Page 10 - January Febuary 2016 Issue
P. 10
Children on the Battleield: A Look into the Use of Child Soldiers in the DRC Conlict
get paid for their children’s services in warfare, taking part in armed conlict (Singer 2005).
the former may willingly surrender their This is the case because such children lack
children to armed forces in return for money basic necessities of life; such as food, shelter
or any form of income for their survival. and clothing, hence joining rebel groups/
Literature on child recruitment indicates that warfare becomes their survival strategy, their
on the whole, children are forcibly abducted viable alternative. Hence, the socio- economic
by rebel or government forces to join their conditions affecting children in any conlict
armies. It is also argued, however, that others environment must always be considered.
do join armed forces out of their own will;
they might join because they are supporting a Closely linked to the above is the effect of the
certain ideology or they are seeking revenge for HIV/AIDS pandemic on African societies in
the ills done to them (Twum-Danso 2003). A general and on children in particular. Africa,
survey on why children joined different armed especially the sub-Saharan region, has the
groups in the DRC conlict found that 9 percent highest number of HIV/AIDS infected cases
were abducted, 34 percent joined for material the world over. The numbers of infected cases
reasons, 21 percent joined because they are horrifying; 75 percent for that part of the
believed the group’s ideology, 10 percent joined region alone (Fukuda-Parr 2004:40). Thus the
for revenge purposes, and 11 percent joined HIV/AIDS pandemic results in large numbers
simply to leave their home (Coomaraswamy of orphans in turn creating a new pool of
2009). However, this line of thinking (that children susceptible to being pulled into
children join out of their own free will) is warfare (Singer 2005: 42). Without parental
challenged by (Machel 2001) who argues that support and care and with minimal prospects
it would be misleading to consider children for a steady source of food supply and
presenting themselves for service as ‘voluntary’ income, such children prefer to join armed
because at the time of recruitment children are forces, as one author argues, “for refugees…
faced with almost impossible choices; either orphaned, and the fearful, joining an armed
survival (by joining a faction) or death if they group sometimes appears the better of the bad
refuse, and in addition there is always pressure alternatives” (Cohn and Goodwin-Gill 1994:
to run away from the socio-economic problems 33).
in society, hence joining a faction becomes
the best alternative, and this can hardly be The prevalence of warfare in contemporary
described as voluntary. times is another factor that explains the
increased use of children in African conlicts.
The main argument from the literature Africa is one region with the highest number
therefore, is that collapsing socio-economic of conlicts the world over (Adebajo 2002).
conditions in a number of African countries to a With the intensiication of protracted intra-
larger extent determine whether or not children state conlicts in Africa, armed groups are
join wars. In light of this; homeless street always on the lookout for more recruits to
children, the internally displaced and those from replenish their troops and in most cases they
poor broken-up families are at higher risk of turn to children.
10
get paid for their children’s services in warfare, taking part in armed conlict (Singer 2005).
the former may willingly surrender their This is the case because such children lack
children to armed forces in return for money basic necessities of life; such as food, shelter
or any form of income for their survival. and clothing, hence joining rebel groups/
Literature on child recruitment indicates that warfare becomes their survival strategy, their
on the whole, children are forcibly abducted viable alternative. Hence, the socio- economic
by rebel or government forces to join their conditions affecting children in any conlict
armies. It is also argued, however, that others environment must always be considered.
do join armed forces out of their own will;
they might join because they are supporting a Closely linked to the above is the effect of the
certain ideology or they are seeking revenge for HIV/AIDS pandemic on African societies in
the ills done to them (Twum-Danso 2003). A general and on children in particular. Africa,
survey on why children joined different armed especially the sub-Saharan region, has the
groups in the DRC conlict found that 9 percent highest number of HIV/AIDS infected cases
were abducted, 34 percent joined for material the world over. The numbers of infected cases
reasons, 21 percent joined because they are horrifying; 75 percent for that part of the
believed the group’s ideology, 10 percent joined region alone (Fukuda-Parr 2004:40). Thus the
for revenge purposes, and 11 percent joined HIV/AIDS pandemic results in large numbers
simply to leave their home (Coomaraswamy of orphans in turn creating a new pool of
2009). However, this line of thinking (that children susceptible to being pulled into
children join out of their own free will) is warfare (Singer 2005: 42). Without parental
challenged by (Machel 2001) who argues that support and care and with minimal prospects
it would be misleading to consider children for a steady source of food supply and
presenting themselves for service as ‘voluntary’ income, such children prefer to join armed
because at the time of recruitment children are forces, as one author argues, “for refugees…
faced with almost impossible choices; either orphaned, and the fearful, joining an armed
survival (by joining a faction) or death if they group sometimes appears the better of the bad
refuse, and in addition there is always pressure alternatives” (Cohn and Goodwin-Gill 1994:
to run away from the socio-economic problems 33).
in society, hence joining a faction becomes
the best alternative, and this can hardly be The prevalence of warfare in contemporary
described as voluntary. times is another factor that explains the
increased use of children in African conlicts.
The main argument from the literature Africa is one region with the highest number
therefore, is that collapsing socio-economic of conlicts the world over (Adebajo 2002).
conditions in a number of African countries to a With the intensiication of protracted intra-
larger extent determine whether or not children state conlicts in Africa, armed groups are
join wars. In light of this; homeless street always on the lookout for more recruits to
children, the internally displaced and those from replenish their troops and in most cases they
poor broken-up families are at higher risk of turn to children.
10
