"Together in silence against LRA violence"

 Barefoot Peace Walk 2010

International Refugee Trust is preparing to organise the next Barefoot Peace Walk in September 2010. The goal of the walk, promoting peace in Central Africa by stopping the atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army, has not yet been achieved. Therefore we feel we need to carry on with this event until the international community realises the need for stability in the region and commits to cooperation with the local governments to tackle the LRA problem.

 Were you unbale to attend the last Barefoot Peace Walk? Read all about it below and make sure you can attend in 2010!

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Barefoot Peace Walk 2009: Saturday 24th October, 15.00hrs from Sloane Square, London

Walking for peace: What is it all about?

International Refugee Trust (IRT) is currently involved with several small scale projects in northern Uganda and near the southern border of Sudan. As we are in constant communication with our partners, we are receiving more and more firsthand accounts of the violence and instability in southern Sudan. More frequently we are hearing about brutal attacks being carried out by the rebel group Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. These attacks are targeting innocent civilians, mostly children, and are involving rape, killings, mutilations and abductions. Mass displacement of people is also occurring as the fear of the LRA’s chaos spreads throughout central Africa.

The LRA

The LRA was formed by Kony in 1987 during the aftermath of the civil war in Uganda in a violent campaign against the government of the current leader, Yoweri Museveni, to rule Uganda according to the Biblical Ten Commandments. Kony has also stated that he is fighting for the rights of Uganda’s Acholi people against discrimination by the government. However, the actions of of the LRA starkly contradict the overriding interpretation of Christian teachings as they are notorious for kidnapping children and forcing them to become rebel fighters or sex slaves.

Kony has continued to head one of the longest running conflicts in Africa for over 20 years and since October 2006 has been on the International Criminal Court's (ICC) most wanted listed for crimes against humanity and war.

Today the LRA is no longer only a Ugandan problem. Although there has not been an attack in northern Uganda since 2006, the apparent peace of the region is still extremely fragile and the LRA has moved to spread its terror to other parts of central Africa by attacking civilians in Sudan, Central African Republic (CAR) and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Further information:

    * FAQs
    * History of the LRA
    * Map and directions
    * After events
    * Event volunteers
    * Contact information

Although not essential, you may also RSVP for the event on Facebook.

Can’t make it to the Barefoot Peace Walk 2009, but would still like to support IRT’s projects? Go to our Get Involved page and see what you can do!

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