Ch 8 The Impact of A War-Torn Country on Children

Children growing up in war-torn countries like Sudan face unimaginable hardships. They lack basic necessities like food, healthcare, education, and clean water. Many children are abducted and sold as slaves, forced to join armed troops and fight against their own people. Mothers endure the pain of losing their children, while the children themselves suffer inhumane treatment. Despite these challenges, some children are rescued and find hope through organizations like the Sudan People's Liberation Movement Army. The aftermath of war takes a devastating toll on the mental health and social growth of children. Many are forced to become child soldiers but eventually, efforts are made to disarm and reintegrate them into civilian life. Chapter 8 The Impact of a War-Torn Country on Children Nothing is more important for a child than what he dreams of. Those big dreams of becoming an iconic person every time you wake up in the morning, making your parents proud, living up to your family's expectations, etc., are what every child thinks about while growing up. Most children around the globe live a safe, secure life free from hardships. They go to school, seek a good education, come home to their families, and grow up to become wise and successful adults. Sadly, just having the dreams mentioned earlier is what children in a war-torn country dream about. Children like me, who grew up in Sudan, know better than to be fascinated by such things. We were too busy trying to survive in a war zone to contemplate stuff that all the other kids wondered about. Too busy to protect ourselves from being killed. Our lives were centered around hopelessness that rose from the lack of basic human necessities such as food, health care, school, and clean water. Even more tragic is the fact that many children in war zones are still facing the same difficulties. Children and adults have to go through intense human rights violations in a war-torn country. For instance, in the northern Bar-el-Gazel region, most children from the Dinka culture are abducted by the Arab militias and sold to Arab families in the north of Sudan as enslaved children. These Arab militias are armed and logistically supported by the Sudan government. They harm civilians and transfer children as slaves from South Sudan to North Sudan. There, they brainwash and force them to join the armed troops, where they are made to fight against their own people. Imagine being a mother who watches her child being taken away by the armed troops, minutes after her husband has been brutally murdered or after she has been severely tortured and raped. If these mothers didn't die out of pain and misery, they were tortured to fight for their children. Meanwhile, children who are abducted are treated inhumanely by the abductors. Dane, one of my friends who had been abducted, told me a story after being kidnapped. He said all the abductees were roped together and made to walk while their kidnappers rode on horseback. They were not given enough food because their abductors wanted them to be malnourished. They wanted the children to be weak so they could not outrun them, even if they somehow broke free from the rope that tied them together. Dane told me how, after they arrived at the market, all the children were tied to trees. At the same time, their kidnappers and potential criminal buyers chatted and joked about how the government supported their actions. Fortunately, Dane was rescued by one of the SPLA battalions that were fighting the government. After his rescue, Dane was brought to Ethiopia, where our friendship began. When Dane told me what had happened to him, I realized that his fate had been worse than mine. Nevertheless, one thing was certain. War was affecting children all over Sudan. That's when I questioned whether the government of Khartoum, my government, even did protect my childhood rights. Or did it just recognize the Arab minorities in Islam? After all, the Sudan People Liberation Movement Army used politics to lie to my parents about where they were taking me when I was being trained as a soldier. However, how they saved Dane convinced me that we were in good hands, being part of the movement rather than the government. So even though Dane and I were still kids, we were determined, considering our vulnerability, that fighting for our rights was the best option we had. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement Army made this decision for us. Like northern Bar El-Ghazal, the Khartoum government supported many tribal-motivated factions in the Upper Nile region. Children were fitted to fight against another tribe because someone from that tribe was leading the other faction or fighting against the government. In 1991, newer boys were armed by the Nasir faction of the SPLA, led by Dr. Rikmashar Tenny, to attack the Dinka civil population in Boer. Although they were named White Army and were heavily armed, they were still children and civilians who were not fully informed or militarily trained on human rights violations. Children are the most vulnerable and uninformed group to carry out massacres and genocides without remorse. When prominent community members would order them, children do not ask questions. All they need is the assurance that certain tribes or races have faulted against their own and need to be wiped out. But regardless of the outcomes, the aftermath of war is daunting to child mental health and social growth. I detest wars because I've been there. I know what it's like for a child to live in a country going through violence and terror. During battles, children are targeted the most and brainwashed to be lured into fighting the propaganda planned by the government. The aftermath of the Boer massacre in 1991 brought along pain and anguish, especially for mothers who had to endure the pain of losing their children. Nevertheless, these memories are more depressing and unbearable for the child as he witnesses the atrocities at a very young age. From the 1980s to the 1990s, children served as child soldiers. It wasn't until some years later that the majority of us were finally disarmed and sent either back to school or reintegrating into our civilian lives.