The Death of Innocence: Child Soldiers in Myanmar

One of the worst human rights violations being committed by the government of Myanmar is the active recruitment of child soldiers. According to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, about 300,000 children are acting as soldiers globally. A quarter of this number is found in the east Asia Pacific Region. Myanmar is the single largest user of youth in the military. A study done by Human Rights Watch in 2002 found that about 70,000 children were part of the nation’s army, but the government still insists that all of its soldiers are over the age of eighteen.
After the eradication of the democratic rights movement within the country in 1988, Myanmar’s military government became increasingly involved with a rapid expansion of its armed forces. Since then, the army, or the Tatmadaw, has more than doubled in size and continues to grow, the stated goal being 500,000 troops. In order to find more recruits, officers and soldiers patrol train, bus and ferry stations, along with streets, markets and festivals and approach boys young boys from the ages of eleven to seventeen, since they are seen as easy to intimidate. The children are asked for identity cards, but most young ones have not received one by that time and are automatically penalized for it, given the choice of long term imprisonment or joining the army. Often, they are threatened with violence or are forced at gun point to make their decision. Even if they still refuse to enlist, they are taken to a local army base or recruitment center and beaten until they give in and agree to join. When the children reveal their ages, those in charge disregard it and file them as being over eighteen. They are never given the opportunity to speak with their parents and are ripped away from their families. The government has also employed policies which force families to give their sons up to the armed forces. If a household has two sons, they are required to give up at least one. If they can’t pay some taxes, they are forced to give up a child. The recruitment of children into the military has grown increasingly since soldiers who bring in new recruits are now paid one to ten thousand kyat in cash, and fifteen to fifty kilograms of rice per recruit. In some cases, soldiers who have been in the army for over five years are allowed to leave if they bring in five new recruits. The result of such policies has been an alleviated interest in forcing children into the armed forces. More soldiers and at times even police and civilians are making a business out of forcing children to join the military.

Child Deployment

Child soldiers play several roles within the conflict. If they are still too young or weak to serve on the front lines, they are forced into servitude for senior officials. During
training, the children are punished for any slight mistake they make. This includes crying or asking for a leave to see their families. If one made an attempt to escape, the other two hundred or so boys in his camp were forced to beat him. By the age of twelve, many boys engage in combat with opposition groups. They are forced to commit horrendous crimes against civilians, at times collecting villagers for forced labor, burning villages and taking part in carrying out executions. Two boys were interviewed by Human Rights Watch and admitted to belonging to units that massacred fifteen women and children in Shan State. According to one boy, “There was an offensive in Mawchi, Kayah State. When we entered a village there, we shot all of the villagers because we thought of them as our enemies. We took all of their pigs and chickens, all the livestock, every usable piece of equipment and all household goods. Then we burnt the village. We took all the women and raped them, and finally we murdered them.”
The children a re also forced into incredibly deplorable conditions, locked in small rooms with sixty others, no food, no suitable bathrooms. Many die from disease alone. Poor health conditions has led to the demise of many, as malaria, which children are extremely susceptible to runs rampant. Medical supplies and healthcare provided for child-soldiers is virtually nonexistent and many die from treatable diseases.

Effects

There aren’t very many opportunities for child soldiers after they have been captured for recruitment. If they make attempts at escape, not only will they be beaten furiously or even executed, their families will suffer as well. The government strictly monitors the families of deserters, keeping tight control over them. If the child soldiers succeed in fleeing, there is no real opportunity in terms of places to go. As a result, many young people settle into deep depression, traumatized by their experiences and feel so trapped that they resort to suicide.
Not only do these children suffer physically, they suffer mentally as well. They have severe emotional trauma because of the violence they experience at such a young age and are known to endure depression, nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, apathy, a difficulty in dealing with others, and aggressive and withdrawn behavior.