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Challenges
of reintegrating former child soldiers |
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GULERIYA,
31 December 2007 (IRIN)
Thousands
of former child soldiers have returned to their communities in Nepal over
the past year, but there are huge challenges facing their successful reintegration,
local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) say.
"We
still have to work a lot at the community level to ensure that the former
children associated with armed forces and groups (CAAFAGs) are treated
like children, encouraged to rejoin school and not looked upon as a burden
on society," said Iswari Prasad Biswokarma of the Dalit Welfare Organisation
(DWO).
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| The
DWO is involved in the reintegration and rehabilitation of CAAFAGs in Guleriya
village, Bardiya District, some 700km southwest of the capital, Kathmandu.
The
CAAFAGs in Nepal include child combatants and children associated with
armed Maoist rebels or government forces. They were used as porters, messengers,
spies, or for logistical support, and they were involved in cultural and
indoctrination programmes, according to the CAAFAG working group, a coalition
of UN agencies in the country and international and local NGOs. |
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Aged
9-18, these children initially joined the former Maoist rebels as entertainers
and political workers but later ended up in the Maoist People's Liberation
Army (PLA), NGO activists say.
Many
were tortured to force them to collaborate with government forces, according
to the CAAFAG working group
Fear
"Even
today, many children still fear the return of war and constantly fear being
tortured and abducted by both the Maoist rebels and government forces,"
said a reintegration worker in the remote Shivapur village, 30km from Guleriya,
requesting anonymity.
"I'm
not sure if my community will easily accept us back because they still
hate the Maoists a lot," said a 15-year old schoolgirl who had been involved
in the Maoists' cultural programmes.
Requesting
anonymity, the young girl told IRIN in her Bagna village that many of her
friends were still with the Maoists and had been sheltered in the UN-supervised
Maoist cantonment site of Bardiya.
Effective
reintegration programmes needed
Activists
working with CAAFAGs say more needs to be done to promote their return:
"Reintegration programmes should include more educational and vocational
training as well as psycho-social support. This could help more CAAFAGs
to return home," said CAAFAG worker Tilak Bahadur Sunuwar from DWO.
DWO,
with help from agencies like International Rescue Committee (IRC), the
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children-Norway (SCF-N) have successfully
reintegrated 147 CAAFAGs.
"The
most important role is played by the local communities, but they need to
be more aware of the need to help former CAAFAGs re-enrol in schools, learn
vocational skills and assure them of a better future," said Biswokarma.
Credit
IRIN 2008
Copyright
© UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2008
[
This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). |
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