MONROE - About 20 students will disappear Saturday from Monroe.
They are being "abducted" - by themselves.
The students are taking part in an international event, "The Rescue" on April 25.
Thousands of participants will gather in 100 cities across the world to symbolically abduct themselves to raise awareness of the thousands of young African children, ages 8 to 14, being abducted and forced to fight for a rebel group called the Lords Resistance Army. The war has been going on for 23 years.
The students at Monroe High School learned of the war in their International Studies classes, taught by teacher Sarah Domres.
"This is not a school event," Domres said. "They are organizing on their own."
Some of the students will travel to Chicago and others to Milwaukee, two of the sites for the international gatherings.
"We are abducting ourselves to bring awareness to all the children who are child soldiers in African countries," student Corrine Frutiger said.
The students viewed a documentary video about the situation in their class.
Eleanor Nesimoglu, a freshman, was moved by a child in the film named Jacob.
"Jacob said, 'Don't forget about us.' It's almost like a duty for me for having been born (free) in America. These kids don't have it," she said about attending the event.
The event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a difference, she said.
"Young children are forced to kill their own families," Frutiger added. "It's been going on for 20 years. We're free to change it; we need to change it."
Student Eric Grau said he is attending the event with a particular interest in anything going on in Africa because he wants to work there.
"It's the longest, ongoing war conflict. Youth are doing the best job raising awareness," he said.
The students will drop a picture of their families on the ground before leaving Monroe, another symbolic gesture of leaving behind all they know and love, and arrive at their encampment cities with nothing more than a backpack. The students will then be "forced" to walk single-file holding on to a rope for one to three miles to their camps.
"All kids want to live a real life, and we get to," freshman Catherine Weeden said. "If they can do that for years, we can do it for one night."
Rescue from the encampments comes in the form of media, political or celebrity attention.
Domres and student teacher Meghan Tomasiewicz are attending with the Monroe students.
Domres said some of her graduates from Monroe High School are also organizing on college campuses.
There are no hard statistics on the number of children who have been abducted from the streets in Africa, according to Tomasiewicz.
"It's because they are hidden," she said. "It is estimated that 30,000 children are forced to be soldiers in Africa at this time - about 3,000 in Uganda alone. They are brainwashed, carrying guns and killing for the LRA."
They are being "abducted" - by themselves.
The students are taking part in an international event, "The Rescue" on April 25.
Thousands of participants will gather in 100 cities across the world to symbolically abduct themselves to raise awareness of the thousands of young African children, ages 8 to 14, being abducted and forced to fight for a rebel group called the Lords Resistance Army. The war has been going on for 23 years.
The students at Monroe High School learned of the war in their International Studies classes, taught by teacher Sarah Domres.
"This is not a school event," Domres said. "They are organizing on their own."
Some of the students will travel to Chicago and others to Milwaukee, two of the sites for the international gatherings.
"We are abducting ourselves to bring awareness to all the children who are child soldiers in African countries," student Corrine Frutiger said.
The students viewed a documentary video about the situation in their class.
Eleanor Nesimoglu, a freshman, was moved by a child in the film named Jacob.
"Jacob said, 'Don't forget about us.' It's almost like a duty for me for having been born (free) in America. These kids don't have it," she said about attending the event.
The event is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a difference, she said.
"Young children are forced to kill their own families," Frutiger added. "It's been going on for 20 years. We're free to change it; we need to change it."
Student Eric Grau said he is attending the event with a particular interest in anything going on in Africa because he wants to work there.
"It's the longest, ongoing war conflict. Youth are doing the best job raising awareness," he said.
The students will drop a picture of their families on the ground before leaving Monroe, another symbolic gesture of leaving behind all they know and love, and arrive at their encampment cities with nothing more than a backpack. The students will then be "forced" to walk single-file holding on to a rope for one to three miles to their camps.
"All kids want to live a real life, and we get to," freshman Catherine Weeden said. "If they can do that for years, we can do it for one night."
Rescue from the encampments comes in the form of media, political or celebrity attention.
Domres and student teacher Meghan Tomasiewicz are attending with the Monroe students.
Domres said some of her graduates from Monroe High School are also organizing on college campuses.
There are no hard statistics on the number of children who have been abducted from the streets in Africa, according to Tomasiewicz.
"It's because they are hidden," she said. "It is estimated that 30,000 children are forced to be soldiers in Africa at this time - about 3,000 in Uganda alone. They are brainwashed, carrying guns and killing for the LRA."