Page 9 - January Febuary 2016 Issue
P. 9
Children on the Battleield: A Look into the Use of Child Soldiers in the DRC Conlict
Why have children become a target for Poor socio-economic conditions in a number
armed groups and some government forces of African countries put children at a high risk
in contemporary African conlicts? A of armed conlict. The case of the DRC in this
number of factors/conditions help explain regard is the most telling. Despite its abundant
the unprecedented increase both in the resources, the country is one of the poorest
number of child soldiers and their horrifying countries in the world with a GDP per capita
acts in today’s conlicts. In the irst place, of 400 USD (CIA 2013). The collapse of the
technological changes in weaponry in the country’s economy has been, among other
contemporary era have seen the participation of factors, due to hyperinlation, mismanagement
children in armed conlicts take on a different of state resources, corruption (especially by
dimension. As Machel (2001: 2) points out, the top elites), the protracted conlict that
“Indeed, small arms, light and easy to use, has characterized the country’s history, and
are now so readily available that the poorest the HIV/AIDS pandemic (Beya 2014). In a
communities can gain access to deadly weapons scenario like this one, the youth are the ones
capable of transforming any local conlict into hardest hit by dire poverty and such a situation
a bloody slaughter”. That earlier weapons makes them vulnerable and exposes them to
were heavy and required enough strength in dangerous risks, one of which is becoming
order to carry and operate is one reason why easy prey for recruitment by armed militias
children could not be engaged in active combat, (Kaplan 2005). This is not to say that all poor
however, today’s weapons have been made children in conlict situations end up as child
lighter and they require neither strength nor soldiers, rather poverty contributes highly
years of training to master, to the extent that to this phenomenon as it lessens the options
even children as young as seven can operate available to children in such an environment
them (Singer 2005). Added to this, today’s (Twum- Danso 2003).
weapons have become more lethal, such that, a
weapon in the hand of a child is able to produce In addition, the peripheral position of
the same result one would expect if the weapon Africa in the global economy has serious
was being operated by an adult. Another factor implications for its people, especially
has to do with the easy access in obtaining children. In the year 2000, a United Nations
these weapons. Globalization, with its resultant Development Programme report stated that
lower trading costs and faster delivery times, “Africa is singled out as the only region in the
also applies in the case of weaponry, and it is world where both the absolute number and
argued that “there is no place around the globe the proportion of poor people are expected to
where small arms are not startlingly cheap and increase during this millennium” (Poku 2001:
easily accessible” (Singer 2005: 48). Africa is 23). Critical as the general situation is, it is
no exception – weapons are readily available. even worse for children who in some cases
This makes the militarization of societies, and are forced to fend for themselves and their
children especially much easier. families. In certain instances where parents
1 Thesegirlsareexpectedtoperformthedutiesofanyordinarywife, cooking, washingtaking careof the men
andofcoursesatisfying their sexualneeds.
9
Why have children become a target for Poor socio-economic conditions in a number
armed groups and some government forces of African countries put children at a high risk
in contemporary African conlicts? A of armed conlict. The case of the DRC in this
number of factors/conditions help explain regard is the most telling. Despite its abundant
the unprecedented increase both in the resources, the country is one of the poorest
number of child soldiers and their horrifying countries in the world with a GDP per capita
acts in today’s conlicts. In the irst place, of 400 USD (CIA 2013). The collapse of the
technological changes in weaponry in the country’s economy has been, among other
contemporary era have seen the participation of factors, due to hyperinlation, mismanagement
children in armed conlicts take on a different of state resources, corruption (especially by
dimension. As Machel (2001: 2) points out, the top elites), the protracted conlict that
“Indeed, small arms, light and easy to use, has characterized the country’s history, and
are now so readily available that the poorest the HIV/AIDS pandemic (Beya 2014). In a
communities can gain access to deadly weapons scenario like this one, the youth are the ones
capable of transforming any local conlict into hardest hit by dire poverty and such a situation
a bloody slaughter”. That earlier weapons makes them vulnerable and exposes them to
were heavy and required enough strength in dangerous risks, one of which is becoming
order to carry and operate is one reason why easy prey for recruitment by armed militias
children could not be engaged in active combat, (Kaplan 2005). This is not to say that all poor
however, today’s weapons have been made children in conlict situations end up as child
lighter and they require neither strength nor soldiers, rather poverty contributes highly
years of training to master, to the extent that to this phenomenon as it lessens the options
even children as young as seven can operate available to children in such an environment
them (Singer 2005). Added to this, today’s (Twum- Danso 2003).
weapons have become more lethal, such that, a
weapon in the hand of a child is able to produce In addition, the peripheral position of
the same result one would expect if the weapon Africa in the global economy has serious
was being operated by an adult. Another factor implications for its people, especially
has to do with the easy access in obtaining children. In the year 2000, a United Nations
these weapons. Globalization, with its resultant Development Programme report stated that
lower trading costs and faster delivery times, “Africa is singled out as the only region in the
also applies in the case of weaponry, and it is world where both the absolute number and
argued that “there is no place around the globe the proportion of poor people are expected to
where small arms are not startlingly cheap and increase during this millennium” (Poku 2001:
easily accessible” (Singer 2005: 48). Africa is 23). Critical as the general situation is, it is
no exception – weapons are readily available. even worse for children who in some cases
This makes the militarization of societies, and are forced to fend for themselves and their
children especially much easier. families. In certain instances where parents
1 Thesegirlsareexpectedtoperformthedutiesofanyordinarywife, cooking, washingtaking careof the men
andofcoursesatisfying their sexualneeds.
9
