soldiers2

My name is David”, says the teenage boy, shaking my hand politely. “My parents named
me after David in the Bible. Have you heard the story of how David slew Goliath?”
David is 16-years old and he believes he has already slain one Goliath in his life. “My first
Goliath was surviving the war against Mobutu”, says David. “I had to fight for 7 months and
I am still alive. But I was not alone in the battle – there were many other children who had
been recruited to fight just like me. The Goliath I face now is going to be more difficult to
beat, because I am facing him alone. But, I believe I will win if I concentrate and work hard
enough.”
Over the past few years, it is estimated that over 20,000 children – many of them boys like
David, but girls as well - have been recruited by all parties to the conflict in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC). In some cases, children make up an estimated 35% of the
troops and they often fight on the front lines - forced to take part in horrific violence and
perform the most dangerous of tasks. Even today, boys and girls continue to be recruited
in some parts of the DRC. They are also often used as sexual and domestic slaves.
“I was 12 years old and was in my class at school when we heard the bullets and gunfire”,
says David. “They were fighting in my town of Uvira, South Kivu Province. The teacher told
us all to lie down on the ground and he did, too. We hid in the classroom for a long time
until there was a lull in the fighting. Then we all ran in different directions – some to their
houses, some to the forest to hide. I ran to my home to be with my parents and my
brothers, but when I arrived, no one was there. My parents and brothers had already run
away.” There’s a long pause. “At least, that’s what I hope happened to them ...”
“I was caught soon after that, along with lots of other children in the village. We were all told
that we could join them and fight to liberate our country or we would be shot dead. I was too
scared to die and did not know where my family was or what to do, so I had to join”,
explains David. “For 2 months, new recruits like me were put through military training and
discipline exercises. Then, we were sent to the front-lines to fight.”
Like David, most children associated with armed groups in the DRC are forced to join
because they have no other choice: the alternatives are either serious harm, or often
death, to their families or themselves. Others, living in poverty, separated from their
parents, displaced by war from their home communities or not having the option of going to
school, join because they feel they have no better alternative. Recruitment continues to
this day in the DRC despite the signing of peace accords, with daily fighting, looting and
pillaging taking place, particularly in the Ituri District and in the North Kivu, South Kivu and
Maniema provinces in eastern DRC.
“At first, I was very scared, but I had a Kalishnikov rifle and it was just a question of fighting
and shooting or being shot at and killed. We had to fight from Uvira all the way here to
Kinshasa. It took seven months.” The straight-line distance from Uvira to Kinshasa is
roughly 1,800 kms. But in a country with only a rudimentary road network at best, David
would have traveled well over 2,000 kms to reach Kinshasa. He covered the distance
hungry, tired, scared - and mostly on foot.
“When we would come upon a village, we would surround it with fighters and then they
would attack. We took the village boys with us to fight. By then, it seemed okay to me to
take other children, because that was what happened to me”, says David. “Now, I know that
it wasn’t right, but we also had no choice because they would kill us if we didn’t obey orders
immediately. And we were given drugs to make us brave and strong … ”
Armed groups recruit children and force them to take part in horrific violence because they
are easier to threaten and manipulate than adults. The recruitment of children in the DRC
began to strongly emerge during intensive fighting between 1996-1997, despite the fact
that the recruitment of anyone under 18 is illegal in the DRC. The recruitment and use of
children by armed groups also violates Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC), and the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Involvement of Children in
Armed Conflict. Countless Congolese boys and girls have been killed or maimed in combat.
Others survived, but like David, with a very uncertain future.
“I saw many people killed …”, continues David, his voice trailing off. “It was like being a
prisoner. I remembered wishing I was back home, going to school, but that wasn’t possible
in the jungle - only fighting and surviving. I was frustrated and angry thinking that I would
never see my family and would never have the chance to go to school again. But then,
after we had reached Kinshasa, I felt proud to have been part of the victory. But it didn’t
take long for me to see that the victory had only been for a small group of people in power.
For the rest of us, it had just been a waste of our time and our lives and I had no hopes for
my future.”
The first demobilization of children in the DRC’s government-controlled territories was
initiated in December 2001. David was amongst the first of the 207 children demobilized,
who then took their first steps into towards reintegration while staying at the Kimwenza
Transit Center. Like David, the majority of them came from the eastern region of the
country. At Kimwenza, UNICEF DRC helped provide psycho-social and medical care, basic
education including life-skills, and family tracing and reunification activities for the children
throughout September 2002. During that time, 95% of the children wrote letters to make
contact with their families. Only 66% of them got a response. David was not amongst them.
A much lower percentage were actually lucky enough to be reunified with their families.
Family tracing remains difficult to this day due to massive population displacements and
death caused by war, while reunification is most often not possible due to ongoing
insecurity and fighting in eastern DRC. This is further exacerbated by the fear of reprisals
and the risk of re-recruitment. “I feel very alone”, says David. “I don’t know if my mother and
father are still alive or where they are. Maybe they were killed the day of the attack.” He
looks down at his feet, searching for words that don’t come.
“It was very hard for me at the start because I had no idea what to do. I had no weapon any
more and no family here in Kinshasa”, says David. “But I knew that if I was to have a future,
I would have to go back to school. Now, I am midway through my last grade of secondary
school, and if I pass my exams in July 2004, I will receive my high school diploma. I like
studying physics and algebra – they are my favorite subjects. Lots of my friends find these
subjects too difficult, but I enjoy them”, he says proudly, opening his neatly written
notebook with his algebra homework problems for the evening.
“I still believe that my parents are alive and I want them to be proud of me”, says David. “I
study every day and I don’t get mixed up with girlfriends, because that would distract me
and I have no time to waste - everything in its own time! I first need to study and then get a
job and then I can have time for a girlfriend or a wife – but not before. I study very hard
every night. If I pass my high school exams, I may have a chance to go to university … if I
don’t, I don’t know what will become of me.”
“What’s my Goliath these days? Studying hard so that I will pass my exams!”, says David.
“Now, I’m really fighting for my own future. They say the pen is mightier than the sword … it’
s not easy, but I know I have no choice. Without an education, you are never really
accepted into society, you won’t get a good job, you won’t be able to take care of your wife
and you won’t have a good future. Studying is the only way out for me. And, I want my
parents to be proud of me … whenever I find them again.”