In Sibut, Central African Republic, child soldiers tell their stories. “We joined armed groups after our families were killed. Now we are free and we are learning a new job”.
Sibut is one of the towns in the Central African Republic where INTERSOS, with the support of UNICEF, has been running a project to rehabilitate former child soldiers since 2019. Some of them told their stories, during the so-called “phase two” of their journey, when after having received medical treatment, psychological assistance and family reunification, they start attending vocational training and start their journey of social reintegration. In this phase of the project, which is nearing completion, we have taken on a total of 214 former child soldiers, of whom 180 have started vocational training.
Testimonies of child soldiers
“My dream is to be a tailor and work in a big atelier,” says Doungomou, an 18-year-old man from the village of Kagongo in the Central African Republic. He is a former child soldier. He became one in 2014 when one of the armed groups part of the country’s internal conflict ransacked and burned his home, beat his parents and killed his younger sister. In a conflict where widespread violations were committed and the use of child soldiers was documented by the different armed groups, Doungomou decided to join the so-called ‘Anti-Balaka’ group (one of the two main groups involved, opposed to the so-called ‘Seléka’).
Doungomou and his other companions, however, in addition to fighting with other groups, risked their lives every day during the robberies they were forced to carry out to obtain food. Now, thanks to the support of the United Nations, he has managed to get out of the armed group and his life has changed. Together with other boys and girls, he has been taken into care by INTERSOS, which since the beginning of 2019 has been running a project to rehabilitate child soldiers with the support of UNICEF. Doungomou is now in Sibut where he is attending a sewing course and has already learned to sew clothes for women, men and children.
Often, the stories of former child soldiers are characterized by violence and retaliation, as well as inextricably intertwined anger and fear. “My name is Pukandjia Aurore, I joined the armed group in 2014, when the Seléka group arrived in our village. They destroyed everything, beat, tortured and killed people. We wanted to take revenge and we decided to join the Anti-Bakala group.” Painful words, but part of this girl’s testimony and life experience.
Vocational training for former child soldiers
Before the destruction of her village, Pukandjia went to school and helped her parents in the fields. “In the forest with the armed group, we were suffering, the weather was very cold” she says, “our shoes had holes in them, we drank dirty water. The leaders of the group made us girls do unpleasant things that depressed us and they addressed us with a bad language. When, because of our age, the UN intervened, we left the armed group. After we left, INTERSOS workers came to guide us through the training”.
Thanks to the courses she took in the rehabilitation programme, Pukandjia learned to sew and with this work she can now provide for her mother and the rest of her family. My dream,” she says, “is to become like my trainer, to teach others a job, and then send my children to school and provide for my family”.
Vidakpa lives in Sibut. He joined the Anti-Balaka armed group in 2013 when the opposing group killed his uncle. “I used to live with him and attend school,” he says. Then everything changed: “Living in the forest was tiring, we were sent to do robberies and we couldn’t sleep. The water was salty, we were plagued by mosquitoes and threatened by other wild animals”. When he was let go, he attended vocational training courses organised by INTERSOS as well. He learned to be a carpenter, building tables, armchairs, beds, doors and window frames. “My goal is now to train my friends”.