China Keitetsi (born 1976) is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

n activist who has won international renown as a campaigner for the plight of child soldiers. The memoirs of Keitetsi, a former child soldier herself, have been translated into French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and other languages.

Biography

China Keitetsi was born in 1976 in the west of

. Without her mother she spent her first years with her father and his new girlfriend. In 1984, at the age of nine, China ran off with her sister and tried to find her mother but she fell into the hands of the

National Resistance Army The National Resistance Army (NRA), the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Ugandan Bush War or Luwero War, against the government of Milton Obote, and l ...

. China’s early years in Uganda and as a female child soldier showed the sexual assault that girls and women face in times of war and conflict.

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

fell on 26 January 1986, and

Museveni Museveni is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Janet Museveni (born 1948), Ugandan politician *Muhoozi Kainerugaba Museveni (born 1974), Ugandan general *Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 19 ...

was proclaimed as president, but Uganda remained haunted by civil war. During this period, China Keitetsi worked as a bodyguard for a high-ranking official before joining the Military Police. Several armed groups fought against the new government.

Life as a female child soldier

China, like many other children recruited by the NRA to fight in the battle against the

Obote Obote is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from British colonial rule in 1962. Following t ...

government, remained in the ranks of the new government's army, the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF). She spent ten years as a female child soldier in fear, humiliation, and sexual assault under the Ugandan National Resistance Army. She lost many of her friends in battle and, like many other girls, was raped several times by her superior officers.

Life as free woman

Between 1986 and 1995 she made some short returns to civilian life but spent most of her time in the new governmental army. After spending ten years in the army of Museveni, China escaped from the army in 1995. She fled with a friend through

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

where she applied for refugee status. Four years later, China continued to fear for her safety and sought help from the Department of Home Affairs. She was referred to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

) and was offered relocation in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. She now lives in Denmark and has published her memoirs in a book entitled ''Child Soldier: Fighting for my life''. She has become an international spokeswoman for the plight of child soldiers worldwide. China goes around Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan, as well as to the UN, UNESCO, and the German Parliament giving lectures on the problems of children as soldiers. Many organizations, including UNICEF, Amnesty International, Terre des Hommes, Oxfam, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, and IANSA, support China Keitetsi in her cause. China's book has been published in Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, England, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Japan and China. She recorded an intro to the song "Blood" of

The Kelly Family The Kelly Family is an Irish-American music group consisting of a multi-generational family, usually nine siblings who were joined occasionally on stage in their earlier years by their parents. They play a repertoire of rock, pop, and folk music ...

(sung by Jimmy Kelly on the 2003 album ''

Homerun HOMERUN was a secret US aerial reconnaissance operation against the USSR in 1956. History Project HOMERUN was conducted between March and May 1956. During that time RB-47E and RB-47H reconnaissance aircraft flew almost daily flights over the North ...

'').

Her books

* Child Soldier: Fighting for my Life (German edition: ''Sie nahmen mir die Mutter und gaben mir ein Gewehr'') published in 2002 * Tears Between Heaven and Earth: My way back to life 2007

References

External links

*Interview with China Keitetsi
''Harvard Gazette''
* Amnesty Internationalbr>websiteChina Keitetsi homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keitetsi, China 1976 births Living people Ugandan non-fiction writers Ugandan women writers