Introduction
The purpose of this research is to examine existing literature on the topic of child soldiers. A growing list of books, such as General Romeo Dallaire’s recent book They Fight Like Soliders, They Die Like Children, has drawn much needed attention to the subject. We need to listen but we also need to question and move beyond our visceral but uninformed reactions to images of children in war-torn countries. Knee-jerk reactions have serious implications for the global south; we in the north, with all our power, simply viewing them as victims, is not only a disservice but morally questionable. Toward a Definition A child soldier is any person under the age of 18 who is part of an armed group, having joined voluntarily or forcibly recruited, and includes all functions: armed combat, cooks, porters, messengers, girls used as “wives” or sexual tools, among other support functions (Verhey, 2001). According to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, more than 500,000 children under the age of 18 have been recruited into state and non-state armed groups in more than 85 countries worldwide. Of the estimated 300,000 child soldiers currently in action around the world, it’s believed that up to or more than 50% are in African countries, most of whom are engaged in active combat roles (Child Soldiers International; International Rescue Commitee; Verhey, 2001). While most are between the ages of 15 and 18 – when they have the most physical and intellectual capacity to serve yet not the maturity or opportunity and support to resist – there is evidence that children as young as seven have been abducted and forced into combat (Verhey, 2001). The International Response In response to this growing problem, the United Nations created the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program for both adult and child ex-combatants. This program – and its ex-combatant participant core – is now widely used in the global south during post-conflict reconstruction. The Literature This integrated literature review will examine the re-integration phase of the children’s program. Led by UN peacekeeping units, the disarmament and demobilization phases are short-term, formulaic, technocratic and bureaucratic, whereas re-integration is localized and should represent the long-term needs of ex-combatants as they seek to re-join civil society. However, all three remain top-down models. Literature on formal United Nations DDR programs (focusing specifically on reintegration) is presented in the section entitled International Social Welfare – Top-down models. Post-conflict reconstruction in the global south emerges from a larger development paradigm supported by neo-liberalism, these ideas are presented briefly in the section entitled, Neo-liberal Ideology and Conflict. Literature is then presented on the role of international NGOs (INGOs) responsible for implementing the formal re-integration process, providing examples from Liberia's experience with DDR entitled DDR Programs in Liberia. The Local Development section presents literature on reintegration that could be considered local relative to the top-down re-integration programs. It illustrates using examples from Liberia and Mozambique that in post-conflict situations, often there is a lack of a strong and robust civil society, in which to counter top-down models that serve other interests. or at least it takes considerable more effort on the researcher's part to locate. The section entitled Critical Literature seeks to establish the extent to which top-down re-integration programs serve local needs in Africa generally and in Liberia specifically. Finally, the International Social Work sections presents the work of International social work and child soldiers, which indicates that social work is largely absent in this area. Other literature is presented as well in a broader framework about what our role should be as international social workers. As well, trauma from war and conflict is an area in which involvement of social work is mostly likely, and one in which we can advocate for a holistic approach. The literature indicates that there is a reliance on Western medical models that views grief and distress as pathology, which are shown not appropriate in non-Western countries. Western models fail to recognize resiliency in people and traditional ways of knowing. Two competing models -- Western and traditional -- are briefly presented in the section entitled Trauma .
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We need to listen but we also need to question and move beyond our visceral but uninformed reactions to images of children in war-torn countries. Knee-jerk reactions have serious implications for the global south; we in the north, with all our power, simply viewing them as victims, is not only a disservice but morally questionable. "I walk every day I walk rain or shine. I will keep walking until there is peace."Website at a Glance:
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