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Though officially ended in September 2018 through a peace deal, the memories of South Sudan’s civil war still live on through the child soldiers left in the aftermath. According to the UN, there have been reported to be over 19,000 children associated with the conflict and armed groups in the country since the start of the civil war in 2013.
Children are recruited and forced into the conflict, creating a chain of serious consequences. Boys are encouraged to kill, rape and exploit their way through the country whilst in armed groups. Largely carried out against their will, children stand out as the most easily exploitable to perpetrate the most dangerous missions. Girls and women, along with their military tasks are particularly employed as sexual objects, subject to sexual violence and oppression, and constrained with domestic duties. All amidst a vicious conflictual environment, these experiences coupled together create life-long consequences in the lives of these children.
Those that manage to come out physically unscathed are left mentally afflicted by their ordeals. As the U.N. increases its efforts towards the re-integration of these child soldiers into their communities, it’s imperative that both their physical and mental states are adequately addressed and recuperated. In particular, women are not as easily welcomed back into their communities as stigmas soon follow along with a marginalization to the outskirts of the community.
The use of child soldiers in the world’s conflicts can be considered one of the world’s most critical humanitarian issues. These children are dragged from their educational pursuits which challenge the prospect of adequate economic and occupational opportunities in their lives. Re-integrating the South Sudanese children back into their communities, should be considered a critical aim. It is important to re-orient them into seeing futures bigger than their immediate and past experiences. It would be an injustice to the children of South Sudan.
Sources:
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/unicef-road-soldier-child-biggest-challenge-180212102306805.html
- https://www.unicef.org/southsudan/caaf.html