How do women who were abducted as children, raped and forced to kill, reintegrate into their communities. The international communitys efforts to halt child soldiering have yielded some successes. Reintegration programs for child soldiers typically comprise economic and education support packages such. Memoirs of a boy soldier has been published in over thirty languages and was nominated for a quill award in 2007. Culture, religion, and the reintegration of female child soldiers in northern uganda examines cultural and religious complexities that surround young females who are now returning to the society of northern. This chapter concerns the approaches taken towards children associated with boko haram in the lake chad basin. When in april 2009, 112 child soldiers who had served with the rebel national liberation forces. In conflicttorn countries such as myanmar and uganda, the use of child soldiers in military and paramilitary operations continues to occur.
Many are subject to abductions, military recruitment, killing, maiming, and numerous forms of exploitation children. It looks at time spent in the group, issues of cohesion, identification, affiliation, membership and the post demobilization experience of return, and resettlement. Reviewing literature on former girl soldiers reintegration in the african context milfrid tonheim negotiated identities. Child soldiers in africa refers to the military use of children under the age of 18 by national armed forces or other armed groups in africa. Some, like the lras dominic ongwen and thomas kwoyelo, become notorious senior or middlelevel leaders. In the 1990s, liberia was torn apart by a civil war in which child soldiers fought for the guerrilla leader charles taylor. Typically, this classification includes children serving in noncombatant roles such as cooks or messengers, as well as those serving in combatant roles. This book exposes the role of children in war, describing where, why, and how children are deployed, the attempts made by international organizations to protect children, and the underlying political and cultural issues that make this such a thorny issue. If you are old enough to carry a gun, you are old enough to be a soldier tomodho amid the familys maize crop at his familys home in pibor, south sudan. We discussed ideas for the book, rickys time as a child soldier, and how he became founder of friends of orphans, an organization that helps with the recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration of former child soldiers and waraffected youth in northern uganda. Children in the military are children defined by the convention on the rights of the child as people under the age of 18 who are associated with military organisations, such as state armed forces and nonstate armed groups. Much can happen that will touch the rest of their lives for good or for ill. In 2008, it was estimated that 40 percent of child soldiers worldwide were in africa, and that the.
Dr theo hollander is a peacebuilding professional with over 10 years of professional experience working on child soldiers, reintegration of combatants, peacebuilding, transitional justice and security. In 2017 alone, more than 10,000 children were released from the ranks of armed forces and armed groups in central african republic, colombia, the democratic republic of the congo, myanmar, nigeria, somalia, south sudan, and elsewhere. Usip hosted an event on the use, prevention, and reintegration of child soldiers around the world. Culture, religion, and the reintegration of female child soldiers in northern uganda examines cultural and religious complexities that surround young females who are now returning to the society of northern uganda, often accompanied by their own children. The reintegration of young mothers in northern uganda. Interview keely hutton and ricky richards pine reads. Chidi blydenrowe, former director for east africa at the office of the secretary of defense and former director of the africa program at the center for civilians. Culture, religion, and the reintegration of female child. Although reintegration programmes for former child soldiers can have positive outcomes, they may also cause unintended negative consequences and violate the humanitarian imperative of do no harm. Every year, thousands of children need support for reintegration.
It argues that, first, measures of disengagement and disassociation are replacing disarmament and. This book examines the complex and underresearched relationship between recruitment experiences and reintegration outcomes for child soldiers. Culture, religion, and the reintegration of female child soldiers in northern uganda bible and theology in africa maeland, bard on. Lessons learned from africa and the way forward, featuring ms. Written for kids one of the authors is a former child soldier, this memoir has the look of a comic book. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Why rituals are important for the reintegration of formerly recruited girls in northern uganda. Following participation in armed forces or armed groups, former child soldiers frequently need assistance that promotes their reintegration into families and communities. Another study in uganda found that the failure of reintegration efforts of former child soldiers, was associated with widespread community resistance due to perceived unaccountability for the crimes committed, ambiguous blending of religious e. On january 24, 2018, the wilson center africa program hosted an event titled former child soldier reintegration in uganda. This article was originally published in the britannica book of the year, an annual print publication that provides an overview of the years mostnotable people and events. Michel chikwanane relates how he became a child soldier when he was five years old, and how the instability and dangers in the democratic republic of congo forced his family to flee to a. Coming to terms with childrens agency and accountability article in intervention 43 november 2006 with 753 reads how we measure reads. Facilitating successful reintegration of former child soldiers is one of the goals of the united nations disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration ddr framework.
In many conflictridden countries, peacekeeping missions are the largest actor on the ground and their contribution is vital to protecting children. Myriam denov successfully delivers on her objective of giving voice to the often voiceless and thereby provides the reader with the multifaceted and paradoxical realities of sierra leonean former child soldiers child soldiers is a detailed sourcebook for both scholars and practitioners who deal with violence, children, and civil war. Countries, such as myanmar, colombia, congo, sudan, syria, and iraq, are some of the places that have child soldiers. Reimagining child soldiers in international law and policy.
Many former child soldiers, upon demobilization, are well into their twenties or, even, thirties. Child soldiers a the nature of the human rights issue a child soldier is a person under the age of 18 who participates, directly or indirectly, in armed conflicts as part of an armed force or group, in either armed and supporting roles. Former child soldiers experience challenges readjusting to civilian life. This book examines the complex and underresearched relationship between recruitment experiences and reintegration outco. Child soldiers can be used as fighters, human shields or simply in propaganda campaigns. Initial demobilisation and reintegration programmes failed after many schools banned former child soldiers and a high rate of unemployment rendered them vulnerable to rerecruitment by militia groups. The children of war by jennifer plante there are more than 300,000 child soldiers in the world today. The event featured experts working in the field, each of whom approached the issue of child soldiers from a different perspective. In addition to his extensive work with reintegration of child soldiers in afghanistan, sierra leone, uganda, chad and liberia, mike has written a book on child soldiers. Understanding the religiously and ritually rich acholi and north ugandan context and.
Alcinda honwanas book, child soldiers in africa, provides extensive information on the ways in which traditional cleansing rituals proved helpful in the reintegration of former child soldiers in mozambique and angola honwana, 2006. A child soldier or a child associated with an armed force group, according to the paris principles in 2007, is any person, 18 years of age or younger, who is or has been recruited or used by an armed group in any capacity united nations international childrens emergency fund unicef, 2007. The international labor organization ilo conducted a program that aimed to benefit the economic reintegration into civilian life of former child soldiers and prevent future recruitment of atrisk children that have not been recruited the comparison group as described above. Understanding the religiously and ritually rich acholi and north ugandan context and culture is important for the success of the ongoing reintegration. Reintegration of former child soldiers in northern uganda. From 2006 to 2011, theo spend many months in uganda working on nelsons story amongst other things. Reintegration myths and realities with christopher blattman, jeannie annan french foreign minister philippe dousteblazy recently warned that the use of child soldiers is a time bomb that threatens stability and growth in africa and beyond. Reintegration a major issue for former child soldiers.
The article seeks answers to the question why reintegration processes in the area have failed. Why is child protection at the heart of peacekeeping. In this article we first examine the state of the sierra leonean educational system before and after the war and its role in the reintegration of former child soldiers. It looks at time spent in the group, issues of cohesion, identification, affiliation, membership and the post demobilization experience of. In 2003, as the rwandan military presence in the drc reduced, so did the demand for child soldiers. Tales from ugandas female former child soldiers uganda. Buy culture, religion, and the reintegration of female child soldiers in northern uganda bible and theology in africa new edition by maeland, bard isbn.
The role of social identity in the recruitment and reintegration of child soldiers. The reintegration of thousands of formerly abducted children from the lords resistance army back to their families and communities in northern uganda represents tremendous challenges. Time magazine named the book as one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2007, ranking it at number three. According to figures from the united nations, there are 250,000 child soldiers fighting in countries including zimbabwe, uganda and the democratic republic of congo. Female child soldiers can be victims of abuse, perpetrators of violence by brigit katz on august 4, 2015 national resistance army girl soldiers pose. Reintegration programs, traditional healing, and other interventions. The problem is that children who manage to escape cant fully recover from the horrors of the war. The book deals with child soldiers in sierre leone in the 80s. Although popularized discourse tends to portray child soldiers as boys, nearly 40 percent of child soldiers are girls. The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of child. List of books and articles about child soldiers online.