In what was perhaps the most wonderful news story of the week, the BBC reported that thousands of child soldiers are being freed from former Maoist training camps in Nepal and sent to rehabilitation centers. These programs are to offer vocational training as well as psychological support for the children. They will also be offered a stay for up to 45 days in transit camps before going back home.
An estimated 3,000 child soldeirs will be released. This marks a giant step forward towards true peace in Nepal, especially since the government is even calling for the release of all the child soldiers by November. And with the peace treaty signed over two years ago, it’s also a moment that should have arrived well before today.
While this is a huge victory for these children that should be celebrated, it reminds us not to forget the rest of the world’s innocents left in the violence. An estimated 300,000 children continue to serve as soldiers in the world today, continually robbed of their innocence and murdered at the front lines of bloody conflicts.
Of these, at least 24,000 have been confined in U.N. camps since the peace deal signing in November 2006.
What homes will these former soldiers be returning to–the places where they have seen and even caused more bloodshed than any of us could ever dream of, places where they have lost their entire families and friends? And what of the former child soldiers who are now adults; will they not be receiving some sort of aid and transitioning into whatever normalcy they might be able to find out of life?
There even remains a question of whether or not to integrate these now-adults into the current army! Surely they deserve better than that?
Perhaps it’s all they know at this point.
Tags: child soldiers, nepal, peace, united nations, war