Community Acceptance of Child Soldiers after Conflict can Help Heal
May 31st, 2010
Though there are many efforts worldwide to end the practice of using children and adolescents as soldiers, some countries and groups nevertheless involve young people in their conflicts, resulting in experiences that can be significantly traumatic and which may lead to psychological concerns in the future. A recent Harvard-based analysis has found, however, that community acceptance of the children, among other factors, is able to help improve symptoms and contribute to a greater quality of life for child soldiers once they’ve escaped the clutches of militias. The study suggests that focusing on re-integrating child soldiers with social support, education, and other services and features may help prevent ongoing psychological issues as children age.
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Comments
being involved in a battle is something that can take its toll mentally on even well-trained adults of the armed forces.and to have children being involved in conflict is just pathetic.yes,I do agree that the recovery process may be faster if the environment is suitable and the acceptance is present,but do you really think a place/country/organization that makes use of children as soldiers can actually offer such an environment?
What a terrible story especially if these children are not welcomed back into the community with open arms. It is not as if they chose that life, and they deserve to get back the lives they were forced to leave behind.
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