Government, military now willing to discuss child soldiers

Despite initial denials that child soldiers are serving in the Burundi army, government and military leaders have now shown a new willingness to deal with the issue, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Monday.

As a step in this direction, the Ministry of Defence arranged discussion on 28 May with the child soldiers; army units in which they were serving, UNICEF project staff, and "focal points" from each ministry concerned with the issue.

UNICEF said that although researchers had written a great deal about these children, few had talked to them and little attention had been paid to the adults who dealt most closely with the issue. "Tuesday's [30 May] discussion thus represented a significant step by opening up discussion on the issue," UNICEF said.

Describing the discussion as frank, UNICEF said child soldiers considered themselves "well looked after", in comparison with many other children in the country. "They have better food, have access to medical care and feel they belong to families that care about them," it reported.

Many children fled to military posts during the mass killings of 1993 and later periods of violence. Others went to the army in search of food or were simply attracted by the glamour of being a soldier. Many served as cooks, porters and spies. Recounting how they had come to join the army, many children said they had run away during attacks that killed their brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. With no place to go, they had sought safety and food in the army.

Solders who participated in the discussions said the children presented a dilemma for them, because they felt compelled to help the children, yet could not look after them properly. The discussion revealed that neither the children nor soldiers knew how to seek help.

"They are not familiar with the roles and responsibilities of the humanitarian community, nor do they understand how to approach one of them for help," UNICEF reported.

The challenge now, UNICEF said, was to find practical solutions to the "complex set of problems" facing these child soldiers, known locally as doriya. The government and UNICEF signed an understanding in October 2001 to demobilise child soldiers.