Teams fan the flame of peace
Since the mid-1980s the Lord's
Resistance Army has been fighting to install a new government in
Uganda. They have abducted thousands of
children and forced them to fight. The conflict has left a trail of destruction
and broken lives. Christian charity Flame International is working to help the
victims of the conflict, as ANDREW STONE reports
Boy
Soldier escapee James |
‘TWELVE-year-old James was forced to kill two children by beating their
heads with clubs as they lay face down with their hands tied behind their
backs. It is hard to imagine what James has been through since he was snatched
from his family by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in
Sudan. How does someone recover from that
sort of trauma?'
Gareth Barton has recently returned from southern Sudan where he worked as
part of a team for Flame International. The UK-based charity works with
churches in several African countries, helping people who are suffering from
post-conflict trauma. It was during his time there that Gareth met James.
‘I read reports and guidelines as preparation for my trip,' Gareth
says. ‘They were about children being abducted by the LRA, which has been
fighting in neighbouring Uganda to install a new government based on their own
twisted view of spirituality.
‘It is estimated that in the past 30 years they abducted between
30,000 and 50,000 children to become soldiers and sex slaves and killed more
than 100,000 people. The LRA subject the abducted children to a regime of
brutalisation to turn them into ruthless killers. The forced killing of
siblings and friends is very common.'
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'The LRA brutalised
abducted children'
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James, though, was one of the fortunate few children who escaped from the army.
He also received counselling from the Flame International team. Normally the
team do not provide individual counselling themselves but instead train church
leaders so that they can then pass on what they have learnt to their
communities.
During a two-week visit Gareth and his team taught some 200 church
leaders.
‘We hadn't anticipated meeting someone such as James,' explains
Gareth. ‘But members of the team spent hours with him and his father. The
next morning we met James again - he had a large smile and said that he had
slept peacefully for the first time in many months.'
Flame International has been carrying out its work in war-torn areas of
Africa for six years. One of its founders is Jan Ransom, who went with Gareth
to Sudan. Like James, Jan was also formerly in the military, but her service
was with the British Army in which she reached the rank of lieut-colonel. Jan
is keen to point out some differences between her military experience and that
of the LRA.
‘I am a soldier, but the reality is I am a peacemaker. Peacemaking is
what the British Army does. I wouldn't say the British Army isn't aggressive,
because it kills people. I wouldn't like to say everything it does is always
good because people make mistakes. But its overriding principles are justice
and peace. I am not a pacifist: I believe that under just authority it is OK to
have war when it is the lesser of two evils.
‘I converted to Christianity in the Army. When that happened I wanted
to leave immediately and be a missionary, but God told me to stay put for
another 18 years.
‘As a Christian I want to be a peacemaker, and at Flame International
we have a very gentle ministry. But when you are part of one of our teams you
have to be tough because we go to places people don't normally visit - places
where the inhabitants haven't seen a lot of white faces before.'
The teams from the charity are made up of ex-military personnel as well as
civilians, but Jan is certain that the presence of former Army officers
helps.
Jan Ransom meets
some of the children |
‘Because so many of us have military ranks, it opens up doors for us. The
bishops will talk to the commanding officer of the local battalion of soldiers
and we will be allowed to speak to their troops because we have been in the
military ourselves.'
Jan admits that some people may think it is strange that a retired,
high-ranking Army officer is helping those who have been traumatised by the
horrors of war, but she explains that it is a continuation of work that she did
while still serving in the Armed Forces.
‘When I was in the Army I had a healing ministry through the Armed
Forces' Christian Union. For 15 years I ran women's weekends and now I am able
to carry out that ministry internationally.'
Jan has found that, rather than hindering her work, being a former
professional soldier assists her in reaching out to the people she wants to
help.
‘When we are with people who have been affected by war sometimes I can
stand in the gap between the military and civilians and say I am so sorry for
what the military has done - I can see the pain and trauma.'
But the work of Flame International is about more than saying sorry.
The charity brings people together for reconciliation workshops.
‘Many people were told as children that they were useless and so they
believe for ever that it is true,' says Jan. ‘We talk to them about
healing the human spirit, freedom from fear, grief, loss and depression. At the
end of every teaching session we preach the gospel.
‘We ask Jesus to speak to them and we invite them to ask Jesus into
their lives so that they can forgive others and be forgiven themselves.
‘People are suffering from the most awful atrocities but we challenge
them to get things right with God and to bring their lives in line with God's
word in the Bible. We want to reach out to broken people and see them living in
forgiveness. But it is people's choice whether they do so. God gave us free
will and we would never override that.
‘We are resilient and determined but we are gentle. We have to be
because we are teaching a human spirit that has been traumatised by some
terrible acts.'
Troops respond to the
teaching of Flame International |
Because the Flame International team members are teaching church leaders as
well as helping individuals affected by war, Jan cannot estimate how many
people the charity is reaching.
‘We have probably spoken to something like 100,000 people, but because
we are speaking to leaders, I believe it could be thousands more who have been
influenced by our teaching.
‘Last year in Uganda I spoke to more than 40,000 people at one event
but I can also spend my time sitting under a tree talking to just four.'
To carry out its work the charity is reliant on the support of individual
Christians. This means that Jan spends time speaking to churches and groups in
the UK to raise awareness of Flame International's work and to ask for
support.
The teams that go out to work in Africa have to fund their own trips rather
than rely on the organisation. On their return, Jan finds that each team member
is enthusiastic to tell people about the work of Flame International.
‘When the teams come back they go to their churches and say: "Wow!
Look at what we've experienced and what God has done."'
Betty with
shell-cases
from the war |
Certainly Gareth, who was on his first trip with the organisation, has left
Africa with lasting memories of the people he met. People such as
seven-year-old Betty, whose grandfather is a pastor in the Sudanese county of
Lainya.
‘When I met Betty her face was muddy and she was dressed in an old and
dirty home-made dress. I had been invited to join their Sunday church service
and I sat on pews made from logs which were propped up on branches under the
shade of small mango trees.
‘Betty's mother had recently died of measles and, with no medical
support, Betty, like everyone else, was vulnerable to what should be very
curable ailments. She also had to eat boiled leaves until the recently planted
crops grew.
‘But Betty, her remaining family and all the people I met there had a
determination to be joyful. Against all the odds, they chose to smile, laugh,
dance, sing and worship God with wholehearted gratitude.'
War Cry 1 August
2009
War Cry Archive
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