Sam Okello: Fiction meets reality
Sam Okello plays an important role in ‘The Silent Army’ – that of the father of Abu, the boy who is kidnapped. But life for this celebrated actor was already very different before the film.
Kidnapped by rebels
“I was kidnapped by rebels, together with my younger brother, when I was still a child. After two terrible years I was able to escape. My brother did not survive…he was murdered by the rebels. They kidnapped him from the same school that was used as one of the filming locations in ‘The Silent Army’.”
Fiction meets reality
Sometimes fiction meets reality. It was not just the memories about my past that brought this film so close to me; I am also a father to three children and found it very difficult to watch children re-enact violent situations. My own daughter plays a part in the film and it was stirring to see her act in this story.”
Bearing witness
However, I am thrilled to have been able to play a role in this movie. I think that everybody should witness what actually happens in the world: children are being forced to kill their own parents and do all kinds of different terrible things. The rebels take the child out of a child. As a child soldier, one may survive, from the inside one is dead.
A look into the future
It is very difficult to take the fear away from children and give them back their strength and positivity. It is possible, however – we can help these children by looking out for their safety. We can make them feel loved again and show them a future that will be better than the past.”
Hope North Uganda
Sam, a well-known Ugandan dance and theater artist, is founder of Hope North Uganda: a 40-acre campus in northern Uganda where refugees, orphans and former child soldiers can find a place to call home. It is a living and learning community with an accredited secondary school, vocational training center and full time Ugandan staff of fifteen.
Read about former child soldier Kon Kelei and his experinces on the set of 'The Silent Army'.
Watch former child soldiers who have been through our program tell their stories.
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