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Cover Story

Grades 4-6

Too Young to Fight

--By Kathryn R. Satterfield

The fighting in Liberia's capital city, Monrovia, has quieted in recent weeks. But echoes of war still muffle the sounds of life and joy in the city and throughout this African nation.

In the empty schoolyards, the silence is almost unbearable. Liberia's children have been swept up in the nation's civil war, which has gone on for more than 10 years. Many young people were forced to fight on the front lines of the conflict.

On September 19, the United Nations Security Council voted to send an international peacekeeping force to Liberia. The 15,000 troops will join West African forces that have been in the country since August. On the agenda: enforcing a cease-fire agreement and helping child soldiers start a new life.

There are approximately 15,000 child soldiers in Liberia, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). More than half are believed to be 15 or younger. Some have never attended school.

"Every child was in danger of becoming a soldier," says Kimmie Weeks, 21, who works with UNICEF to help kids in Liberia. Weeks grew up in Monrovia and now lives in the United States. He was forced to flee after his efforts to rescue child soldiers put his life at risk.

Most of Liberia's child soldiers were kidnapped, either by government forces or the rebels who battled the government. But some kids joined the fighting "to protect themselves and their families," explains Mike James, who works in UNICEF's Monrovia office. He says joining was a way to get money, food and shelter.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Liberia's president Charles Taylor stepped down in August. He has been blamed for fueling the civil conflict. A new power-sharing government takes over on October 1.

Efforts to rebuild Liberia are now underway. UNICEF is working to replace child soldiers' guns with pencils, books and job skills. It is a difficult process. Many Liberians are still afraid of the young soldiers.

But Weeks is hopeful. UNICEF has launched a campaign that aims to get 750,000 children and their teachers back to school. The program is set to begin October 20. "War is sometimes a sign of better things to come," says Weeks. "I know that Liberia will rise out of this."

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