August 14, 2009 • 11:37 am
For many former child soldiers the reintegration part of DDR (disarmament, rehabilitation and reintegration) can be the most traumatic. They are often no longer accepted by their communities and their families, and are sometimes feared or even reviled. According to psychologist Michael Wessells, a professor at Columbia University and author of the book Child Soldiers: From Violence to Protection:
Stigmatization is a persistent problem faced by former child soldiers when attempting to reintegrate into society. This is especially true for girls, who, in addition to fulfilling domestic roles in armies, might take on combat responsibilities as well.
Author and former child soldier Ishmael Beal notes:
Socializing the children requires a strong community, society involvement, as the community, too, needs to heal and learn to accept the children again.
And then there can be other issues…
Nay Myo Hein, a former child soldier from Burma faces deportation charges after his application for refugee status was denied. CBA News in Canada tells his story:
[Hein] explained that he was kidnapped while at a train station when he was 12 years old and sent to a camp for child soldiers. That experience, he said, was traumatic… After nearly two years as a child soldier, he deserted the army… Then, for almost 10 years, Hein said he lived a secretive life in Burma… In 2007, while working on a container ship that had docked off Canada’s East Coast, Hein jumped ship and eventually made his way to Saskatoon, where he now lives with relatives.
According to Hein, he could face imprisonment or even execution upon his arrival in Burma due to possible desertion charges.
Filed under: Burma, DDR , army, burma, child soldier, military, mynamar
…we’ve posted many articles and facts on disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation (DDR) for child soldiers on this blog, but not enough can be said about the importance of proper treatment programs for former child soldiers to ensure a productive life and a return to mainstream society.
Long term and follow-up treatment is essential for DDR to work:
From Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers: “Demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) programs specifically aimed at child soldiers have been established in many countries, both during and after armed conflict and have assisted former child soldiers to acquire new skills and return to their communities. However, the programs lack funds and adequate resources. Sustained long-term investment is needed if they are to be effective.”
From Jesuit Refugee Service: “[Programs need to] establish long term follow up to accompany children after they leave the centre. It would certainly make sense to visit more regularly those children who have reintegrated into their communities, and especially to assist those who have started their own revenue-generating activities. This aspect is completely neglected by the operational framework when in fact it is the measure of the success of the undertaking. Follow up of this kind requires substantial financial means, due to the cost of travelling in a region without roads and where infrastructure has been destroyed by years of conflict. Nonetheless the expense, although considerable, is justifiable and should definitely be funded to ensure real efficiency in the reintegration aspect of the DDR programme.”
From the United Nations DDR Center: “Reintegration is the process by which ex-combatants acquire civilian status and gain sustainable employment and income. Reintegration is essentially a social and economic process with an open time-frame, primarily taking place in communities at the local level. It is part of the general development of a country and a national responsibility, and often necessitates long-term external assistance.”
More postings on this topic:
DDR – Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs need long term support and funding
Back to the topic of reintegration; stigmatization faced by former child soldiers
Key concerns with DDR (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration) programs
“Are reintegration programs still needed years after a war is over?”
Filed under: DDR, Educational, Treatment Centers , child soldier, children, DDR, news, treatment, United Nations, War
The People’s Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD) – since April of this year – has released 166 boys and 16 girls aged between 10 and 17. The promised release follows a visit by Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict UN Radhika Coomaraswamy and a signed peace agreement where a commitment to release the children was made. UNICEF has been a major player in coordinating the surrender of the children and “nearly all those child soldiers have since been reunited with their families.”
The UN agency has been working closely with the CAR Government and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to plan and coordinate the release of the children, who mostly hail from Ouham Pendé province in the north of the country.
To aid in the rehabilitation process, two centers have been constructed for initial processing , medical care and psychological counseling of the children. At the centers they are also given a package that includes “clothes, sleeping mats, blankets and personal hygiene items” and are provided with opportunites for classes in literacy and math.
Recognizing the importance of long-term rehabilitation programs, “UNICEF is calling for an additional $1 million to ensure that the demobilization and reintegration of the child soldiers can continue.” While longer-term recovery classes are available in their former communities once they have been reintegrated – including catch-up classes for school for younger children and technical training for older children - there is often a “limited access to basic services and few employment opportunities”. In addition, “sporadic fighting continues in northern CAR, particularly near the borders with Chad and Sudan,” further complicating the reintegration process. Says Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s representative in Bangui, the CAR capital:
Reintegration is a long and often difficult process in any circumstance, and the prevailing climate of insecurity adds to the challenges. We need to keep up our assistance to these communities if we want the demobilization programme to succeed.
For more information:
Filed under: Central African Republic, DDR, Girl Soldiers, Treatment Centers, United Nations , CAR, Central African Republic, child soldiers, DDR, UN, UNICEF, War
“Using counselling sessions, art and acting“, former abductees, child soldiers and child victims of war are being rehabilitated and reintegrated back into their communities in war-torn Uganda. The Children of War Center in Gulu, operated by World Vision Canada, has helped to rehabilitate more than 15,000 children. Many of the children arriving at the center exhibit post-traumatic stress symptoms. Says Dirk Booy, executive director of World Vision Canada, of the children at the center:
They come to us traumatized, stigmatized, some of them experienced signs of post-traumatic stress. The centre works with them on these issues helping them draw out their experiences and get back to a normal routine.
The decades long war in Uganda has produced a prodigious number of child soldiers; estimates range from a minimum of 25,000 to close to 60,000. Most have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army and forced to serve as soldiers, laborers and sex slaves.
Endre Vestvik, CRN/Hope In Action – Nicole is ten years old. She was raped by rebel soldiers in DR Congo.
According to Booy, a combination of of modern science and traditional cleansing practices are essential to the children’s healing process. Says Marc and Craig Kielburger from Free the Children, ”the process of rehabilitation and giving them a new life is complicated and requires personal and cultural forgiveness.” For example, there is the egg ceremony in Uganda.
The egg ceremony has a distinct purpose in acknowledging the foreign elements that crushed the community and the child. In addition, the child must jump over two twigs. The first, called the layibi, is used to open the granary, symbolizing a return to where one once ate. The second, from the opobo tree, is traditionally used to make soap. It represents cleansing.
Filed under: DDR, Treatment Centers, Uganda , child soldiers, children, Congo, DRC, rape
The recent conviction of Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leaders Issa Hassan Sesay and Morris Kallon at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, of 16 counts of war crimes including “acts of terrorism”, mutilation, terrorism, rape, forced marriage, sexual slavery, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers, has also had the added effect of elevating the crime of forced marriage and sexual violence as a “crime separate from sexual slavery“. Girls forced into marriage and those who suffered sexual violence in being forced to join Lubanga’s militia, are now considered victims of “a crime against humanity distinct from other forms of sexual violence such as sexual slavery because of the length of the association and its domestic nature.” From IRIN:
According to local NGOs many women and girls associated with the rebel forces, especially those not in fighting roles, were excluded from the official disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration process whereby ex-combatants received money and training to help them re-enter civilian life.
Filed under: DDR, Girl Soldiers, Intl Criminal Ct, Laws, Treaties, Sierra Leone , child soldiers, Congo, Human Rights, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, War
…The Rwandan army and the DRC have been engaged in joint operations against the FDLR in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the past two months.
In the past five weeks, hundreds of children have been rescued from the fighting in this region, says the UN.
Refugees have been pouring into Uganda and Rwanda. Says IRIN: “5,000 Rwandans, mainly civilians, had been repatriated from eastern Congo since January” and “7,364 refugees have “entered Uganda from North Kivu.” Others are returning to their homes in Congo. Jean Sayinzoga, chairman of the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission says of the refugees:
…Adults were separated from former child soldiers and both groups counseled, given skills and taught values for a new life.
Filed under: Congo, DDR, Rwanda, Uganda , child soldiers, Congo, DDR, refugees, Rwanda, War
