IT IS the ultimate in human degradation: children taken from their families, then forced to bear arms, kill and maim. Sadly, it is a story in conflicts across the globe.
Those of us lucky enough to live far from the war zones of Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sri Lanka can scarcely imagine the psychological damage suffered by these children. Media reports have sown the idea that they represent a lost and broken generation. 鈥淜ids with only one viable skill 鈥� killing- will plague their country and communities for years to come,鈥� ended one from Sierra Leone, published in The New York Times.
So the latest research on former child combatants from conflicts in Uganda and Mozambique will come as a surprise. Far from plaguing their countries, it seems that they may be more politically engaged and economically productive than their peers who were not forced to fight (see 鈥淏rutalised child soldiers can return to normality鈥�). What鈥檚 more, while some former child soldiers do bear psychological wounds, overall they show remarkable resilience. Communities that have suffered atrocities at the hands of child soldiers are also surprisingly welcoming of returnees. Reintegration may not be easy, but it seems that people tend towards forgiveness more than resentment and fear.
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If this is the picture that emerges from careful research, why has the stereotype persisted of former child soldiers as a lost generation? In part, we can blame a dynamic that operates between the media, eager to find the most vivid stories, and NGOs, which want to raise public awareness of child soldiering 鈥� stoking revulsion that will pressure political leaders to stamp it out.
This relationship tends to focus on individuals with the most brutal stories to tell. This may explain why the latest 鈥� largely anecdotal 鈥� on former child combatants in Uganda from the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers presents a more gloomy assessment of their prospects than the quantitative research conducted by the .
Some results of this latest research are disconcerting 鈥� especially that child soldiers may have acquired some positive motivations and skills. But we should not reject findings just because they make us uncomfortable. The strong message from projects like SWAY is that aid in conflict zones should be directed to the community as a whole, rather than to returning child soldiers 鈥� which can create resentment. Assistance should focus on those with the greatest need, whether or not they were former combatants.
Mental Health 鈥� Discover the latest research in our continuously updated special report.