It must have been about midnight. Michel* was sleeping soundly at home alongside his little brothers and his older sister. Four men came – they were armed but dressed as civilians. They tied Michel’s and his sister’s hands together and took them into the bush.

“We found ourselves with around 20 other children,” Michel tells us. “These men whipped us and forced us to work. Every time we talked among ourselves, they hit us with a machete. In the evenings, when we needed to go to the toilet, they thought we would try and escape. We were always tied up at night. We weren’t allowed to wash our clothes, or even our bodies. Only they had the right to wash their clothes and themselves. They were sure that we wanted to run away back to the village.”

One particular day sticks in Michel’s memory. “They had gone to loot a village. On their way back they came across a man working in his field. The grabbed him and took him further into the bush and killed him. Then they gave me a machete and ordered me to chop him up into little bits. I only did it once. My heart was beating so fast. They told me to chop him up and if I didn’t do it they would kill me too. I still relive that moment in my dreams...”

Later Michel saw two men killed because they had tried to run away. But one day he did manage to escape, taking advantage of a skirmish between his kidnappers and the army.” They put me behind them and I lay down on the ground. When the soldiers came, I came out of my hiding place and followed them to the village. When I came out of the bush, people were scared of me. I told them not to be afraid and finally they took me in.”

Michel found his family again. His parents decided to leave him at MSF’s centre for child survivors for a while. He receives psychological support and spends his days with other children who were once kidnapped. He needs time to readjust to living back in the community. And to try and make a fresh start as best he can at 13 years old.

* Names have been changed to protect those involved.

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