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Issue: July 27th 2003 |
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NWI Insights - Helping the child soldiers of the Democratic Republic of CongoA recent story on NWI by Michael McAuliffe of the CBC reported on the plight of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Congo has experienced five years of intense fighting but has recently come to an agreement to bring an end to the conflict and put into place a power sharing government. The report explained that in Bunia where much of the fighting has taken place, children as young as 8 years old have been recruited by the militias and taught how to use assault rifles and other weapons. Now the fighting has come to a halt, the aid organization Save the Children, has put together an initiative to help children get back to a more normal life. McAuliffe talks to Pascal a 13 year old who fought for a militia group in the DRC's civil war. Pascal spoke of his experience in the conflict saying that, "When I see the enemy I hit them because he's going to hit me too...." Pascal was beaten by members of the militia until he agreed to pick up a gun for them. He says he was whipped, and then not told where he was going or when he was coming back. He admits that his fate was in the hands of God. It is estimated that there are some 30,000 child soldiers and Bunia in the north-east of the DRC is one of the worse areas where as much as 60% of the militias are children. They are recruited by various means, some are orphans, others are enticed to the job through excitement and some are even sold by the families for much needed cash and the ability to alleviate one more mouth to feed. McAuliffe asserts that Pascal is one of the lucky ones, he managed to escape the militia and is now living in a Save the Children transit camp where he has a chance to live a more normal existence with other children who have also become free from the militia. There is a major campaign in the DRC to demobilize the militias, but first the government needs to become stable in order for real progress to be made. Another issue is that in Bunia some of the militias are still fighting despite the new developments for government. Kristine Peduto, a U.N. child protection officer in Bunia, says their efforts are to try and bring children back into the community and provide schools and professional training so that the children can get back to resemblance of a normal life. McAuliffe concludes that Pascal and his friends look set to be in the safety of the transit camp for many months to come. There are no schools and most of the children do not know where their families are. This extract forms part of just one of the many insightful news features presented on the 24 hour news network Newsworld International (NWI). If you would like further information or are interested in subscribing to NWI, visit their website at http://www.nwitv.com or telephone their subscription service on 1-800-280-4388. For further NWI insights, visit News Views archives. |
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