Child Soldiers - Who, What and Why?

I am taking a break from finance because the developing world is not, strangely, all about finance… gasp! In fact though we tend to measure everything and anything using a monetary value countless travellers return from the developing world with a different view on what ‘life’ is and what to value after experiencing the child choirs of Africa, the hospitality of a poor shopkeeper in Thailand or the lively street parties of South America.

With that in mind I’m centring this article on understanding who are child soldiers, what happens to them after conflict and why the KONY 2012 campaign totally missed the point.These child soldiers are the emaciated generation ravaged by war in a world of finance which often neglects them.

What or who are child soldiers?

Children taught to kill before they can write

Child soldiers are children mostly taken from their communities by warlords to fight, or if female act as ‘wives’, in their armies and are coerced by fear, death and regulation.

The Lord’s Resistance Army, which was the focus of the Kony 2012 campaign, is led by Joseph Kony who forces children to kill other children that attempt to escape, commit atrocities and bans whispering. Whispering may seem a strange rule compared to the others but it is often the only way that children can plan their escape! Notably, some argue that Kony’s ability(?) to control spirits, an important part of the Acholi tribe’s belief system, contributed to his grip on his followers.

Children are taken because they are easier to mould into devoted followers unlike adults who have normally built up a resilient set of morals... hopefully?

In many war-torn areas children make up the majority of the population, are easier to feed and do not have a developed sense of danger.

What happens after the war when the children are freed?

Topically, we are beginning to discuss the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on UK soldiers returning from Afghanistan and the consequences it has for the soldier’s family, mental health and lives (watch the recent Panorama documentary for more on the issue).

However, PTSD is already an issue rife among child soldiers, presenting a divide between him/her and their community due to a lack of understanding and the atrocities committed. Taking the LRA example above, if the ex-child soldier cannot sleep or screams throughout the night the villagers believe the child is still possessed by the evil spirit of Kony whereas the child is simply reliving the experience of battle or murder which is common among those who suffer from PTSD. Watch this video on Joesph, a former child soldier and Sergeant in the LRA, for a more detailed account.

A child soldier armed with a rifle and a teddy bear rucksack.

What is worrying is that child soldiers are taken before basic education is completed and therefore return knowing only one trade – the trade of death. In a post-conflict state the priority is to rebuild the damage done by the warlord or civil-war and therefore those with skills are prioritized in the effort. Ex child soldiers have no skills and consequently are left out of decision-making and employment. Children attempt to find any source of income and in some cases children have been known to dig up graves, selling the wood from the coffin and any trinkets from the dead.

This lack of employment forces many children on to the street, with no voice and nothing to occupy their minds. As a child soldier they were respected simply because of the fear, power they controlled and atrocities they committed – disarming the children was and is a priority for governments. It is when the children are disarmed and gain no form of employment I worry that they will be forced back into violence to re-claim their lost power. It seems that it is only when these children present a threat to a government will they gain the recognition they deserve. Indeed, the UN identifies youth alienation as a major factor in the 1991-2002 civil war that consumed Sierra Leone.

What are the governments doing?

It would be unjust to argue that governments have not attempted to remedy the plight of ex child soldiers. Below are just some of the schemes utilised:

• Most governments or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have offered cash for weapons to remove them from the hands of child soldiers.

• Providing education.

• Offering courses in Vocational Skills Training for Enterprise Capacities (VSTEC) in trades such as electronics, catering and mechanical engineering.

These schemes have worked in some parts of the developing world. Substantially, I know from my intern that VSTEC courses in Sierra Leone are helping the youth create businesses that are relevant and needed within the market. In Bo, Pujehun, Moyamba, Bonthe, Kenema and Tonkolili districts some 1,800 trainees are studying in selected vocational training centres (VTCs).

Yet, within Liberia under a similar scheme, Tim Dokie, a 28-year-old former combatant, stated that, 'I was only praying for the teachers to hand me the tool kits promised at the end of the training, which I readily sold for $15'.

Evidently these programmes have varying levels of success…

Furthermore, offering cash for weapons presents problems due to its individualistic approach which fails to address why so many cheap weapons can be found within Africa. Arms traders, developed states and other African states are often behind the arms trade because conflict is simply a source of immense wealth for some. If you have the time reading this article by the Integrated Regional Information Network entitled 'Analysis: How best to remove guns from post-conflict zones' sheds more light on the issue.

In one such case the UK enacted a food embargo on Sierra Leone in 1997 yet Sandline, a UK Arms dealer, supplied arms to the Economic Community Cease-Fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) during the troubles. Initially, ECOMOG was a peace-keeping force which helped restore order but in the following years many human rights abuses have been levelled against the organisation including Nigerian Alpha Jets strafing unarmed civilians. The food embargo largely affected the civilian population and not the intended target, the junta, even though weapons still found their way from the UK into Sierra Leone.

ECOMOG defended Sierra Leone's government

To conclude, children who are taken at night, cast into lives of murder, rape and atrocities and mostly forgotten by the governments who should have protected them in first place deserve to have a right to education or a means of providing for their basic needs. Nonetheless, looking beyond the ex child soldiers the state needs to occupy the minds of these children to safeguard the fragile peace that now exists. Investment from foreign powers will provide employment but the involvement of these alienated youth is paramount. Finally, removing weapons from Africa should become an agenda in the developed world instead of covertly supplying them.

Oh and the Kony 2012 campaign was a bit late as Kony had moved to the Central African Republic by last year so it didn't do much... apart from making the Ugandans think Kony was coming back to Uganda! I know I'm just as guilty for sharing it but it has made me realise how quickly our generation mobilises our support on an issue we don't understand because of a flashy video... opps.

If you want to find out more about child soldiers and their plight visit WarChild