The Burma Army violates rights. Children are not exempt of this violation. I recently read a report that estimated that of the 350,000 soldiers in the Burma Army; children comprised 70,000. That’s 20%. The official Burma Army line is that “there is no problem of refugees” and “there is peace in the country”, “there are no children in armed conflict” and “there is no school fee for primary education”. These statements do not reflect the first-hand reports of people living in the country. The Burma military dictators are living in a self-proclaimed dream world.
Reality in Burma for marginalised children looks like this: Children as young as 4 are forcibly recruited from train stations, bus stops, ferry stations, markets, festivals or just in the streets. They are taken to enclosures with an army base where they join the Brave Sprouts (Ye Nyunt) program.
Brave Sprouts violates these kids. They are forced to wear military uniforms. As soon as they can carry a gun, usually at age 7, they are given a weapon. Contact with family is deprived, as is emotional support. If they cry or attempt to escape the other boys are made to beat the deserter. The only way out of this childhood nightmare is into the Army proper.
This policy creates an army of teenagers unleashed. It is no surprise then, that rape, torture and other uncontrolled military abuses run rampant throughout the country. These kids with guns simply do not have the reasoning skills, life experience, or restraint of maturity to handle weapons and fight a war from an ethical context.
Childhood is sacred. It is a time of emotional and physical growth that lays the foundation for a life. Play and education should define this life stage. Families should provide the context for this play and education. The ideal is far from the minds of many of the kids in Brave Sprouts today. They were made is God’s image, to be nurtured, trained and unleashed as God-lovers in a hurting world. But in Burma, that dream of childhood and a life of loving is far from view.
Two strategies help these kids. One is to provide secure hostels for education both within Burma and within refugee camps in Thailand. Partners has a large program in both of these settings. The second is to seek out children-at-risk in conflict areas and assist them into a context for learning and life. Partners’ relief teams within conflict areas in Burma carry out this “Good Life Club” function.
These programs are not without their challenges though. Of the 61 schools funded by Partners in partnership with KSEAG (Karen State Education Assistance Group) during the past 12 months – 2 remain. This is due to fighting- the context is inhospitable to childhood. That doesn’t stop our resolve. A co-worker recently pointed out that even those 2 schools represent a world-first: a functioning education program in an area of conflict.
The idea is simple: a child in a supportive environment of learning is less likely to be captured and channelled into this 60-year old war.
Nathan Willis
National Director
Partners Relief and Development Australia (Mission Interlink member)
Comments
Child Soldiers: childhood stolen by the Burma Army
The Burma Army violates rights. Children are not exempt of this violation. I recently read a report that estimated that of the 350,000 soldiers in the Burma Army; children comprised 70,000. That’s 20%. The official Burma Army line is that “there is no problem of refugees” and “there is peace in the country”, “there are no children in armed conflict” and “there is no school fee for primary education”. These statements do not reflect the first-hand reports of people living in the country. The Burma military dictators are living in a self-proclaimed dream world.
Tuesday, 18 September 2007, 12:35 (EST)
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