All the Glimmering Stars

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, child abuse, and child death.

Anthony and the other boys are forced to walk again for more than a week. They rarely get water or food and are threatened with beatings if they speak to each other. They join up with other recruits, guarded by more than two dozen LRA soldiers, and are tied in lines. Anthony sees his younger brother, Albert, but stops himself from calling out to him.

After traveling around 35 kilometers north, Anthony feels someone in his line fall. He realizes that it’s James. Anthony asks what’s happening and then is violently pulled aside by a soldier. He realizes that it’s Patrick, who warns him not to speak and to pretend he doesn’t know him.

Several soldiers take James to the front of the group. They build a bonfire and then force the other boys to gather around James, who is lying on the ground. James tells them that he’ll keep walking, but an officer insists that it’s too late. The officer tells the boys that they’re going to “stomp” on James, one by one, as another soldier takes their picture. If they refuse, they’ll join James on the ground.