AFRICA/DEMOCRATIC CONGO - Understanding the Phenomenon of Child Soldiers: Jesuit Refugee Service study

Friday, 16 February 2007

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides)- In the Democratic Republic of Congo as many as 30,000 boys and girls are caught up in civil war. This emerged from a JRS study, ‘Understanding the Phenomenon of Child Soldiers’ published on 12 February to coincide with Red Hand Day, the annual commemoration day created to draw attention to the fate of children who are forced to serve as soldiers in wars and armed conflicts.
The study, undertaken during December 2006, was based on interviews with 128 former child soldiers living in a JRS reception centre in Uvira in South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). All of those who participated in the study were young boys, on average 12 years old at the time of their recruitment and their ‘term of service’ approximately two and half years. The children surveyed were engaged as soldiers, couriers and cooks.
The JRS centre assists them to re-integrate into civilian life, helping them return to school or undertake vocational training. Its also assists them in overcoming the trauma they have suffered before returning to their families and communities of origin.
This important work is sadly only for boys. The absence of girls in the study indicates the inadequate facilitates for their demobilisation.
“There is a desperate need for funding to construct girl-only centres. Many of these girls have suffered terrible abuses, often being forced to act as sex slaves”, said JRS Great Lakes Regional Advocacy Officer, Nicolas Clemesac.
Although many stated they voluntarily enrolled as child soldiers, when they were questioned about the circumstances surrounding their recruitment, one discovers that it was poverty, joblessness and appalling family circumstances which pushed them to join armed groups. About 12% are orphans who sought shelter and protection among the guerrillas. Others, although not orphans, joined the militia to escape violence in the family . Another group of boys said they wanted to take revenge for the death of a member of their family. Others said they were brainwashed into wanting to defend the fatherland from foreigners or a certain ethnic group. About 97% of those interviewed was recruited by Mai-Mai militia, various pro-government groups which fought troops of Rwanda and its allies in eastern Congo. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 16/2/2007 righe 33 parole 407)


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