Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

During the war thousands of children, some as young as seven years old, were recruited to fight on the frontlines of the conflict. If they weren’t fighting on the frontlines, they were acting as messengers, spies, porters, cooks, guards, servants, human shields, or bush “wives.” These children were put in this position often by force, whether that force was their vulnerability, lack of education, their orphanage, or by the rebel fighters themselves threatening to kill them on the spot. If you put yourself in the mind of a child and are confronted by a force greater than yourself threatening death, you’re going to be submissive and act against your will. This is a common narrative among many of the child soldiers in Sierra Leone as most lacked identity, belonged to fragmented communities and families, and had insufficient educational opportunities. When confronted by a force so intimidating and powerful, that in which promised adventure, security, and camaraderie, they seemingly had no better option. Surrendering to this force and playing a role as an active militant led to children witnessing and committing intense physical violence, including summary executions and death squad killings, torture, detention, rape, bombings, forced displacement, destruction of homes, and massacres of family members. When you have a youth population that has fallen victim to these extreme atrocities, it’s incredibly challenging to have faith for the future and envision peace.

Works Cited

Betancourt, Theresa Stichick, et al. “Sierra Leone's Former Child Soldiers: A Follow-Up Study of Psychosocial Adjustment and Community Reintegration.” Child Development, vol. 81, no. 4, 2010, pp. 1077–1095.