoirs from people who have gone through war and become refugees but the thing that made Child Soldier stick out in a way was her family life before she got caught up in war. The other memoirs I’ve read have had these young people have normal, caring families and a home life that a lot of people could relate to before tragedy struck. With Keitetsi’s story, it’s like the poor girl never had a proper childhood. She was abused before she even got tangled up in a war and was forced to fight and kill.

Keitetsi doesn’t shy away from describing the horrors she saw and experienced but it was interesting to see how it was written. Even though she was forced to grow up quickly, there was still only a childlike understanding of some things. She had to grow up and adapt quickly and no matter how high a rank she got in the army as she got older, there were still a lot of men who saw her a young woman that they could do with as they wish.

[Dhe · Rating 2 out of 5]

ho letto non troppo tempo fa un interessante approfondimento sulla realtà africana in cui si accennava anche all'uso di bambini negli eserciti, ed era segnalato questo libro. alla prima occasione l'ho preso in biblioteca. è stato una delusione. non è ciò che mi aspettavo, anche se non voglio togliere nulla alla storia che viene raccontata.

la storia vede come protagonista una bambina, l'autrice del libro appunto. mi aspettavo un libro sulla vita dei bambini nell'esercito, su come riescono a reclutarli, su cosa fanno, perchè (ammesso che ci possa essere un perchè). ma in realtà questo libro non è nulla di tutto questo. questo libro è niente di più, niente di meno che la vita di questa ragazza. inizia il racconto da quando è in fasce e finisce il racconto quando arriva in danimarca. sono poco più di 300 pagine, dedicate alla vita nell'esercito neanche una cinquantina a ben guardare.

ad ogni modo penso sempre che ogni vita sia degna di essere raccontata e quindi l'ho letto con piacere, stupendomi a volte di ciò che raccontava, a volte arrabbiandomi per quello che leggevo. ho sempre la sensazione, però, che chi riesce a raccontare la propria storia sia in un qualche modo più fortunato e abbia vissuto meglio. tanto per chiarire, fra tutti gli ebrei nei campi di concentramento è diventato famoso primo levi, che però era in una posizione privilegiata rispetto agli altri ebrei nei campi e vedeva la loro vita da fuori, senza nulla togliere alle sue difficoltà ovviamente (che non erano poche). ad ogni modo la vita di questa ragazza è stata e sarà parecchio difficle. il passato è ben raccontato nel libro, per farvi un'idea vi basti sapere che fino a quando non entra nell'esercito dopo essere scappata di casa (età 8 anni) viene picchiata giornalmente dal padre, dalla matrigna, dalle nonne. più volte si rompe dita o braccia ma nessuno se ne preoccupa, capiterà più volte che si faccia male ma nessuno la soccorrerà e si dovrà aggiustare da sola. un'ustione alla gamba in pochi giorni svilupperà addirittura dei vermi e lei avrà paura che i vermi la mangino completamente, gli adulti si limiteranno a lavare la ferita e rifasciarla, come se niente fosse. la vita per una bambina africana pare essere parecchio dura soprattutto quando non si viene amati da nessuno. molti bambini spesso con un solo genitore in comune, ma nessun affetto fra di loro o in famiglia. anzi, per guardagnare l'amore e il rispetto degli adulti spesso fanno la spia riguardo cosa fanno gli altri. continuo il cercare cibo e il ribarlo, molte le incombenze che qui da noi non si affidano neanche ad un adolescente: cucinare i pasti, pulire la casa, i servizi, badare agli animali, fare commissioni andando in giro di notte da soli... un'infanzia che non è infanzia , almeno per come la consideriamo nel nostro paese.

esasperata da questa situazione alla fine scappa di casa (e ci credo!) come hanno anche fatto le sue sorelle. si arruola nell'esercito, una massa impaurita di bambini a cui però viene dato uno scopo, un ideale e un briciolo di rispetto. non esiste distinguo fra bambini o bambine, probabilmente perchè essendo considerati "carne da macello" non fa gran differenza di che sesso siano, basta che combattano in prima linea. i bambini nell'esercito sono l'ultima ruota del carro, nessuno si cura di loro e tutti approfittano di loro. non possono dire mai di no, l'unica risposta permessa è "si, signore", il risultato di questo addestramento è che questa ragazza non riesca a dire di no anche se solo gli viene offerto un caffe e non ne ha voglia. come si puà presto immaginare il "si, signore" è anche l'unica risposta che si può dare quando un superiore vuole approfittare sessualmente del soldato.

a questo proposito la mia impressione è che lei non sapesse cosa fosse il sesso. mi spiego meglio. è stata violentata da piccolissima, poi quando stava nell'esercito e dal mio punto di vista anche dal padre del figlioletto, ma non ne pare particolamente colpita, come se fosse la normalità. quando rimane incinta non se ne accorge, non capisce cosa succede quando la sua pancia "si gonfia e si muove" e quando partorisce è convinta di avere un fortissimo mal di pancia e non si spiega perchè perde "acqua". nessuno le ha mai spiegato nulla riguardo a procreazione o malattie veneree o differenza fra amore e sesso. addirittura si stupisce di produrre latte da dare al bambino! il bambino nasce quando lei ha circa 14 anni, anche se devo essere onesta le età e le date non sono chiare nel libro, è solo un insieme di ricordi, le età si deducono semplimente da frasi come "un anno dopo andai...". attualmente a quanto ho capito il bambino è affidato a qualcuno in uganda e lei non lo vede da molto tempo. nella sfortuna è stata fortunata: il padre del bambino è una persona onesta e si prende cura di lei e del bambino non fa finta che nulla sia successo come è accaduto alle mamme-bambine che ha conosciuto nella sua vita.

la sua vita nell'esercito intesa come vita al fronte è limitata, presto viene presa come guardia del corpo da un personaggio importante, pare che lì sia consuetudine prendere una guardia del corpo che ha una decina di anni, dargli un fucile e sperare che faccia il suo lavoro. in caso contrario si può sempre picchiarla finchè non impara a farlo. inutile specificare che anche quest'uomo approfitta ogni notte di lei dato che la ospita in casa sua e la fa dormire nella camera vicina a quella di sua figlia (di uguale età fra l'altro). fra questa mansione e la sua necessità di scappare da uno o dall'altro passa in diversi reparti, con diverse destinazioni, anche con l'aiuto del padre di suo figlio (personaggio noto nell'esercito).

ad un certo punto si fa troppi nemici e decide di scappare, così intraprende un viaggio in numerosi stati africani in cui fra una bustarella e un'altra finalmente arriva alle nazioni unite che la prendo sotto la loro ala protettrice e la trasferiscono in danimarca, dove può iniziare una nuova vita, attualmente è un'ambasciatrice dell'unicef ed è impegnata a fare in modo che quello che è accaduto a lei non accada ad altri.

è un libro duro, vero. scritto bene nonostante l'abbia scritto in inglese (che non è la sua lingua madre) e poi sia stato tradotto in italiano. una storia da leggere, senza alcun dubbio. come dicevo prima la mia delusione è dovuta solo alle mie aspettative, se lo avessi preso dallo scaffale senza saperne niente lo avrei apprezzato sicuramente di più. ve lo consiglio senza dubbio: leggerlo apre gli occhi su come la nostra vita sia infinitamente semplice e facile rispetto ad altre realtà.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pour être honnête, si c'était de la fiction, j'aurais mis 2,5 étoiles à cause de l'écriture. J'ai eu du mal à suivre le récit de China, surtout au début. Certaines phrases étaient construites bizarrement et il était parfois difficile de connaitre le temps écoulé entre différents évènements.

Cependant, j'ai mis ces problèmes de forme de coté car il m'était impossible d'abandonner. J'ai accompagné une femme qui a dû grandir plus vite que la normale. J'ai aussi beaucoup ri et appris sur l'histoire de l'Ouganda.

J'ai également découvert la vie d'enfants, qui souvent en manque de repères, deviennent ou sont forcés de devenir soldats. Je ne savais même pas que les filles aussi devaient subir ce traitement, en plus de la violence sexuelle, en temps de conflit. Malheureusement, comme elle l'a bien souligné à la fin, China fait partie des "chanceuses" car ce phénomène est toujours d'actualité.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

China Keitetsi's story is extremely moving and heartbreaking. Especially when portraying her perspective as a child, the tragic story is interspersed with almost funny details and so much honesty and innocence, that the abuse by her father and later on her fellow soldiers is even more shocking.
During the last chapters, during Keitetsi's final steps to freedom, I had goosebumps while reading. The knowledge that the story is autobiographic made it all the more tragic - and then extremely moving at the end.

[Micaela Reynoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

me lo presto mi abuela en pandemia porque dijo que me iba a gustar. el libro arranca trágico, sigue trágico, y cuando creí que las cosas mejoraban googleé el nombre del dictador y sigue en el poder al día de hoy (más de 20 años). está bueno conocer las historias de otros países porque por los medios no nos enteramos ni de onda, pero si lo que estás buscando es una lectura placentera no lo recomendaría porque cuenta muchas situaciones fuertes y feas

[Nisse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive, but also very depressing. She speaks clear but distanced. As if this did not happen to her.

[Waheela · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uneven book but with an important story. Can be a bit harsh at time.

[Juan Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally hard.

[Smith]

I like the book

[Diane Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Child Soldier is an account of China Keitetsi's life in Uganda. She portrays a difficult upbringing and a dysfunctional family structure. Her tense relationships with her father, grandmother and stepmother make up more than half of the book and she tells this story from her perspective as a child not feeling supported and loved in this environment.

She eventually leaves home in search of her biological mother. She finds her but then leaves almost immediately as she had learnt not to trust anyone. It is then that her life as a child soldier begins in Musiveni's NRA to overthrow Dr. Obote's government. She describes her life from when she joins the NRA at 8 or 9 years of age, through her training and then a harrowing tale emerges of life in guerrilla warfare - the bloodshed, abuse and violence - until they enter Kampala victorious.

After this coup, the ideals that they fought for are questioned by the author and another tale emerges of Museveni's rule; the treatment of women and girls in the army; fear and suspicion; executions; the new regime's handling of dessent and the new Uganda that is emerging. She is uncomfortable, sad and at times powerless in this new dispensation and begins to make plans to leave. Her first stop is Kenya, then she finds her way into South Africa (where she encounters further difficulties) through Tanzania and eventually into Europe

Child Soldier is an important book that sheds light on conscription of children into political battles, but it also exposes the dysfunctional family structures and relations in Uganda at the time.

I felt that the book could have been more contextual, by not only showing anger, but by also showing the underlying cause of so much anger, bitterness and violence around her. It also stops short of dealing with the broader social and political context of Uganda (and Africa) at the time. Except when she refers to all African leaders as corrupt and greedy.

Even though it lacks a contextual setting, the story itself is compelling and important enough to be told and read, lest history keeps repeating itself.
Children should be playing, reading and given a nurturing environment in which to flourish and not be forced into a horrid adulthood at such tender age.

[Francisco Viliesid · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most sincere account of the personal suffering endured by a child. From inconceivable child abuse at home, complete absence of love, to all sorts of exploitation thereon, then becoming a child soldier, live through the worst of carnage, only to see that grown up commanders on all sides and vultures and bystanders were as corrupt as all others; thankfully finding a source for Life from within even when it should have run dry after such cruelties; and eventually succeeding in achieving freedom. When you read, place yourself where China is and you will find, as I did, that what she has done with her life is amazing. One phrase stung me most, on page 125: "Our memories were filled up too fast with horrors that only humans are capable of doing...".

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting topic, but unfortunately a lot has been lost in the translation of China's story. A bit disjointed and difficult to follow near the end. Nonetheless, it provides a bit of insight into the realities faced by child soldiers, harsh and difficult. Definitely makes me grateful that I was born in such a peaceful country and provided a decent education and all the luxuries that North America affords us in terms of freedom of thought, religion and choice.

[Daniela de Carvalho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago in Danish and have reread it since. This is heart-wrenching book, a story of abuse and survival, a story everyone should know. It is even more heart breaking to know that this kind of abuse goes on today.

I met China in Denmark through a friend after I had first read the book, she is a sweet and gentle woman, one would never guess the hardships she has endured by looking at her.

[Snipergun · Rating 5 out of 5]

when i read it first time i didn't know it's a author who actually survived circumstances described in this book. that i realized on the end and that's why i read it second time. you get much more different point of the view after reading this book especially on daily luxury or chance to not to be treated as a child soldier. it was enjoyable reading in the way you must feel it from the book what you read about. no doubts, this author has done it.

[Fatheek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manufacturing War or Creating Refugees is yet another issue to be discussed about on the rise of cultural, sexual and Personal effects of war.
The story has various contents to be discussed as struggle of a women in a poor land, a forced soldier, a child who carried gun and been told to shoot the enemies without having an idea of the opponent.
This was incredibly collected the entire story of her.

[Ruds · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much as this book tried to depict a child's journey into and from a bloody warfare, it wasn't written well. Although one can't help but sympathize with the child's struggle,this book was badly put together...the author had a terrible command of words...I'm halfway through, though, I'll finish it somehow.

[Edward]

I was a little over my head when I attempted to read this book. I spent nearly as much time in the dictionary as I did in the book itself. Nevertheless, it was an interesting book and, unfortunately, another example of how cruel humans can be to each other. Maybe when the weather gets cold, I'll find the inspiration to tackle it again.

[Zuzka-knižníček · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zajímavá kniha plná překvapení, strhujícího děje a surovosti nás lidí, která nám opět ukáže co je ve světě možné a co mi lidé za zvěrstva dokážeme. Knížka se nečte úplně lehce (nemyslím teď náročnost textu či téma samotné), ale prostě neumí ve čtenáři v některých pasážích úplně vyvolat představivost.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

a heartbreaking story...
China is my hero!
If it weren't because I have lived cruel things in the past... I wouldn't have believe her story...
I do believe, cauz I have seen it...
what a life, what a life!
China's story makes my experience insignificant...

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive memoir on a horror childhood.(Simular to the background of an acquaintance of mine.)
Deals with the hidden, dark side of a family, nation and government.
Struck by so much evil and indifference in the world, especially against children.
Written in a simple, straight diary style.

[Michelle Morris Evington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the honour of meeting and working with China Keitetsi back in 2002 when China spoke at the United Nations. An amazing young woman. An incredible account of the horrifying impact of war on children.

[Michi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible-exciting Story...!!

[Arrietybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro basado en una historia real. Muy duro de leer.