Yaya*, 16, told IRIN he fought since age 10 in the rebellion in eastern Chad until his group signed a peace agreement with the government in 2006. Now in training to become a mechanic and driver as part of a demobilisation and reintegration programme, he said he wants only one thing: that the state guarantees peace and security.
“I come from a small village from the region of Guéréda [department of Dar Tama, eastern Chad near the Sudanese border]. When I was young, I was a shepherd and went to Koranic school.
“I saw the problems between my community [Tama] and the Zaghawa [to which President Idriss Déby has ties]. The Zaghawa came armed, took our livestock and told us they could do whatever they wanted because they were in power.
“I was [around 10 years old] when one day they came again to steal cattle. Villagers ran after them and they responded by killing men and children my age who had run after them. I and 15 other children decided that this time it was no longer acceptable and we had to defend ourselves.
“The following evening, we left to join the rebellion [United Front for Change, 2005].
“We had not finished our training when there was an attack. Five children from my village were killed. Up to that point, we still did not have weapons, but the rebel leaders saw that we could fight and gave us arms. I was in charge of training other fighters.
“We were never afraid to fight. We had seen death in [our] village. When we have seen death, we are no longer afraid.”
“On 13 April 2006, there was combat near N’Djamena [the capital], many of our fighters were captured and imprisoned. Our leader told us that if we left them [prisoners], they would be executed so it was better to side with the army…to have them released.
“And he [rebel leader] said that as we were minors, our place was in school and not the army [a child soldier demobilisation agreement was signed between government and UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, May 2007]. There were many heated discussions. None of us wanted that. But the rebel leader told us that we were going to learn how to drive cars to become generals and ministers, so we accepted.
“It has been 18 months now that I have been at the CTO [Transit and Orientation Centre, run by non-profit CARE and UNICEF]. During the day, I am in training and in the evenings, I take a literacy course.
“When I think back to all I have done in recent years, I regret it. I did a lot of harm to local populations because I had a weapon and was a leader. As soon as I was in my military uniform, I felt aggressive. I am surprised that I have become so docile now.
“My family is still in the village. My brother-in-law calls me every week with news. But I do not want to go back there, because I am sure if I go, I will see the injustices, which will push me back into the rebellion. I want to stay far from all that.
“The state must assure peace and security in the country. It was insecurity and injustice that pushed me to take up arms- I had to protect my animals and [those close to me]. If villagers had not been killed, I would not have joined the rebellion.”
*not real name
ail/pt/aj
“I come from a small village from the region of Guéréda [department of Dar Tama, eastern Chad near the Sudanese border]. When I was young, I was a shepherd and went to Koranic school.
“I saw the problems between my community [Tama] and the Zaghawa [to which President Idriss Déby has ties]. The Zaghawa came armed, took our livestock and told us they could do whatever they wanted because they were in power.
“I was [around 10 years old] when one day they came again to steal cattle. Villagers ran after them and they responded by killing men and children my age who had run after them. I and 15 other children decided that this time it was no longer acceptable and we had to defend ourselves.
“The following evening, we left to join the rebellion [United Front for Change, 2005].
“We had not finished our training when there was an attack. Five children from my village were killed. Up to that point, we still did not have weapons, but the rebel leaders saw that we could fight and gave us arms. I was in charge of training other fighters.
“We were never afraid to fight. We had seen death in [our] village. When we have seen death, we are no longer afraid.”
“On 13 April 2006, there was combat near N’Djamena [the capital], many of our fighters were captured and imprisoned. Our leader told us that if we left them [prisoners], they would be executed so it was better to side with the army…to have them released.
“And he [rebel leader] said that as we were minors, our place was in school and not the army [a child soldier demobilisation agreement was signed between government and UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, May 2007]. There were many heated discussions. None of us wanted that. But the rebel leader told us that we were going to learn how to drive cars to become generals and ministers, so we accepted.
“It has been 18 months now that I have been at the CTO [Transit and Orientation Centre, run by non-profit CARE and UNICEF]. During the day, I am in training and in the evenings, I take a literacy course.
“When I think back to all I have done in recent years, I regret it. I did a lot of harm to local populations because I had a weapon and was a leader. As soon as I was in my military uniform, I felt aggressive. I am surprised that I have become so docile now.
“My family is still in the village. My brother-in-law calls me every week with news. But I do not want to go back there, because I am sure if I go, I will see the injustices, which will push me back into the rebellion. I want to stay far from all that.
“The state must assure peace and security in the country. It was insecurity and injustice that pushed me to take up arms- I had to protect my animals and [those close to me]. If villagers had not been killed, I would not have joined the rebellion.”
*not real name
ail/pt/aj
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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