Child Soldiers in Pakistan / Afghanistan

Though child are popularly known to be used in countries such as Uganda, CAR and Sudan in Africa, little is known about child soldiers used in Islamic countries.
This is an article explaining the situation.

Children in Tank, a remote town at the centre of Taleban activity in north-west Pakistan, are going missing.

It is a disturbing phenomenon that Tank shares with other towns on the edge of Pakistan's tribal belt. Reports says the children - some as young as 11 - are being kidnapped by pro-Taleban militants.

Most people in Tank are unwilling to admit it is happening and few will talk about it.
Pro-Taleban militants in the region deny they are recruiting children, blaming the region's troubles on government policy.

When people in Tank can be persuaded to talk about the missing children, most appear to guard every word, if they open their mouths, the whole family would suffer the Taleban's wrath.

"They don't really kidnap the children," says a local teacher.
But he is hesitant and thinks his words through.
"The Taleban convince them it is their duty to carry out jihad [holy struggle]."
But then he admits what he's left unsaid.
"How much convincing does a child need? ... Especially when promised adventure."

The trouble is that in most cases, the "adventure" the Taleban offer usually results in no possibility of return.

"They are being trained as fidayeen," the teacher half whispers.

"Fidayeen" literally means "those who sacrifice their lives".
In Afghanistan today, the term has a new meaning - suicide bomber.

The tale of a local school administrator in the town is typical of what is happening.

"The purpose of their visit [in January] was clear from the start," he said.
"The militants came to town with a mission, and wanted to convert us to their cause.
"They said that jihad was obligatory and those who heed the call are rewarded," the principal said.
"As many as 30 students from each of the four government schools in Tank 'enlisted'.
A similar number have also joined from private schools. The ages of those taken are between 11 to 15 years.

Asked why the school administration has not simply refused, the staff appear flabbergasted.

"Do you want me to lose my neck?" one asks bluntly.
"The Taleban don't ask for permission - they just tell us."

Even so, not everyone has given way to the militants.

At the private English medium school, Oxford High, an extraordinary battle for influence over the pupils was recently fought.

"They came on 23 March but the children had left," said a school teacher.
"The Taleban said they would be back later."

They did indeed return three days later, while an exam was taking place. The militants agreed for the exam to finish before they tried to take them away.

"They went outside to wait at 1000," the teacher said, "and an hour later all hell broke loose."

Local police and security forces had been monitoring the militants' activities.

"The first sound we heard was of a helicopter flying in low and then a loud explosion," a local explained.

This was at 1100. Over the next two hours the militants and security forces fought pitched battles. The militants suffered greater losses in the earlier exchanges. But they were soon back in greater numbers, and rolled through the town attacking anything or anyone connected with the government.
Some of the fighters were children as young as 12, eyewitnesses told the BBC.
The security forces were also attacked, and now keep a low profile.

Many locals say they are not properly protected, since then, the militants have had a free hand in the town. But the authorities are not willing to admit anything is amiss.

"I have been here just two months," says Muhammad Idrees Khan, the town's deputy chief of police.

He argues that the parents should come forward if there is a problem.
But locals says that parents are extremely scared.

"They harbour hopes of their children returning if they keep quiet," explains one.
"But if they open their mouths, the whole family would suffer the Taleban's wrath."

On the streets of Tank, students coming out of the local college have ambivalent feelings about the situation.

"We are not extremists... we are liberal people," says a student who has just appeared for his physics paper.

"But our identity is Islamic."

Others are highly critical of the government.

"They are the ones who should be protecting us," said one, "and yet there is not much sign that they are even half-prepared to do so."

Child soldiers in Rwanda and Congo

Rwanda and DR Congo in 'proxy war'


About 250,000 people are thought to have fled their homes to escape fighting in eastern DR Congo [AFP]


Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are engaged in a proxy war with each providing assistance to the other's enemies, a report by a United Nations Security Council panel has said.

The report, which was authored by five outside experts, says that Rwanda has been assisting Laurent Nkunda, a Tutsi rebel leader, in his fight against DR Congo government forces in the east of the country.

Meanwhile, DR Congo is providing help to ethnic Hutu rebels and other forces against Rwanda, the report says.

The panel also said it had evidence that armed groups from both sides of the conflict were using child soldiers and were engaged in illegal mineral trading.

Rwandan authorities have been "complicit in the recruitment of soldiers, including children, have facilitated the supply of military equipment and have sent officers and units" to help Nkunda, the report says.

In turn, Nkunda uses Rwanda as "a rear base for fundraising meetings and bank accounts," the report said.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/12/200812137240698664.html

Child Soldiers article

Check out the link to a BBC news article on child soldiers - the story has just been posted


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7767261.stm

Hey guys, as you all know Jam Wrestling was a complete and utter sticky success, everyone seemed to have had fun, there was a good turnout and best of all I'm still able to make jam sandwiches from the leftovers still stuck to my coat!


The next (slightly less sugary) event is next thursday (the 4th); it's a showing of the documentary Invisible Children - an hour long film on the lives of child soldiers in Uganda, there will also be a representative from the Invisible Children organisation presenting the film. The event starts at 6:30 in the Dalhousie building (NTB) LT1 and it's completely free so try and get as many people to come as possible 'cos it should be great!

For more information on Child Soldiers the following organisations.....

D.A.R.E. AWARE - Directing you to organisations where you can take your interest further and see who is making a change in the lives of child soldiers.



For more information on Child Soldiers please visit the following organisations.....

www.warchild.org

www.warchild.org/links_resources/childsoldiers/childsoldiers.html

www.child-soldiers.org

www.hrw.org/childsoldiers

www.amnesty.org/en/children

www.unicef.org/emerg/index_childsoldiers.html

www.childsoldiers.net

www.childsoldiersglobalreport.org

www.un.org/works/goingon/soldiers/childsoldiersmap.html

www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/02/12/child.soldiers/index.html

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5213996.stm

www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,182805,00.html

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questions - only they can decide what they do from there"

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A Duty to Protect

War Wounds

FACTS on CHILD SOLDIERS

Child soldiers – factsheet

Today, UNICEF estimates that 300,000 children under the age of 18 serve in government forces or armed rebel groups. Some are as young as eight years old.

The participation of child soldiers has been reported in 33 on-going or recent armed conflicts in almost every region of the world.

Children are uniquely vulnerable to military recruitment because of their emotional and physical immaturity. They are easily manipulated and can be drawn into violence that they are too young to resist or understand.

Technological advances in weaponry and the proliferation of small arms have contributed to the increased use of child soldiers. Lightweight automatic weapons are simple to operate, often easily accessible, and can be used by children as easily as adults.

Children are most likely to become child soldiers if they are poor, separated from their families, displaced from their homes, living in a combat zone or have limited access to education. Orphans and refugees are particularly vulnerable to recruitment.

Many children join armed groups because of economic or social pressure, or because children believe that the group will offer food or security. Others are forcibly recruited, "press-ganged" or abducted by armed groups.

Both girls and boys are used as child soldiers. In case studies in El Salvador, Ethiopia, and Uganda, almost a third of the child soldiers were reported to be girls. Girls may be raped, or in some cases, given to military commanders as "wives."

Many young girls are forced to marry or perform sexual services for male combatants. Male and female child soldiers are often sexually abused, and are at high risk of unwanted pregnancies and contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

Once recruited, child soldiers may serve as porters or cooks, guards, messengers or spies. Many are pressed into combat, where they may be forced to the front lines or sent into minefields ahead of older troops. Some children have been used for suicide missions.

Children are sometimes forced to commit atrocities against their own family or neighbours. Such practices help ensure that the child is "stigmatized" and unable to return to his or her home community.

Few peace treaties recognize the existence of child soldiers, or make provisions for their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Many former child soldiers do not have access to the educational programs, vocational training, family reunification, or even food and shelter that they need to successfully rejoin civilian society. As a result, many end up on the street, become involved in crime, or are drawn back into armed conflict.

A Global Problem Child soldiering is a unique and severe manifestation of trafficking in persons that involves the recruitment of children through force, fraud, or coercion to be exploited for their labour or to be abused as sex slaves in conflict areas.

Child soldiers are often killed or wounded, with survivors often suffering multiple traumas and psychological scarring. Their personal development is often irreparably damaged.
Child soldiers are a global phenomenon. The problem is most critical in Africa and Asia, but armed groups in the Americas, Eurasia, and the Middle East also use children.

All nations must work together with international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to take urgent action to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate child soldiers.
In the past three years, the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs funded programs in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Liberia for reintegrating former child combatants.

International Labour Organization Convention 182, recognizes the "forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict" as one of the worst forms of child labour
UN Optional Protocol on the Use of Children in Armed Conflict that makes the minimum compulsory recruitment age 18.

Forcible abductions, sometimes of large numbers of children, continue to occur in some countries. Children as young as 8 have been abducted and used in combat.
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.

Despite growing recognition of girls' involvement in armed conflict, girls are often deliberately or inadvertently excluded from DDR programs. Girl soldiers are frequently subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence as well as being involved in combat and other roles. In some cases they are stigmatized by their home communities when they return. DDR programs should be sensitively constructed and designed to respond to the needs of girl soldiers.

Welcome to D.A.R.E. AWARE!

D.A.R.E. AWARE

- Raising awareness of humanitarian issues worldwide, on campus -

Thanks for coming across the new D.A.R.E. AWARE blogspot. This will be your new first stop blog for all the latest information, Awareness raising schemes and info an what we are getting up to.

The whole point of D.A.R.E. AWARE is to raise awareness of humanitarian issues worldwide, on our very own Uni campus.

Dundee University does not have any society around who is willing to raise awareness on issues around the world..... well! thats all changing!

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