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The alarm sounds at six am. Groggily you turn over to silence the alarm that pulled you out of deep sleep. You get up. shower. Eat breakfast and like clockwork the school bus magically appears in front of your door. Day in and day out, this monotonous cycle repeats itself for thousands of children around the globe, often resulting in the vapid complains of grumbling teenagers. It is difficult to understand privilege when one does not exactly feel or understand its luxury — one most definitely does not feel luxurious while fighting away sleep to understand trigonometry at nine am — and this is often the case with education. A 2015 study conducted by Gallup rated the engagement level of high school students. Of every ten surveyed children, four of them are considered to be engaged students meaning that they are active participants in class, have proficient levels of understanding, and have the wish to continue their studies. The same organization asked students to describe their schooling experience in one word, and the most popular ones were “boring” and “tiring”. Nevertheless, it is often easy to yield to the seeming monotony of education and disregard its importance. It is easy to forget that one is privileged just because one is able to participate in that monotony. Of the estimated 2.2 billion children on the planet 260 million of them had zero access to education in 2020, and around 617 million children, around 55% of the total number did not reach the “minimum proficiency in reading and mathematics in 2015” as stated by the United Nations. If these statistics are not surprising enough, UNICEF states “roughly one in five school-aged children are not in school at all.” Based on this information, it is safe to say that education, is in fact, a privilege. Now, the children in the aforementioned statistics lie on a spectrum of those who either can or cannot attend school, but there are many other variables that are not considered within this ciphers, mainly child recruitment for wars and armed conflicts. Although countries like Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen have the highest number of child soldiers, the phenomenon is also widely present in Latin American conflicts, especially in Colombia.
Colombia has been fighting a war against armed terrorist groups since the mid 19th century. What are called guerrillas like The FARC, the National Liberation Army, and M-19 have been generating chaos, destroying families, and destabilizing the country for decades. These conflicts are often centered in the rural and remote areas of Colombia, although during the peak of the conflict it was difficult to safety travel around the country. Now a days, the wars are mainly confined to remote areas and those living in urban and more developed societies are not burdened with having to fear these groups, but those in the jungle or in the deeper parts of the country are still greatly exposed to said conflicts. The Colombian government has attempted to stop the war through peace treaties and the demobilization of the guerrilla groups. In the 1990s, through these peace talks, the M-19 group was disbanded, and those who formed a part of it were allowed to reintegrate society with little to no repercussions. Similarly, in 2016, Juan Manuel Santos led the Peace Process talks with The FARC in Cuba. The result was very similar given that the terrorist group supposedly disbanded and gave up their weapons. Those who did so were allowed to be a functioning part of society, some of them even becoming a part of the government. The 2016 peace talks were extremely controversial and many argue that they were not effective. Although the FARC formally dissolved, different paramilitary groups stemmed out of its ruins, led by those who did not want to acquiesce to the peace treaty clauses. In general, the situation regarding safety and stability in Colombia has improved when comparing it to the late 20th century, but this does not mean that the problem is solved. The destabilization is now coming from within the government as well. Many of those who abandoned their weapons as a part of the peace contract started running for government positions, and many, like the infamous Jesus Santrich, acquired positions of power. Santrich was a former guerrilla member, and after the peace talks he became a senator, promising that he had the best interest of the country in mind, that he would protect the poor, and that he would honorably carry out his role. Not surprisingly, a few weeks after he was appointed as senator, videos of his involvement in the illegal drug trade surfaced, and he was arrested. A convoluted bureaucratic process followed in which he was released, arrested, rereleased, and eventually even given the opportunity to take a seat in the house of representatives, one which he took gladly. He took his position in 2019, but a few weeks later he disappeared, most likely into Venezuela. From his new post he founded a new guerrilla group called the Second Marquetalia in which he condemned the government and declared that those in power were blatantly disregarding the peace agreement. In a surprising turn of events, in 2021 news rolled out that Santrich had been killed under mysterious circumstances. To this day little is known about his death, many doubt that he is dead at all, but he is proof of the complex nature of the conflict between the government and dissident groups, between peace and the constant fear created by the terrorists. It is safe to say that the performance being carried out by the government is a fragile one. The current administration is attempting to keep the peace even as they are threatened by corrupt leaders from within. This shows the extent of the weakness in the governmental institutions within the country, and with such internal problems, it is nearly impossible to effectively stop the violence and conflicts outside of the governmental buildings. It is the lack of strong institutions, trustworthy and ethical leaders, and clear politics that murks the water and prevents the country from moving forward. Outside the fancy buildings in which fancy government officials with tailored suits meet to continue the cycle of corruption and instability, the armed conflict continues, and this is another realm of the clash altogether.
The aforementioned guerrilla groups operate under the covers of the dense forest and the protection of remote regions which are fundamentally inaccessible for any kind of governmental regulation. These regions are mainly isolated communities like Buenaventura in the Pacific region and the communities surrounding the amazon rainforest. Before the peace process with The FARC, it is estimated that they recruited more than 11,000 children from 1972 to 2014. They were also believed to have recruited Venezuelan children across the border, even paying some guardians in exchange for their children. Some of the children were recruited to work as spies, others for active combat. Young girls were and are very vulnerable to child recruitment because they are often kidnapped and raped by the terrorists. Whats more, according to the War Child Holland Foundation, most of the recruited children are young girls between ten and 14 years of age. It is important to emphasize that violence in Colombia has been decreasing, but groups like the National Liberation Army who reject any kind of peace process continue terrorizing the countryside. Between 2018 and 2020, it is estimated that around 300 children were forced into an active role in the conflict, and this is only considering the ones that were identified. Many of the children who are kidnapped are never recorded, never acknowledged, and often, never able to escape their bondage. The children recruited range from ages six to 17, but 96% of them are teenagers within the age range fo 12 to 17. These dissident groups thrive on generating fear and destruction, and they are successful when they kidnap innocent children and force them to fight, fire guns, kill. There was a case in 1997 in which the National Liberation army forced a nine year old boy to carry a bomb to a polling center in the city of Cucuta. Furthermore, in an anonymous interview with The New Humanitarian, a former child soldier said “Being a kid with a rifle in your hand, you think you are doing the right thing. Well, that is what they made us think when they recruited us. ” This is the exact reason why children are the perfect recruits for these extremist groups. They are moldable, easily manipulated, and blind to fear or reason. Children were also forced to guard hostages, send messages, transport bombs as “mules”. Young girls are forcibly raped and abused. Many are forced to undergo forced sterilizations and abortions as well. While many children are also forced to work on drug plantations either as plantation workers or as carriers who transport the drugs. Children are vulnerable targets given that they often go unnoticed by the authorities and can therefore smuggle drugs. They can be plucked from their homes and trained, brainwashed even, in order to follow the orders of their superiors.
2020 brought along great challenges, and unfortunately, child recruitment numbers grew. In 2019 children were reportedly recruited, and up until June of 2020, 190 children had been forced into the conflict. With the closing of schools, the volatile economy, and the quarantines, dissident groups had the opportunity to expand their operations, and so they did. The situation grows more deeply preoccupying as children are often said to volunteer to become a part of the armed conflict. Economic hardship, the lack of food, the lack of opportunities, the lack of health, education, and basic necessities often leads families to make desperate decisions. The children who are vulnerable to recruitment normally live in isolated and remote parts of the country where they lack adequate education. There is no light at the end of the tunnel for them, there is no possibility for a better life. Until a seemingly friendly soldier comes along. Campaigns for voluntary recruitment are common in these vulnerable communities. Terrorist group representatives go to these villages and promise the youth stable wages. The prospect of stable meals, jobs, and housing is often enough for any of these suffering families to sacrifice their children into these groups. There are cases in which parents are known to be paid around $600 USD every month in exchange for their child. After this, there is seldom a way back. They are indoctrinated and forced to believe the values instilled into them by the guerrilla leaders, and the cycle of violence and abuse continues.
There are cases of children who attempt to escape the grasp of these terrorist groups. From 2018 to 2021, it is estimated that around 520 children have been able to leave said groups. Taking the risk to leave is often at the cost of their lives. Armed members of groups like the National Liberation Army are instructed to kill runaway children on the spot as they are branded “deserters”. Those who are able to escape often lead lives full of hardship outside of the paramilitary groups as well. Some of them are led into the national military, and some of them are tried before a judge and often sent to juvenile detention centers. The first home for former child soldiers opened in 2000 under the supervision of Colombia’s Family Welfare Institute. The National Liberation army, one of the most active groups in the current political environment, signed an agreement in 1998 which stated they would no longer recruit children under 16. This, however, is a blatant lie. Cases of recruited children by the National Liberation Army continue to pop up, and this shows how flawed the bureaucratic system in Colombia is, and how weak institutions contribute to the strength and continuity of these groups.
Colombia is believed to be the country with the largest number of displaced people within its borders due to armed conflict as numbers reach around 7.4 million. Thankfully, the violence itself has decreased, and Colombia is slowly becoming more recognized on the global stage for its beautiful culture, extensive diversity, and various opportunities. Nevertheless, it is important not to become blind to the problems just because they are isolated to rural and remote areas. Every day children continue to be recruited. Every day children are prevented from pursuing a normal life: rolling their eyes when they hear the six o’clock alarm, complaining about cafeteria food, and relishing in the myriad of opportunities provided by a stable education. Instead, they are buried deeper into the cycle of poverty, violence, and fear facilitated by the corruption permeating governmental institutions. Supporting foundations that fight against child recruitment like War Child and keeping updated through resources published by UNICEF one will be able to contribute a grain of sand in order to weaken this cycle of torment. Most importantly, however, one must be grateful every single day for the surreptitious privileges one enjoys, and make an effort to recognize them, not letting them pass by unnoticed. A roof, a plate of food, another day of school, all of these are privileges, and once one starts seeing them as such, it will become easier to create an empathetic mindset that will contribute to the fight against ignorance and repression. Eventually, if enough of these grateful, empathetic, and well-informed minds come together, solutions and tangible action plans to solve tragedies such as the recruitment of children into armed conflicts will surface, and the world will be one step closer to true equality.
Written By: Carolina Mejia Rodriguez
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