Child Warriors of West Africa

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regional child Warriors in West africa

conflict trends I3

A widesread and delorable develoment in

recent ears is an increase in the ractice o using

oung children as soldiers. There are as man as

300 000 children under the age o 18 resentl serving

as combatants around the globe; reresenting 10% o

all global combatants.1 The are recruited b national

armies, terrorist organisations and rebel grous.

In West Arica, thousands o children have been

involved in conlicts in the last 15 ears. The wanton

acts o violence that characterised these conlicts

include summar executions o innocent civilians,

orceul amutations o the limbs o ordinar citizens,

rae o women and children, destruction o roert

with reckless abandon, cutting oen the bellies o

regnant women just to see what sex the child is,

and other atrocities that are too horriic to mention.

Sadl, the eretrators o these violent acts included

child combatants, who have acquired a reutation

among commanders or unquestionable obedience

and a reutation among civilians or extreme cruelt.

Emowered b Kalashnikov (AK-47) riles and oten

high on marijuana or crack cocaine, the were enabled

to serve as combatants both in their own countries and

neighbouring countries.

Since the late 1980s, the armed conlicts in

Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cte dIvoire have

reverberated across each countrs orous borders.

Roving back and orth rom one conlict to another

across these borders is a migrant oulation o oung

ighters regional warriors who view war mainl as

GETTyIMAGES

WRITTEN By By ALLAn QuEE

Above: Child combatats have a reptatio for

qestioable obediece ad extreme crelty.


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an economic oortunit.2 Driting in and out o wars

and oerating as the wish, it is rightl agreed that

the are the most dangerous tool that an governmentor rebel arm can have.

In West Arica, the militar careers o these

regional warriors oten began as children, when the

are abducted and orcibl recruited to ight with an

armed grou in their own countr. Once recruited, these

children undergo varing degrees o indoctrination,

and are shoved into a world o brutalit, hsical

hardshi, orced labour and drug abuse socialising

them into violence. Subsequentl, the emerge as

eretrators, willing to commit heinous atrocities on

the civilian oulation.

Later, ater the conlict ends, as veteran ighters

struggling or suort and a means o livelihood

within the war-shattered econom at home, andunable to coe with the shortcomings o ost-conlict

rogrammes, the are lured b recruiters back to

the rontlines this time to a neighbours war and

subsequentl drawn into regional conlicts.

The ollowing is a stor o a child combatant, who

was recruited when he was about 18 ears old.3

I was living with m mother, a ett trader in

Kailahun, the eastern art o Sierra Leone. One

morning, ater m mother had gone to the market

to sell her wares and most o the other grown-us

4I conflict trends

GETTyIMAGES

Regional child warriors are a migrant population of young fighters who rove back and forth from one conflict to

another in order to improve their economic circumstances and life situations.

THERE ARE AS MANy AS 300 000 CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE Of 18 pRESENTLy

SERVING AS COMBATANTS AROUND THE GLOBE; REpRESENTING 10% Of ALL

GLOBAL COMBATANTS


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had gone to the arm or to the market, I was in ourcomound laing with other children, when the

Revolutionar United front (RUf) rebels attacked

their village and came to our comound. Dragged

b m eet rom under the bed, I was thrown in

the middle o the comound, joining a grou o six

other bos about the same age. We were eventuall

taken to the rebels base cam, where initiall I

served as a house hel to m commanders wives.

Later, I was trained and drated into the Small

Bos Unit (SBU), where I rose to the rank o a

deut commander.

Our unit mainl comrises o child combatants

between the ages o eight and 15, who were

similarl abducted during raids in villages, towns

and dierent communities. One o our main areas

o assignment was to la ambush, as traders l the

route with their wares. This was crucial to armed

grous, as it rovided us with ood, medicines and

sometimes manower. Our orders were to collect

the oodstu and medicines, get just enough

manower to tote the goods to the base, kill andburn the rest. We also carried such raids in villages

and towns, carring out the same order.

Ater our ears as a combatant, the eace

agreement was signed in m countr, and

ater disarmament I started going through the

Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration

(DDR) rocess. I never met m mother again. I was

sent to school, but it was diicult to coe. Later, a

ormer SBU mate told me that his commander has

a mission in Liberia. He seems to have a lot o

mone, and had recentl bought a biccle. Ater,

about 11 o us crossed with him over to Liberia.

Once in Liberia, we were given guns and another

commander came to tell us about the oeration.

When ighting in neighbouring countries, the

regional warriors are generall reerred to as Secial

forces. With training rom outside and revious war

exerience, the Secial forces are exected to la

an essential role in the conlict. In West Arica, most

conflict trends I5

Child soldiers are empowered by weapos, which they are able to operate with terrifyig skill, particlarly whe

der the iflece of arcotics.

REUTERS/THEBIGGERpICTURE


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6I conflict trends

REUTERS/THEBIGGERpICTURE

o these regional warriors have ought with at least

two armed grous in as man countries, and man

have ought with three or more grous. Man RUf

ex-combatants in Sierra Leone crossed over and joined

the National patriot front o Liberia (NpfL). As members

o the NpfL armed grou, the were involved in cross-

border attacks in neighbouring Guinea and Cte dIvoire.

Recritmet

Recruiters o regional warriors are mostl ormer

commanders rom the original grou o ighters or,

rather interestingl, other commanders or ighters

who were reviousl enemies. fighters rom dierent

grous get to know each other as the assemble in

disarmament sites. As in man cases, association to a

articular grou is not based on olitical or ideological

commitment. Thus, there is hardl an uture

commitment ater disarmament.

Also, recruitments have taken lace rom within

dislaced and reugee cams. There are reorts o

recruitments in cams in Guinea, Sierra Leone and

Liberia. Conirmed reorts state that the Movement or

Democrac in Liberia (MODEL) action started rom a

reugee cam in Ghana. A 15-ear-old narrates4:

There were several meetings held b elders rom

our tribe (kran) in the cam. One da, around

midnight, about 40 o us were brieed about the

situation back home. We were told that our eole

have been held cative and slaughtered b the

Charles Talor government. And that we must ight

to remove Charles Talor rom ower. We were

told that the Ivor Coast government would sul

arms and necessar training. A week or two later,

around 5:00am, ew hundreds o us let the reugee

cam in Ghana or Ivor Coast in three buses.

Factors Leadig to the Regioal Child Warriors

Pheomeo

It is quite diicult to understand how a child can

join and ight or an arm without necessaril even

understanding or believing in the articular cause.

Disarmamet ad demobilisatio programmes that offered cash hadots provided a ecoomic icetive for

regioal child soldiers to move from oe coflict i the regio to the ext.


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The resence o children in the battleronts o

conlicts in West Arica can be mainl attributed to the

ollowing actors.

Economic Factor

In West Arica, the resence o children in

the battleields mainl emerges rom intertwined

orces. These regional warriors are born in and

ight in some o the worlds oorest countries. Until

recentl, Sierra Leone occuied the lowest ranking

in the United Nations Develoment projects (UNDp)

Human Develoment Index. The overt statistics and

develoment indicators in the neighbouring countries

are among the 20 least-develoed countries in the

world, which demonstrates the extreme overt in

this region. Disossessed and disconnected, living

a recarious economic existence in a shattered

ost-conlict econom, obsessed with the struggle

or dail survival and then being motivated b the

romise o inancial comensation, and ossibl the

oortunit to loot oers an invaluable oortunit

or re-recruitment into subsequent wars.

In examining the deseration o Liberian outh

drawn into war, Swedish anthroologist Mat Utas5

conflict trends I7

G

ETTyIMAGES

A child soldier, wearig a teddy-bear backpack, poits his g at a photographer i Morovia, Liberia i 2003.

ALONE, ORpHANED, fRIGHTENED, AND WITH fRAGMENTED fAMILIES, THERE

ARE fEW INfLUENCES THAT CAN COMpETE WITH A WARRIORS LIfE


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writes: for these oung eole, the dail rosect o

overt, joblessness and marginalization eectivel

blocked the aths to a normal adulthood; drawing them

instead into a subculture characterized b abjection,

resentment and rootlessness. As oortunit came,

their voluntar enlistment into one o the several rebel

armies o the civil war thereore became an attractive

otion or man.

An Environment and Culture of Conflict

Vicious ccles o bad governance and the

inevitable economic decline in Liberia, Sierra Leone,

Guinea and Cte dIvoire allowed this region to

be suscetible to reeated waves o insurgencies.

The conlicts in this region were long-drawn-out. At

some stage, Sierra Leone and Liberia were ighting

internal conlicts at the same time. Children growing

u in these countries and contexts tend to see

this as a ermanent wa o lie. Alone, orhaned,

rightened, and with ragmented amilies, there are

ew inluences that can comete with a warriors lie.

furthermore, ater a eace agreement was reached

in Sierra Leone, neighbouring Liberia was still at war,

and then Cte dIvoire. This created an environment

or ex-combatants to continue utilising their militar

careers. In addition, the DDR and Rehabilitation

(DDRR) rogrammes across this orous border region,

oering widel varing cash handouts rom US$300

in Liberia to US$900 in neighbouring Cte dIvoire

were a motivating actor to move rom one conlict to

the next one i not or anthing but to be eligible to

access the DDRR rogramme and incentives.

Vulnerable and Opportune Target Group

Commanders have ointed out that children are

loal and obedient. Due to the act that their immature

minds can be easil maniulated and indoctrinated,

unoular armies and rebel grous are able to ield

ar greater orces b using children as a chea and

eas wa to obtain recruits. Exeriences in West Arica

show that the are eective soldiers and can oerate

with terriing audacit, articularl when under the

inluence o narcotics. furthermore, the changes in

weaons technolog and rolieration o light weaons

have acted as enablers, allowing this ool o children

to be taed as a new source o militar labour. A child

might be able to wield a sword or machete, but is no

match or a similarl armed adult. However, a child

with an assault rile is a earsome match or anone.

The Life of a Child Regioal Warrior

At the age o 17, Lahai6 is now a veteran ighter.7

He was abducted b the RUf in Sierra Leone at the age

o nine. Ater disarmament in Sierra Leone, he crossed

over to neighbouring Liberia with his commander, to

ight alongside the NpfL. As there were reorts that

the Guinean and Ivorian governments were suorting

their rivals the Liberians United or Reconciliation

and Democrac (LURD) and MODEL orces resectivel

he was involved in several cross-border raids in

these countries, and later ought as a member o the

NpfL in Cte dIvoire or a ear. Initiall, ighting in

french-seaking Guinea and Cte dIvoire was diicult

or Lahai, coming rom Sierra Leone and later Liberia,

where English is the oicial language. He learned the

language and can now communicate luentl.

During Lahais lie as a regional warrior, he has

ought as a member o a rebel grou (RUf) against the

government in Sierra Leone, ought on a government

side (NpfL) in Liberia, and against the government

orces in Guinea and Cte dIvoire. Lie as a oreign

ighter can be ver risk, he exlained. Sometimes

ou are ambushed and ou cant even remember the

wa to retreat; the enem seems to be everwhere.

In another instance in Guinea, when the national

arm went on the oensive and were orced to retreat

abandoning everthing, ood became scarce. This

resulted in cannibalism, where the catives were killed

and some o their bod arts eaten, and regnant

womens bellies were cut oen, the oetus ounded in

mortar and then eaten.

Although Lahai received cash incentives rom

three disarmament rogrammes in Sierra Leone,

Liberia and Cte dIvoire, his lie towards rehabilitation

has not been ver successul. He is a droout living in

neighbouring Liberia, ather o a six-month-old bab

and working as an illegal motorccle driver.

I cant go home, he said. There is no home or

me to go. M dream is to become a doctor, its a

resectable roession. But its not working out that

wa. There are rumours about recruitment or a

mission in Guinea, mabe b the government or a

rebel grou. I aroached again, I think I will go.

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A SOCIETy INHERITING A GENERATION Of CHILD SOLDIERS IS A SIGNIfICANT

SOCIAL CRISIS IN THE MAKING, AS IT CAN IGNITE fUTURE CyCLES Of CONfLICTS

THAT CAN THREATEN REGIONAL STABILITy


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conflict trends I9

I have a six-month-old daughter whose mother has

let me. I need mone to suort her.

Lahais stor deicts the situation o thousands

o child soldiers ighting in neighbouring countries as

regional warriors. The sread o warlordism and ailed

states have created a new mode o war. Wars are driven

less b olitics and more or ersonal roit b local

warlords, who see the new ossibilit o converting

vulnerable, disconnected children into low-cost andexendable troos who can be easil maniulated

to ight and die or their selish causes. Later, these

children are abandoned in a worse condition than the

were in originall.

Recruiting children like Lahai into conlicts as

soldiers does generate roblems, even ater the war

is over. The children endure long-term trauma, which

aects their schological and moral develoment.

A societ inheriting a generation o child soldiers is a

signiicant social crisis in the making, as it can ignite

uture ccles o conlicts that can threaten regional

stabilit. A noted examle is Liberia, which had three

civil wars in a san o 14 ears.

Itervetios

In a bid to tackle this crisis, several rogrammes

have been designed b various intervenors. Search

or Common Ground in West Arica has develoed

a outh strateg rogramme that seeks to identioortunities where outh can have a ositive

inluence in olitical and social events as the unold

in the region. The rogramme targets three main

grous: oung eole who are out o school and

seeking livelihoods; outh leaders who are alread

art o organised eorts to address issues aecting

oung eole; and elders and decision-makers, who

have a big inluence on oung eole, including district

council members, educators and aramount chies.

Former Revoltioary uited Frot (RuF) child soldiers wait to be tred over to the uited natios i 2001 i

Sierra Leoe. The RuF was ifamos for its forced recritmet of child soldiers.

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The overall goal o the outh strateg is to acilitate

the inclusion and articiation o oung women and

men in consolidating eace and develoment in

the region.

In Sierra Leone, in consultation with the United

Nations (UN) Secretar Generals Reresentative

or Children and Armed Conlict, the National

Commission or War Aected Children was created,with the mission to develo and acilitate the

imlementation o rogrammes or imroving the

welare o war-aected children. These included

street children, orhans, sexuall abused children,

returnee unaccomanied minors, and other children

in diicult circumstances.

In Liberia, the Landmine Action programme

aims to gain an understanding o the wider issue

o armed grous in order to develo a sustainable

sstem o identiing, training and reintegrating

ex-combatants into civilian societ. This involves

training grous o oreign ex-combatants including

child warriors who reviousl occuied the Guthrie

rubber lantation, in agriculture. This training aims

to rovide livelihoods, and suorts the eorts o

ex-combatants to become roductive and resonsible

members o societ.

Once armed conlict ends, child combatants

oten ind themselves deeated b socio-economic

conditions, which susends them in a world o

boredom and overt. With the oer to ight another

battle, the sli otimisticall across borders into the

next war. It is thereore crucial that DDRR rogrammes

designed to engage child soldiers should have a long-

term mandate, with an aroach o getting to knowthese childrens thoughts, motivations and hoes,

and develoing rogrammes that have a chance o

utting them on the ath towards meaningul and

sustainable reintegration.

furthermore, eorts to romote eace and

develoment in the region b the governments

concerned require an understanding o the root

causes o the civil conlicts. The lack o educational

and emloment oortunities have been major

contributing actors in the causes o armed conlict.

Taking u arms to earn a better standard o living

can be ver convincing. Other solutions must

include curbing the sread o illegal small arms, and

rosecuting those leaders who abuse children in this

wa that is, those resonsible or the recruitment

and training o child soldiers.

Coclsio

Aart rom the raw human traged, the eect

o this child soldier doctrine or war itsel is quite

terriing. With the involvement o children, generals,

warlords, terrorists and rebel leaders alike are inding

that conlicts are easier to start and harder to end. Last

ear, during weeks o internal crisis in neighbouring

Guinea, it was conirmed that ex-ighters crossed

over rom Liberia to Guinea to articiate in the

ongoing disturbances.8 The same was reeated in

Setember 2007, during the elections in Sierra Leone.Even now, as we exerience a season o calm in the

region, there are reorts that some child warriors

have since travelled thousands o kilometres to oer

their mercenar services in the Democratic Reublic

o the Congo. Such activit suggests that this region

is held hostage to a ticking time bomb o regional

warriors, read to join the next leader who whisers

a call to arms.

Alla Qee is a DDR practitioer from Sierra

Leoe. He has served as a traier ad resorce

perso o DDR ad ex-combatats isses to

varios istittios ad orgaisatios. He is

crretly with the un peacekeepig missio i

Liberia, workig with the DDRRR programme.

Edotes

1 Singer, peter W. (2005) The New Children of War: The

Lost Generation, New york: pantheon.

2 youth, povert and Blood: The Lethal Legac o West

Arica Regional Warriors, 2005 HRW reort.

3 pRIDE interview, Sierra Leone 2006 Assessment on

cross-border recruitment.

4 Allan Quee interview with child regional warriors in

Liberia, 2007.

5 Utas, Mats (2003) Sweet Battlefields: Youth and the

Liberian Civil War, Usala: Deartment o Cultural

Anthroolog and Ethnolog, Cultural Anthroolog.

6 The names o ex-combatants mentioned in this article

have been changed to rotect their identit and to

resect their rivac.

7 Allan Quee interview with child regional warriors in

Liberia, 2007.

8 Borteh, George J. (2007) The Analystnewsaer.

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conflict trends I11conflict trends 11I

strategies for Peace education

integration in ecoWas MeMber states

tertiary school curricula

WRITTEN By ISAAC OLAWALE ALBERT AND OLuREMI ALBERT

Above: Peace edcatio aims to bild a cltre of

peace throgh learig.

GETTyIMAGES

Itrodctio

Much has been invested b the Economic

Communit o West Arican States (ECOWAS), Arican

Union (AU), United Nations (UN) and other members o the

international communit in making, keeing and buildingeace in the West Arican subregion since the earl 1990s.

The outcomes o all these interventions are encouraging.

Whilst the ma not have been able to stand the test o

time, institutions o higher learning in West Arica have

started to oer degrees in eace and securit studies in

an attemt to increase the number o roessional eace

workers in the subregion. U until now, more than 90% o

the indigenous eace workers were trained in workshos

organised b the international agencies doing eace work

in the region. The knowledge rovided to the trainees

was limited in scoe, having been dictated b the ixed

mandate o the organisations that rovided the training.

The kind o ormal eace education advocated in

this article is the broad te that schools a student wellin ower, human rights and needs-based interventions.

The Deartment or International Develoment (DfID),

the United Nations Develoment programme (UNDp), the

United Nations-mandated Universit or peace (UpEACE)

Child Warriors of West Africa

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