BURUNDI CHILD SOLDIERS

This was recently in the news and caught my eye. Excitement (good things, this time!) continues in Burundi...

More than 200 child soldiers held by rebels have recently been demobilized here in Burundi! According to a report from UNICEF, the children, including one girl, were being held by a dissident group that had broke from the FNL (the last remaining rebel group here in Burundi).

The corpse of a young rebel of the National Liberation Front (FNL) lies in a street of Bujumbura, Burundi, 13 July 2003 (file photo)

Many of the children were as young as 10 when they were recruited by the FNL, and they were being kept in camps (in very poor condition!) to the north of Bujumbura. Even though negotiations for their release have been in the works for the last seven months, part of the motivation for their release now was the ongoing fighting between the national army and the FNL that has been occurring here for the last couple weeks. The children's security was at risk, as they were likely being kept in areas where there was/is fighting.

Since 2004, 3,000 former child soldiers have been returned to their communities with a 94% success rate of reintegrating back into Burundian society.

Of course, the process of reintegration is a difficult one. The former child soldiers suffer from a number of illnesses (like malaria and skin diseases), and many are severely traumatized by their brutal experiences and have to undergo psychosocial counseling. These children were taken to Gitega, where the process of reuniting them to their families will begin. According to statistics, it takes approximately 18 months to reintegrate them into their communities (plus, as we are learning through our Vocational Skills Training program that works with young demobilized soldiers and other types of vulnerable populations, it really takes years to "normalize"- whatever that means!). UNICEF estimates that there are still approximately 1,000 child soldiers in Burundi and that rival armed rebel groups continue to recruit children.

And this "hits home" for Seth and I, as Enoch (who works in our home) also was a former child soldier. (He is pictured right, in the white shirt, with Sara and his younger brother Emmanuel). He was recruited by a rebel group called the CNDD-FDD (who is actually a rebel group turned political party that now LEADS the Burundi government!) when he was only 13 years old. He spent 5 years fighting "in the bush"- years without schooling, family, etc.. His younger brother Emmanuel was also a child soldier (from about 15-18 years old), part of the FNL. To leave the group, he had to escape and actually hid out in our house (years ago, with its' previous owners) when both the FNL AND the police were after him (the police thought he was a rebel... the rebels wanted him because he left... a tough spot to be in, to say the least!).

Neither Enoch nor Emmanuel went through a process of demobilization. And Enoch thinks that the process of demobilization is often not enough. He says that these young former soldiers need years to learn how to live, how to make money, and to "be good people." Both Enoch and Emmanuel have been learning those things. Enoch has been a good worker (and raved about chef) in this house for over 3 years. He also began and continues to pastor a church in an area south of Bujumbura, in Ruziba (called Maranatha Church Community: Peace and Gospel Source). Emmanuel used to work here as well, and now works for some of our friends. He has come to me to help him start a soap business, and I am waiting for his business proposal! :)

So. Even in times of conflict, there is hope. In the news- as we here about these many child soldiers being returned to their families. In our home- as we remember where Enoch and Emmanuel came from and how God has been gracious to them. And in our own hearts and lives as we continue to process and pray through all we are learning and experiencing here.

I got the stats in this blog from an article I read on http://voanews.com, by a gal named Lisa Schlein.