War Brothers

Later that night, Ethel takes Jacob to a Catholic mass. Just like Jacob and his family, Ethel is a practicing Catholic but also believes in witchcraft to “appease the small gods” (22). As they walk to the church across town, Jacob notices the increase in foreign aid vehicles, which he knows are related to recent attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army. He also sees the night commuters, which refers to the poor children from rural towns who come to the city at night to sleep on its streets to avoid being kidnapped by Kony’s army.

Bored in church, Jacob does math problems in his head to practice for the upcoming multiplication competition. Jacob notices a boy in church he hasn’t seen before, whom he assumes is a night commuter. Jacob slides over and speaks with the boy to prevent him from being kicked out of the service. Worried that the boy is hungry, Jacob slips him two 5,000 shilling notes from the collection box. The boy—whose name is Oteka—heads outside to purchase some food.

The novel’s perspective shifts to Oteka, who wakes in the morning on the streets of Gulu and heads back home to the camp where he currently lives. The 10,000 shillings that Jacob gave him the night before have completed his goal of saving 100,000 shillings so he can pay a medicine man to answer a question. Back at the camp, he greets his caretaker, a 70-year-old woman named Adaa. Oteka’s father, mother, and sister have all died of AIDS; his brother died of malaria while in the care of his aunt. Throughout his family’s sicknesses, medicine men had variously come to the house to see if they could help, but all had different explanations for what was happening and none of their solutions ended up helping.

Oteka gathers his money and heads to the medicine man’s hut across town. When he arrives at the medicine man’s hut, Oteka asks to speak to his deceased mother.

The medicine man accepts Oteka’s money, even though in more prosperous times he would not have considered the sum enough. He and his wife prepare the ritual and invite Oteka into a mud hut, lined with the skins of large cats, to commence it. After some time attempting to contact Oteka’s mother, the medicine man sacrifices a chicken to appease the gods, allowing Oteka to ask his question: “I do not know where I am or where I am supposed to be in this life. I wait here in the camp only for my grave. Tell me, what must I do?” (49). However, during the ritual, the medicine man responds with the name “Kony.”

Oteka flees the medicine man’s hut, terrified of what his mother might be warning him about by using that name. However, out of fear for Adaa, he returns home. On entering the hut, he finds Adaa has passed away peacefully.

The novel returns to Jacob as he packs his suitcase for school. He’s given several gifts and items to help him at school by Ethel. He gets onto the bus and saves a seat for Tony. They drive toward the edge of town, where “a rutty, sandy, potholed road cut a swath through the country-side. Elephant grass, bush, and farmers’ fields were all the eye could see” (56).

As they drive out of Gulu, Jacob gets excited to meet up with their mutual friend Paul. Paul is characterized as “the biggest of the three boys, the best looking, and the bossiest. He spoke English and French, plus Acholi and Langi, of course” (56). Paul is richer and more connected than both Jacob and Tony, but still treats them like equals. He frequently entertains the other boys with stories of what life is like in the United States. Jacob considers him a close friend. Two hours later, the bus pulls up at the sign for the George Jones Seminary for Boys. The boys grab their belongings and run inside the gate.