Using retrospective reports, the SWAY study team found that even though some formerly abducted females reported difficulties with family and community acceptance upon return, a majority reported increased acceptance over time. Acceptance for women is specifically harder because they are the ones who get raped and assaulted and then might not be considered “clean”. Not just girls, even boys have to face the situation as the families are scared that they might attract rebels in future. The children are not the same after the roles they play in the war, they change and therefore it’s hard for both the child and the family to adjust with each other. The survey conducted by UN has some positive results – community acceptance is improved and is associated with less depression. These families know what it feels like to have a family and are trying to help others for the betterment of the society. According to a follow up survey of former child soldiers in El Salvador done by UNICEF 84% reported that their family played the most important life in helping the transition to civilian life. This strategy is considered to be the most effective of all for reintegration. It’s hard for the children to get back to normal life. Their attitudes change as they are expected to be aggressive in the forces and hence might not be able to help themselves in the transition.
Family
Sierra Leone's former child soldier: A follow up story of community reintegration and psychosocial adjustment.
Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) refers to the process by which soldiers are returned to civilian life as conflicts end. DDR programs aimed specifically at child soldiers have been established in several countries. One of the countries that is severely affected is Sierra Leone. At present Sierra Leone is still contending with the legacy of the 1991–2002 civil conflict involving the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the Sierra Leonean Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), the Sierra Leone Army, and local groups like the Civil Defense Forces (CDF). This bloody Civil War included mass mutilations and use of children in armed forces. The rebel groups involved in the conflict devised ways to destroy family and community relationships of the children involved. This was done by forcing them to kill their family members and neighbors under the threat of death. It was done to prevent them from running back to home. After the signing of the Abuja Agreements in November 2000 and May 2001, former child soldiers started to return back to their families. The agreement was made in order to promote peace in the country. The government of Sierra Leone promised to stop the war and help UN to work together for the betterment of the society. The program has different steps and one of the steps include helping children to get back to their families. The UN tries to trace their families or potential alternate caregivers. Given direct attempts by armed forces to destroy relationships between abducted children and their families and communities, social reintegration remains a challenging issue in post conflict Sierra Leone. To facilitate this process, sensitization campaigns were implemented to initiate local discussions about the reintegration of former child soldiers in the community.
Education
Worldwide children are forced into armed rebels or recruited by extremist ideologies. Peace education is an important element in the reintegration of former child soldiers so that they can be taught to love and respect their communities. It prevents them from engaging in violence and terrorism. In the post conflict context, effective peace education has a stronger practical than didactic focus, and it stimulates empathy, cooperation, reconciliation, and community processes for handling conflict in a nonviolent manner. Education helps build their new identities. The programs are funded by the UN and they have websites dedicated to donations. The goal of such programs is to make them feel proud of who they are can be achieved through productive and new learning opportunities. It also gives them a purpose to live their lives. Experience teaches, however, that a balance must be achieved between the child soldier’s need to earn income and the need to resume education. Again it’s very important to have separate programs for girls. There aren’t many reports of disapproval but as they are the main victims of sexual violence they might have STDs or pregnancy out of marriage and need to be educated about it. One of the effective ways to teach them is to have a staff of the same age group. Some of the programs are compressed so that they can be paced with the learning of overage people. One such program was implemented in Liberia in the late 1990s (known as SINCLAIR). It compressed six years of primary schooling into three years. When children study with people with similar experiences they learn better, they are less rude and get better with conflict management skills. The opportunity to learn specific tasks can enhance children’s confidence in their abilities and provide them with a sense of purpose in their lives. In a study of conflict-affected Palestinian youth in Gaza, more than half of both boys and girls reported putting effort into schoolwork and “studying hard” as a prominent coping mechanism for dealing with trauma and stress (Hundt et al. 2004). In their study of Sierra Leonean refugees in a Liberian camp, Kline and Mone (2003, 326) found that optimistic youth who were coping well with their war experiences valued educational programs that “recognized the central importance of a strong belief in the value and purpose of life.” One of the obstacle for such programs is that a lot of times students don’t turn up to school. Reasons include not able to pay for basic things even though the fees is not required, they are not able to pay for uniform, bags and books and families might not send them, because of the wage that they can get from the kids of they work outside. UNICEF’s Community Education Investment Program (CEIP), for instance, offered school fee waivers, uniforms, books, and supplies to former child soldiers (Alexander 2006).Another problem related to this is that a lot of time money was not distributed equitably and teacher might discriminate against some children. After the end of the program the numbers dropped again.
Psychological Effects/Support
With almost 80% of the warfare being composed of child soldiers, you can only imagine the traumatic events they have endured. Every aspect of the word “war”, negatively affects a child’s development. “Over the last ten years, two million children have been killed in conflict. Over one million have been orphaned, over six million have been left with serious psychological trauma” (“Children in Conflict: Child Soldiers”). Since the year 1998, there has been armed conflicts involving child soldiers in at least 36 different countries. Nonetheless, the traumatic scars left on children are just one of the many aftermaths of post war problems. After witnessing murder, torture and all the other things that come along with atrocity at a very young age, these children often suffer from destructive and long-lasting mental health issues that sometimes never go away. “The traumatic experiences that these children are forced to experience lead to increased incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and psychological distress” (IFGH). Although the war is depicted as it is up of male-only, nearly 40% of reported child soldiers are female. These young girls experience a great level of sexual abuse and rape which ultimately leads to higher levels of depression, anxiety, and hostility. “After treatment, children who have lost family members and have witnessed or committed acts of abhorrent violent must be reintegrated back into their societies” (IFGH). The DDR or Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration rule the community’s response in post-war situations. Rehabilitation programs often focus on education, psychological counselling and livelihood training.
Injuries & Illness
Children are one of the most vulnerable groups due to their immature physical conditions. In the training process, children are treated like their adult peers while there is inadequate food and medical care to keep them fully healthy, not to mention proper nutrition needed for growth. Thus causing many of these children to die from starvation and preventable diseases. “According to a study conducted by UNICEF, because so many girls are treated as sex slaves, they become pregnant and return to society with small children. Sexually transmitted infections, mainly HIV/AIDS have spread rapidly amongst young female soldiers” (“Physical Impacts”). Drugs are also used to desensitize and encourage children to commit atrocities.
Many children utilize these drugs to effectively become numb to everything that is happening around them. This can lead to serious drug addictions. Brown-brown, a mixture of cocaine and gunpowder, gives soldiers a burst of energy and brings numbness to the body. This, along with marijuana are the two main drugs that these soldiers become addicted to. Alongside the drug use, with so many young males being placed on the front line, that leaves many of them without limbs. Some lose arms, while others lose a combination of both their arms and legs.
Organizations Who Help
UNICEF was created in 1946 after World War II. The organization was created by the United Nations to provide food, clothing, and healthcare to European children facing famine and disease in the aftermath of the war. UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to promote the rights and wellbeing of every child. “UNICEF was created with a distinct purpose in mind: to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path.” Major focuses of the organization are education--especially for girls,-- immunizations, and the prevention of malnutrition. In 1863, the International Committee of the Red Cross was established. “The ICRC is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence.” One of the major focuses for ICRC is the prevention of sexual violence, specifically during armed conflict. To combat this issue, education is strongly encouraged in order to avoid stigmatization. The organization is working with armed groups in places such as South Sudan to “remind them of their obligation to spare civilians from harm.” Child Soldiers International, formerly known as the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, is a human rights organization founded in 1998. The organization is a registered charity that receives funds through donations. According to the charity’s website, their goal is “to end all recruitment, use and exploitation of children by armed forces and groups.” In order to achieve its goal, the group works children and communities to advocate for children and inform them of their rights. Some of the ideas the organization values are collaboration, integrity, independence, respect, accountability, and equality. Child Soldiers International works to unite individual communities and national organizations together to fight for international change and increased protections for children.