Preview

Children of War

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
18214 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Children of War
M.A. Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Masters of Arts Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR PEACE STUDIES, AUSTRIA

Emerging from the Shadows: Finding a Place for Children Born of War
By Zahra Ismail

Thesis Advisors: Zulfiya Tursunova, PhD Candidate, Ina Curic, M.A.

February 2008

Table of Contents: Introduction and Motivation…………………………………………………………5 Chapter 1-The Plight of Children Born of War: Societal Responses and International Justice…………………………………………………………………11 1.1 Societal Responses……………………………………………………………..12 1.2 Forced Pregnancy……………………………………………………………….12 1.3 Convention on the Rights of the Child………………………………………16 1.4 Justice for Children Born of War……………………………………………..19 1.5 Conclusion……………....………………………………………………………..24 Chapter 2-The Inclusion of Children Born of War-Healing, Reconciliation and Forgiveness……………………………………………………………………...26 2.1 Peacebuilding…………………………………………………………………….27 2.2 Community………………………………………………………………………..28 2.3 Healing……………………………………………………………………………..31 2.4 Reconciliation, Forgiveness…………………………………………………...33 2.5 Perpetrators………………………………………………………………………34 2.6 Children Born of War……………………………………………………………36 2.7 Mothers of Children Born of War……………………………………………..38 2.8 Conclusion……………...……………………………….………………………..39 Chapter 3-Engaging Communities: The Role of Education in Healing for Transforming the Status of Children Born of War……………………………..41 3.1 Theories in Education…………………………………………………………..42 3.2 Peace Education………………………………………….……………………...44 3.3 Trauma………………………………………………………………………….....47 3.4 Healing Through Education……………………………………………………48 3.5 Education for Prevention……………………………………………………....51 3.6 Conclusion…………….……………………………………………………….....52

2

Conclusion: Finding a Place for Children Born of War…….…………………54 References…………………………………………………………………………….58

3

Acknowledgements: I want to express my appreciation to the many people who have supported, inspired,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The article goes on to tell about the conditions of the children who are doomed to serve as a soldier. The children often don’t have a choice. They grew up with criminality, their psyches are damaged and often they are leaved by their parents. Instead of going to school or playing in a park, they have been “brainwashed” and work for the…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although the stories of the children were sorrowful, Ahmed Abdulateef’s story is more relatable because of the discussion of human rights. To begin, both articles are talking about different types of freedoms and laws. “In a War…” article, the main focus is on how children are being swiped of their childhoods because they have been forced to become child soldiers. Narrowing in on this point, the children need to fight and protect themselves to provide for their families. The message this article portrayed was the fact that the Central African Republic’s laws allowed children to be treated like adults.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Environmental Scan Report

    • 3588 Words
    • 15 Pages

    We are grateful to the many people who provided their support and guidance to this effort especially our Steering Committee Members…

    • 3588 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the case study covered in this study demonstrates, “peacemaking and post-conflict reconstruction are best achieved by addressing structural injustices. Peacemaking has everything to do with the ongoing management of social and political conflicts through good governance. It encompasses the entrenching of respect for human rights and political pluralism, and the elimination of economic injustice” (Cheru 2002, 196).…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The use of child soldiers has been an issue since World War II. In discussions about the use of child soldiers, one controversial issue has been whether these child soldier should be granted amnesty or be prosecuted. On one hand, it is argued that child soldier should be prosecuted for their “crimes”. On the other hand, it's argued that child soldiers should be granted amnesty. Child soldiers should be granted amnesty because they were forced to kill due to coercion, they were drugged and brainwashed, and had no access to a proper education.…

    • 583 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Military Culture

    • 2021 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Lederach, J.P. (1995). Preparing for peace: Conflict transformation across cultures. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.…

    • 2021 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most people do not know but child soldiers are a major problem in our world today. There is roughly about 300,000 child soldiers in this world. People today are trying their best to run charities, and put an end to child soldiers so that they can live a normal life. If you had a child that was taken away from you and was put in the most dangerous situation then you will try your best to get your son or daughter back home. Child soldiers is a horrible topic in today’s world.…

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In addition to the violence that child soldiers must inflict on others, they are subject to abuse as well, with many being sexually abused and beaten by their own commanders or other soldiers. Every aspect of the use of child soldiers is unjust, from the way they are recruited, to the acts of violence they must commit once they are soldiers, to the way many of them die because of their participation in war. Therefore, this is a social justice issue that must be given a great deal of attention (Child Soldiers International 1).…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Each year, children across Africa and Asia become soldiers for a military force. They run wild through the landscape, gunfire clattering as they mindlessly destroy. Although they are only children, these actions are those of war criminals, and the issue of whether child soldiers should be granted amnesty has emerged. Many of these children volunteered for the fight and enjoy their power as a soldier. They see dangerous groups as their family.…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Negative affects of war on children include extreme brutality, exposure of violence leading to some changes to the kid then and forever. “During the “recruitment” children often experienced…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Child Soldiers In War

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In over twenty countries around the world, children are direct participants in war. All through history and in many cultures, children are participants in military atrocities, even when such actions were against cultural morals. Dating back to the 70’s, several countries have held conventions to deter this widespread dilemma. The violence, torture, and abuse these children face are horrific. Many of the youths are less than fifteen years of age, recruited to be soldiers, forced into marriage at young ages, or joined to escape their poverty-stricken reality. What does one do when one is fighting a war he or she knows nothing about? If your child were in this predicament,…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prisoners of War

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    No one goes to war thinking they will be the one captured and tortured by the enemy. As Canadian troops sailed to Europe to join in the fighting of World War Two, they more likely had nightmares about dying tragically, or suffering for days. No one really worried about being captured because war was associated with fighting, guns, winning and losing. A rude awakening came to those captured and taken to the many different concentration camps. Canadian POW's endured very unfortunate experiences in the Second World War. All of which were unnecessary and most of which were against international rules."Canadian prisoners of war are the forgotten men of World War Two" The process in which they suffered plays a significant role in Canadian history. It is the intention of this essay to bring attention to the largely neglected prisoners of war and to explain the importance of them being captured and held as prisoners.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Child soldiers is a serious issue worldwide, there are about 300,000 children as young as nine years old involved in armed conflicts all around the globe today. This problem is most critical in Africa; however children are also used as soldiers in various Asian countries, parts of Latin America, Europe and Middle East. Children are used as child soldiers mostly by non government armed groups for many different reasons. Conditions are usually very harsh for the child soldiers and discipline is kept by brutal punishment. Life is very dangerous and characterized by a great amount of hard work in an environment that lack food, drinking water and no sanitation, many children die from these causes under such inhuman conditions. The use of child soldiers is totally unacceptable and against human rights. The child soldiers’ basic rights are being abused in many different ways by being forced to fight.…

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lichbach, Mark I. 1995. The Rebel 's Dilemma. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan University Press. Marshall, Monty G., and Keith Jaggers. 2005. Polity IV Project: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800-2004, Dataset Users’ Manual. Center for Global Policy, George Mason University, Arlington, VA. McAdam, Doug. 1982. Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Meyer, David S., and Debra C. Minkoff. 2004. “Conceptualizing Political Opportunity”. Social Forces 82 (4):1457-1492. Muller, Edward N., and Erich Weede. 1990. “Cross-National Variation in Political Violence: A Rational Action Approach”. Journal of Conflict Resolution 34:624-651. Opp, Karl-Dieter, Peter Voss, and Christian Gern. 1995. The Origins of a Spontaneous Revolution. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan University Press. Rasler, Karen. 1996. “Concessions, Repression and Political Protest in the Iranian Revolution”. American Sociological Review 61:132-52. Ron, James. 2005. “Paradigm in Distress? Primary Commodities and Civil War”. Journal of Conflict Resolution 49 (4):443-450. Ross, Michael. 2004. “What Do We Know About Natural Resources and Civil War?” Journal of Peace Research. Sambanis, Nicholas. 2002. “A Review of Recent Advances and Future Directions in the Literature on Civil War”. Defense and Peace Economics 13 (3):215-243. Sambanis, Nicholas. 2004. “Using Case Studies to Expand Economic Models of Civil War”. Perspectives on Politics 2 (2):259-279. Sandler, Todd, John Tschirhart, and Jon Cauley. 1983. “A Theoretical Analysis of Transnational Terrorism”. American Political Science Review 77 (1):36-54. Schnytzer, Adi. 1994. “An Economic Model of Regime Change: Freedom as a Public Good”. Public Choice 79:325-39. Skocpol, Theda. 1979. States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia and China. New York: Cambridge. Tarrow, Sidney. 1994. Power in Movement: Social Movements, Collective Action, and Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press. Tilly, Charles. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Tullock, Gordon. 1971. “The Paradox of Revolution”. Public Choice 1:88-99. Vreeland, James. 2006. Research Note: A Problem with Polity – Unpacking Anocracy. Manuscript, Yale University. Zorn, Christopher. 2005. “A Solution to Separation in Binary Response Models”. Political Analysis 13 (2):157-170.…

    • 7521 Words
    • 31 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    War Babies

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I decided to attempt to conduct some outside research to use in conjunction with the materials that were provided for this week. Unfortunately, my efforts came up short. I’d like to note that I had primarily conducted my research on some of the international organizations’ websites. This is how I reached a very puzzling and daunting question within this topic. Why is there seemingly a lack of recognition of the crimes against humanity and human rights violations that are occurring under the circumstance of war babies and their mothers?…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays