let there be boy and girl soldiers It is nothing new in these times, with wars that seem to have no end, as always. However, little is said about them. It is about minors who are forced to enter armed groups and forced to commit atrocious acts. It is unknown how many, although experts speak of tens or hundreds of thousands. And he, even though the international justice consider this practice a war crime.
There are in Asia, Near East, Latin Americabut especially in Africahe continent that concentrates the largest number of armed conflicts in the worldthe most forgotten. Next May marks 25 years since the adoption by the General Assembly of those under 18 years of age. In some countries they are still a dead letter.
He kidnapping It is the most common practice in this type of recruitment. The minors are beaten from their homes, taken to camps where they are indoctrinated and taught to fight and kill. In some cases and as initiation rite They are forced to murder an important member of the family, the father, the brother. The goal is to break all emotional ties. Since then, his new family has been the armed group, led by warlord shift.
Specific tasks
Each of them is assigned a specific task. From fighting on the front line, as cannon fodder, being spies, bodyguards for the bosses or carriers of ammunition and food. Girls also suffer sexual assaults, are sold as slaves or given as trophies to the cruelest combatants.
Las traumatic experiences lived by minor soldiers appear in numerous reports, journalistic reports and books. They are chilling testimonies. “When I was under the influence of drugs I only saw red blood, and then I felt an enormous desire to kill…During an attack we surrounded a camp of Nigerian soldiers from the peacekeeping forces and captured seven. The commander named those who should use the with a machete to cut them open and take out their liver and heart. I killed one… There was no choice: they would kill you if you refused. Since we were hungry, we ate the entrails with chicken and rice… After receiving a button. (promotion in rank), I no longer had to kill the prisoners. The little ones did it for me and I just ate them…, “This is one of the stories that appear in the book of the Spanish photojournalist Gervasio Sánchez.
The work collects the history of the then Xaverian missionary Chema Caballerothe person who took charge of the first reception centerrehabilitation and reintegration of soldier children of the world. Opened in 1999 in Sierra Leone, a country then at war, it welcomed about 3,000 minors. Caballero, who hung up his habit years ago, acknowledges that even today he has “nightmares about everything he has experienced.”
War as a “game”
“It is psychologically proven that children do not see danger as adults do,” he says to explain why warlords They want kids in their ranks. “That makes they could be more beasts in combat,” he adds. In addition to learn fast and being agile in battle, the minors are “obedient and see war almost as a game.” The effects of the drugs mean that “they almost do not feel pain or fatigue.” The former missionary, today a NGO consultant in Africa, also maintains that there is an economic component. “You don’t pay a child, you give him a little food, you dress him and that’s it.”
The rehabilitation of minors is long and complex. They suffer from post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and dissociation, among many others. psychological consequencesapart from the physics. Caballero still maintains contact with many of them who have managed to “come out of the violence and now lead a dignified life,” although he regrets that today there are very few centers like the one he directed in Sierra Leone.
“There is no money. Cooperation is always driven by trends,” he says. The former missionary knows that some of the minors that arrive in barges a Spain They flee their countries to avoid being hunted by armed groups.
International condemnation
at least three warlords of sido courts y convicts for the international justice by recruit childrenamong other accusations. Caballero participated in the trial against, former president of Liberiawho is currently serving a 50-year sentence. That same year, 2012, the International Criminal Court (CPI) sent the Congolese man to prison.
After serving his sentence, to the armed groups in his country. A unique case is that of the Ugandan, sentenced to 25 years in prison. Ongwen He was a child soldier who was kidnapped when he was 12 years old by the guerrilla group that, over time, he led.
“As long as there are wars there will be child soldiers”says Caballero. “The wars in Africa respond to economic interests. Diamonds, gold, coltan, oil, drug and human trafficking and arms sales,” he adds. “There are people and companies with enough power to stop these wars. They should also be judged by international courts,” he concludes.
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