SIBUT, Central African Republic — Not long ago, Charly had all the money he needed. He had a rebel uniform that commanded fear in his hometown. He had an AK-47, and he wasn't afraid to use it.
He was still a boy, but he felt like a man.
Now he has returned to his old life. He is once again a helpless boy. The thought of it makes him sit rigid with anger, his eyes flashing.
"See the shoes I'm wearing," the teenager snapped, pointing at a pair of dusty blue flip-flops. The soles were so full of holes that he might as well have been barefoot.
With the rebels, he said, it was different: "I had boots, a uniform and a gun in my hand."
With the rebels, he had power.
The conflict tearing the Central African Republic apart has not only turned neighbor against neighbor. It has brought childhood to a halt.
Children have seen their parents hacked to pieces. They have watched as boys and girls just like them were shot or maimed. Some have been forced to make cold calculations far beyond their years, taking up arms with the same fighters who upended their lives or killed their relatives.
In Central African Republic, children were recruited as a soldier. This is an interview to a child who retoke his old life, but he isn't happy about it. He has poor resources they told that it was better the soldier life because he had footwear, a uniform and moreover a gun which is synonymous of power. He realize his extremely life conditions makes him yearn the power. When children return to their homes, they often have nightmares and sequels of the war. Moreover many girls get pregnant by the soldiers.
In my opinion, it's difficult to say my position. Of course I don't agree with what is happening. But I will probably describe an ideal world. Is logic there mustn't be any child soldier, even more there mustn't be any soldier nor any war. But there are wars, soldiers and child soldiers. There is a big work remaining in Africa and in some third world countries. There are hunger and extreme life conditions. Here, in Europe, child wishes are a new electronic gadget or some multi-functional stuff, while in Africa they wish footwear and something to eat. Something is not working. And the solution is not on my hands nor in my head, I'm just a teenager. But I'm sure all together we can change this.
No comments:
Post a Comment