Posts Tagged ‘child soldier’

Meet Bintu While at school one day, 13-year-old Bintu was forced to join the rebel militia. After one week of military training at their headquarters, the commander took Bintu to be his bodyguard. Bintu was forced to loot, kill, and vandalize. Bintu was traumatized by witnessing torture and atrocities committed against peaceful citizens.    By God’s grace, Bintu escaped this militia. After running to a nearby village, he…

Exile is 12 years old – so is Marc! “I was only 10 years old when I fled a rebel group in the midst of a war. I was born into a vulnerable family who was not able to take care of all 5 of us children. By the grace of God, Exile took me in…

Exile is 12 years old – so is Jean! “My name is Jean, and I am 12 years old. My father was a government soldier during Kabila’s regime. After he was demobilized from the army, he returned home to start a new life. Later they asked him to help in the reintegration of a rebel group and…

Exile is 12 years old – so is Julie! “My name is Julie, and I am 12 years old. I arrived at Exile in April 2015, after being separated from my parents because of the war. I used to have six siblings. My brother was killed during the war. We lost so many people, and…

“I enjoyed our village and the life we had before the rebels came.” My name is Elisa. I’m 18  years old. I have a mom, dad, and eight siblings – four brothers and four sisters. I enjoyed our village and the life we had before the rebels came. I was 14 years old the day…

Born into War Sweet Nuru is the youngest of three children. When war erupted in her village, Nuru’s mother was pregnant with her and expecting to go into labor at any time. In the middle of the night, screams and whistles filled the air. Everyone had to run from their homes because their village was…