Growing Up In Africa's Cruelest War Zone
Growing Up In Africa's Cruelest War Zone
It's terrible to be a child anyplace without adequate food, shelter or access to education. Add war, and society's youngest members face a life of relentless horror and uncertainty. But even war seldom produces the kind of cruelty endured by children in African war turned zones like Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, etc. Over the past two decades rebels in this war areas have systematically used child abuse as a military strategy. First children as young as 7 or 8 are abducted, reducing the chances to education. The girls are raped. Boys are forcibly injected with drugs and made to perform an atrocity: sometimes they must kill their own parents, or they might be forced to chop off someone's hand. Those who refuse are killed. Afterward some become porters and sex slaves; others are mustered into child-soldier units. "The process of abducting children and forming them into rebel fighters is not something that happens by accident," says Corinne Difka of Human Rights Watch. "This was a plan that they thought out: to take these young people from their families and form them into effective soldiers."
Child soldiers are fearless. For good reason: they go into battle stoked with drugs. Sometimes the drugs are packed under adhesive bandages and seep into a slit cut into the child's face. There are proves that the rebel group known as the Revolutionary United Front also forces children to use marijuana and amphetamines. Refusal is punishable by death
But the era of the child soldiers with lack of education, food etc may be ending in this tormented corner of West Africa given that Socialist groups like AI (Amnesty International, TI (Transparency International) and the most important TWB (Teachers Without Boarders) have join the race to foster better or best education to the kids and elderly which is the Master hope for the for all. That is the best sign yet that these movement are finally feeling the squeeze of intensive British and other Western efforts to re- establish the states of Africa
Still, these children have a long road ahead. First, many must kick a serious drug habit. "Withdrawal has been a very big problem. You see post-traumatic-stress behavior emerging. Some even have hallucinations that they are still in battle. You begin to see their guilt over committing war crimes on the orders of their commanders." Some children turn violent. At transit centers, former child combatants get medical aid, food and vocational training.
Most child soldiers adapt fast to peacetime. Relief agencies put a premium on reuniting these war victims with their families, even in cases where the child has committed atrocities under duress. Others at least move back to their home regions. I am very convince that only education and efforts like that of TWB can really improved children in areas such as Sudan - MARIAL BAI SECONDARY SCHOOL. Once these children are back in school. Once they are in the right environment, we start to see the change very quickly. But it's only just beginning, we really have to be determine, steadfast and ready to do a lot for the beginning is never ever, Thanks a lot TWB, very sure that your force is the best to recon with in recent times particularly now in Africa where leadership invest more on longtivity in service instead of investing on the interest of and hope of the people who voted them.
Long Live Teachers Without Boarder,
Long Live Valentino Achak Deng Foundation
Yuh Maurice Martin
Cameroon
It's terrible to be a child anyplace without adequate food, shelter or access to education. Add war, and society's youngest members face a life of relentless horror and uncertainty. But even war seldom produces the kind of cruelty endured by children in African war turned zones like Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, etc. Over the past two decades rebels in this war areas have systematically used child abuse as a military strategy. First children as young as 7 or 8 are abducted, reducing the chances to education. The girls are raped. Boys are forcibly injected with drugs and made to perform an atrocity: sometimes they must kill their own parents, or they might be forced to chop off someone's hand. Those who refuse are killed. Afterward some become porters and sex slaves; others are mustered into child-soldier units. "The process of abducting children and forming them into rebel fighters is not something that happens by accident," says Corinne Difka of Human Rights Watch. "This was a plan that they thought out: to take these young people from their families and form them into effective soldiers."
Child soldiers are fearless. For good reason: they go into battle stoked with drugs. Sometimes the drugs are packed under adhesive bandages and seep into a slit cut into the child's face. There are proves that the rebel group known as the Revolutionary United Front also forces children to use marijuana and amphetamines. Refusal is punishable by death
But the era of the child soldiers with lack of education, food etc may be ending in this tormented corner of West Africa given that Socialist groups like AI (Amnesty International, TI (Transparency International) and the most important TWB (Teachers Without Boarders) have join the race to foster better or best education to the kids and elderly which is the Master hope for the for all. That is the best sign yet that these movement are finally feeling the squeeze of intensive British and other Western efforts to re- establish the states of Africa
Still, these children have a long road ahead. First, many must kick a serious drug habit. "Withdrawal has been a very big problem. You see post-traumatic-stress behavior emerging. Some even have hallucinations that they are still in battle. You begin to see their guilt over committing war crimes on the orders of their commanders." Some children turn violent. At transit centers, former child combatants get medical aid, food and vocational training.
Most child soldiers adapt fast to peacetime. Relief agencies put a premium on reuniting these war victims with their families, even in cases where the child has committed atrocities under duress. Others at least move back to their home regions. I am very convince that only education and efforts like that of TWB can really improved children in areas such as Sudan - MARIAL BAI SECONDARY SCHOOL. Once these children are back in school. Once they are in the right environment, we start to see the change very quickly. But it's only just beginning, we really have to be determine, steadfast and ready to do a lot for the beginning is never ever, Thanks a lot TWB, very sure that your force is the best to recon with in recent times particularly now in Africa where leadership invest more on longtivity in service instead of investing on the interest of and hope of the people who voted them.
Long Live Teachers Without Boarder,
Long Live Valentino Achak Deng Foundation
Yuh Maurice Martin
Cameroon
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