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Peace Seeds: Teens in Hiroshima Sow Seeds of Peace (Part 44)

250,000 children in the world have become child soldiers

Did you know there are scores of children in the world who join armed groups or are forced into this situation? The number of such children is estimated to be around 250,000 in at least 36 countries and areas suffering from conflict in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and South America. Adults train them to fight with guns, and sometimes they are made to fight on the front lines instead of adults.

Lately, some children have also been abducted by radical extremists who force them to carry out suicide bombings. This tragic state of affairs is largely the result of poverty. Anti-government forces and extremists in poor countries who are dissatisfied with their governments are using children as fighters. Some of these boys and girls have voluntarily become child soldiers just to survive.

In the past, the same situation existed in Japan. Children involved in conflicts and wars are of the same generation as the junior writers, and thus we want people to be aware of the awful reality of this issue because it isn’t simply a game or a movie.

Making efforts to address this problem

We heard from Yoshinori Kurita, 30, at Terra Renaissance, about the harsh conditions of child soldiers and efforts being made to end this practice. Terra Renaissance is an NPO based in Kyoto that provides support for former child soldiers in Africa to return to society.

Child soldiers are boys and girls under the age of 18 who become involved in armed groups. At around five years of age, they perform such activities as carrying supplies or equipment, then some children begin using guns themselves at around seven. One reason that children of this age are able to use guns is that easily-operated firearms have spread throughout the world. These guns are typically Kalashnikov rifles made by the former Soviet Union and they were sold cheaply by arms traders in the 1990s after that nation’s collapse.

Another reason children use guns is tactical because government forces and adult soldiers are generally reluctant to point their own weapons at a child. In addition, children can be easily brainwashed and they are injected with narcotics to cloud their thinking so they can be used as human shields at the head of fighting units. When these children are killed, they are quickly replaced with others.

Some children become child soldiers voluntarily, while others are abducted by anti-government forces and are forced to become child soldiers. In the latter case, the children have no way to escape their fate and can only remain with the fighters until they are rescued by government forces and placed safely in custody. Terra Renaissance operates a center in Uganda that supports former child soldiers so that they can become independent. The organization offers vocational training in such skills as dressmaking and carpentry, educates them in English, arithmetic, and peace, and provides mental health care. To date, 192 children have entered the Terra Renaissance center.

Mr. Kurita is concerned that the number of child soldiers is growing further because of the emergence of the extremist group known as the “Islamic State.” To combat this problem, he says poverty must be reduced by helping nations become more self-reliant and curtailing children’s access to weapons by ensuring that countries abide by the Arms Trade Treaty, which is designed to control the weapons trade. He stresses that Japanese teens, who live in a safe and peaceful place like Japan, should think about these children instead of turning their eyes away from the problem. (Ryoma Iwata, 13)

Why do children join extremist groups?

Boko Haram, a Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group, is involved in terrorist activities in that region of Africa, including the use of boys and girls to carry out suicide bombings. The junior writers spoke with Makiha Kimura, 29, who is originally from Hiroshima and now works at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Chad, next to Nigeria, about the situation there.

Chad has three main camps for refugees and people who have been displaced. The camp located near Lake Chad, in the western part of the country, accommodates refugees from Nigeria and Cameroon and those displaced within Chad whose homes were destroyed or their lives were threatened by Boko Haram. OCHA promotes efficient ways of supporting these people in cooperation with various non-governmenal organizations.

Ms. Kimura said that ordinary children, much like Japanese children, have become ensnared in Boko Haram’s terrorist attacks, creating a danger for the children of that area. Based on a report issued by the U.N. Children’s Fund in April, she explained that boys and girls who have been kidnapped by extremists are carrying out suicide bombings. And due to the fact that they’re children, it is very difficult to identify them as a potential threat at security checkpoints.

Many children also continue to join the same extremists who abduct children because these groups provide them with food and a place to live once they become members. As these are poor countries, food is not readily available. Ms. Kimura stressed that, in order to stop this vicious cycle, it is vital to support young people through education and vocational training to reduce the poverty rate. Under the current conditions, however, priority is only given to supporting the needy on a day-to-day basis; education and vocational training, which require time and money, are not being adequately addressed. (Hiromi Ueoka, 16)

Harsh lives as child soldiers

According to the report compiled by the U.N. Children’s Fund, here is a description of the harsh lives children lead after being kidnapped by Boko Haram.

After becoming a part of this group, they are forced to cook, clean, fetch water, and gather wood under tight scrutiny. Boys of around the age of 13 are taught how to ride motorbikes and transport fuel and fighters. The children are threatened with death if someone flees and therefore they keep a close watch on one another.

Girls are given to men, who may become their husbands, and are subject to continuous rape. When a girl as young as 13 gets pregnant, the baby is delivered without any medical care. Violence is a daily part of their lives, and girls are accompanied by a watchful pair of eyes, even when they go to the bathroom.

Since January 2014, 117 children have been used to carry out suicide bombings in Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, and more than 80% were girls. The bombs are strapped around their waists in belts, but it is not clear that the children even understand the intent of these missions.

Because of this potential for children to serve as suicide bombers, adults distrust and fear them. Even if the children somehow manage to escape from the clutches of Boko Haram and return to their hometowns, it is reportedly difficult for them to reenter society. (Hinako Okada, 15, and Aya Tadokoro, 13)

Book on Japanese child soldiers by Masamoto Nasu

Last year a children’s book was published that relates the stories of four boys who were involved in the Boshin War (the Japanese civil war between the Imperial forces and Shogunate forces that took place in 1868-1869) and World War II. That book, Shonentachi no Senjo (Boys on the Battlefield), was written by Masamoto Nasu, 74, an author of children’s literature and a resident of Hofu City. Mr. Nasu said that he wanted to write a history of war which conveys the idea that children have been not only victims but also, in some cases, perpetrators, so that readers can grasp the larger picture of war.

The book consists of four stories: a boy from Shimonoseki who joined the kiheitai (a special militia composed of samurais and commoners during the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate regime) and killed others in a battle against the Nagaoka Domain (now part of Niigata Prefecture); a boy from the Nihonmatsu Domain (now part of Fukushima Prefecture) who belonged to the Nihonmatsu boys’ unit which caused many casualties; a boy who went to the former Manchuria (in northeastern China) as a member of the Volunteer Pioneer Youth Army of Manchuria and Mongolia; and a boy who served as a student communication soldier in Okinawa, the only place in Japan where ground battles were waged during World War II.

To write these stories, Mr. Nasu read many technical books and carried out on-the-ground research. He said that some children may become involved in war simply because they believe they will be guaranteed food and a better life, like the Shimonoseki boys who took part in the Boshin War.

In the book, three of the four boys die, but their deaths are not described in a heroic way nor does Mr. Nasu focus on their internal conflicts. The stories of the boys are told in a detached sort of tone because Mr. Nasu wanted to make the book a vehicle for readers to slip back in time and imagine what happened during these times of war.

At the end of our interview with him, we asked Mr. Nasu what he thinks should be done to prevent children from becoming child soldiers. He responded, “Don’t wage war.” As someone who experienced the atomic bombing at the age of three, he feels a sense of duty to continue his efforts to convey an anti-war message. He stressed the importance of monitoring our leaders through the news and through elections in order to create a world where no one will feel the need to pick up a weapon. (Marina Misaki, 18, and Anna Ikeda, 15)

What is Peace Seeds?
Peace Seeds are the seeds of smiles which can be spread around the world by thinking about peace and the preciousness of life from various viewpoints. To fill this world with flowering smiles, 27 junior writers, from the first year of junior high school to the third year of senior high school, choose themes, gather information, and write articles.

(Originally published on May 18, 2017)

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