Armed forces are marching ahead, treading a terrain they are sure to occupy. And what do you see-Men and women in uniform fighting for their country?
Pause to ponder on the following scenes:-
Scene 1: A 15 year old Sudanese boy carrying an AK-47 assault rifle;
Scene 2: Irrespective of gender, children as young as nine years being conscripted (mostly by coercion) by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam);
Scene 3: A 12 year old Palestinian girl, dressed in school uniform, vowing to be a suicide bomber.
Seeing in one’s mind’s eyes and conjuring up image of the above three events (which might be occuring simultaneously in the three corners of the world even while you are reading this write-up), it can be unmistakably presumed that this article is founded upon one of the most contentious yet a deeply emotional subject ruling not only the study but the practice of international relations today- expatriate recruitment of children to serve with armed groups and native armies, popularly addressed as the issue of child soldiers.
Children as young as 5 years old frame around 10% of the world's warriors. More than 300,000 underage soldiers participate in armed conflict in over 41 countries around the around the globe, from Afghanistan to Sudan, according to United Nations' reports.[1] Asia ranks second to Africa among the continents with most child combatants. 150,000 can be found in Africa and more than 75,000 in Asia. Another 500,000 children serve in armed forces not currently at war. Armed opposition groups within Iraq are also known to use child soldiers. In 1998, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) was believed to have 3,000 child soldiers in its forces, more than 10 percent of which were girls. Myanmar ranks first with most number of child soldiers. It is in Turkey, though, where most child soldiers in Europe are found.
Serving as indispensable fractions of the uniformed militia, camouflaged insurgents to the very recent trend of suicide bombers, children have served in all the forms of a combat and a ‘patriot’. They fought in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and in both world wars, not only stealing essentials from the enemies but also stealing their vitality- their childhood.
WHY CHILD SOLDIERS? - PERSUASION AND BEYOND
In Uganda, researchers discovered an armed 5-year-old, the youngest ever recorded. For people like us who sit in our cozy rooms, following everyday headlines and acts of terrorism, it would barely cross our mind to imagine an armed kid on the borders with a gun strongly held against his heart.
Psychological as much as the problem seems to be, such treatment meted out to children as young as 5 years old, can even hamper emotional growth. For such young combatants, fervor and blind rage favors to conceal reason.
Perhaps any common notional mind will come to the conclusion that child soldiering brings with it distinct inherent advantages, aptly why these kids are preferred over adults. The economy of means they survive on is the dominant factor. They consume modest victuals, wear itsy-bitsy clothes, and are as ignorant and gullible as any other child of their age. This gives the officials enough space to manipulate this vulnerability to their advantage. It is projected that expenses on child militia is less than half than what is used up on their adult counter-parts. Moreover, children eagerly enroll armed opposition groups to avoid harassments from the government forces. This is evident in the way the ranks of Tamil militant groups in Sri Lanka (LTTE) and Kurdish rebel groups in Turkey (especially PKK) have been swelled by child recruits due to state repression.
A vital question which looms one’s mind here is of procurement- how do these armed officials get hold of these kids? Many times, these kids are children of the same officials who work in these armed forces, often forcing their children to join the army. Initially doing low-grade jobs, these children are then fed with the importance of holding a gun as means of both defense and offense. In countries like Sri Lanka, Mynamar and other adjoining areas, kidnappings and press-ganging are popular methods used. Afesa in Ethiopia, is the system of picking up orphans and displaced street-children by roaming security forces recruits.
Spying is another major task at hand for these ‘juvenile terrorists’ distant from direct warfare actions, These children also act as messengers, sentries, porters, servants, cooks, and are very frequently employed to lay and clear landmines, and sent out on suicide missions. Young girls, besides performing above functions, act as sex slaves. In Sierra Lione, David M. Rosen, author of Armies of the Young aptly says “rebel child soldiers were more privileged and more powerful than sex slaves,” and “the most powerful and violent girls were not sex slaves but major participants in fighting and terrorism” [2]
Many factors are prevalent for child soldiering to be used as a way of transforming the scenario of terrorism, providing it the perfect smokescreen to breed terrorism. Kids from a young age are fed with glorification of war, acquaintance to hostility, leading their psychological foundation subject to desensitization. They become ideal figures of zombies- apathetic and indifferent to emotional bondings. War is glorified and a ‘cult of martyrdom’ created to lure children on the grounds of 'national liberation', 'social reform' or 'defending religion'. The audacity and unawareness of gullible children are maneuvered to deploy them on the most perilous errands like arranging and clearing landmines, handling toxic weapons and light weapons like AK-47s or M-16s
CONCLUDING CONTEMPLATIONS
The first American soldier to die on the battle grounds of Afghanistan during the war was killed by a fourteen year old soldier. This perhaps indicates the urgency to replace these displaced youngsters on the right path. This, although is perceived as a Herculean task, a significant step has been taken by the UNO. The Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Children’s Convention) bans participation of under-18s in armed conflicts, represents a significant advance in the protection of children’s rights.
In my lexicon, international relations has little to do with qualifications and a lot to do with skill with people. These conflicts and issues is making the world a more dangerous place to live. Together with these initiatives, it is essential to adopt alternative strategies to provide education and all-round development to them. Colossal physical strength isn’t what we require. The implications of a child on the battlefield demand an action-planned collective effort from the citizens of all warring sides and armed forces.
Silence is golden but for how long? Should we let the children kill, holding a gun rather than a pencil? Should these kids play with landmines instead of dolls and model cars? Should we allow such acts of plain horror to dominate the international scenario? And at the end of it all, do we really want the young to kill? Again, let’s pause to ponder…….
This article appeared in the The Analyst, AJK Mass Communication Research Centre’s quarterly newsletter (August 2006)
