my name is Ishmael algebra Charles ,
I am a former child soldier .
The stories of how I became a child
soldier are not very rare
because many people who understands
how conflicting countries like Sierra
Leone will understand exactly the
realities that befalls people who
fall in my category .
Sarah Loon is a country that is found
in the western part of africa
and it's a country our
recent Population shows about seven
million people , but
During the conflict in days were around
about 5500 people . And
the conflict in Sierra Leone caused
about 70,000 casualities and
over 2.6 million people
were displaced and homeless .
It all started off when
the conflict started off in 1991
And ended in the year 2002 .
However , I was a screw
going boy at a given time and I was
living with my mother because my
parents were separated and my
mother but it will make a lot of sense
for me to travel to Kano , which she
thought was a safe heaven because they
believe That freetown had only one
entry and exit Yeah , and
so I might have said it's better for
you to go on holidays to your father
because there was this huge panic
around Freetown city and especially in
the eastern part of Freetown Wellington
where my mother used to stay
and had I given time , she said let me
go to my father because there were
suspicions and people were afraid that
the rebels were recruiting young boys .
Unfortunately I left for corner
and two weeks after Just precisely two
weeks the river's attack
and we had to move from Koidu
town into
to go to your Mandu and we started off
and when we went we didn't realize
how important corner was at that time
to the rebels . It is very important
because Connor is a Taiwan rich area
and the diamond rich area helps to feel
the conflicts . So there's the concept
of what they call the blood diamond .
Those of you who may have watched the
video , blood dime one will understand
exactly how it all looks like .
And it's exactly the situation wearing
the diamonds we have been used to
exchange for weaponry which fueled the
conflict and make the conflict last
longer . And so it
was a very significant place for the
rebels . And as things continues ,
I was being captured in a place
called Cosima when we
went there in san Chiefdom
looking for safe heaven where we
thought we were going to be safe at
that given time I was staying with my
stepmother together when we run
and the rebels will use the smoke
because when the atmosphere
and the weather is very clean .
When people are cooking , they will
stay from distance and see the smoke
meeting into the air . So that is how
they were able to find locations where
people are hiding in the bushes and
forests and they came looking for us .
And unfortunately they found us
and captured us and brought us into the
township of Cosima because we were
staying in the forest of the village
when we came into the township day
engaged us , they started off
to train us into shooting
but I will always pretend to be someone
who is confused and pretending to be
like a fool and because I was always
pretending to be a fool , they took
those of us who pretended not to
understand how to shoot the gun as
liberals so they will use us to carry
diluted items that
they have eluded items that
includes including music sets
mhm and many , many other things
because the rebels at those times
couldn't buy anything that they need
whether to eat to wear or to sleep .
They will just go right ahead on a
consistent basis and and break into
people's shop and get what they want .
So we were the carriers .
I unfortunately witnessed a lot of
very scary things . The conflict in
Sierra Leone was murdered by complete
madness wearing rebels will argue
about the kind of child a woman will
give back to for a pregnant woman just
so that they can split that woman and
kill her and literally killed the baby .
Also they will , they will rip
women and young girls . They were
take young women and girls as what we
call bush wives that they do not
officially marry but then forced them
to become their wives and we were
exposed to all those realities on a
consistent basis every day of our life
in the jungle . It was a very scary
moment , fearful , panicking
and our nerves were almost always
standing . We look for every
opportunity to escape . one of the
moments that we always have the
possibility to escape was when the
ecowas ecomog Fighters jets
will fly over us . When the Flyers
jets fighter jets fly over us ,
the rivers gets very distracted and
they try to shoot in the air and
when they get into that moment
everything becomes really nauseous
because sometimes the plate will fly
and play up its wings like it's been
shot at and like it's gonna fall down
and they'll get really very excited
using the anti aircraft , a
uh magazines and and weaponry to bring
it down . But the flair of the
fighters jets was very , very crafty
at that time . We heard it was a female
that was flying the Fighters Jets . But
this fighter , this flyer was very good
and distracted the rebels so much that
they will pay less attention to capture
people like us . And we had opportunity
to escape on those
occasions . I was completely two months
Behind rebel lines in one in one
particular zone . But in its entirety .
I spent a total of two years around
river lines As a very young
boy of between 12 to 14 years ,
I didn't have much skills to determine
my next stages or make decisions that
are critical or crucial . But I knew
for sure that I wanted to escape even
though I was very timid because the
atrocities that the rebel school cause
and we've seen the way people who try
to escape have been treated beating
with gun butts and they will sometimes
tie and break their arms .
And so are these women's . When the
flyer jets flies , They get distracted .
We escaped in one zone and we were
recaptured by another sets .
Fortunately it was not the same sense
otherwise I wouldn't be telling the
story because when the same set that
captures you before recapture you , it
means you are an enemy .
They will just say make we go wash up
meaning let's go and wash him and
by washing it means they want to spray
you off and kill you .
But I was fortunate that the next set
that cut us . I didn't know that you
were been caught before and we managed
to escape . And the second time again
I had the opportunity to escape when
the Jets came again and we used to call
the jet at those times the Alpha Jet
and after the second time I had the
opportunity now to travel
in the story book that I'm writing . I
have what I call my three miracles and
I counted those opportunities to escape
in the first place as one of my miracle .
But it didn't end here when I escaped
From the first set of rebels , I got
into the 2nd 1 and I had the
opportunity to escape again for the
second time , the third
time I was met
now with the CDF , the Civil Defense
force in the township very close to
my baraka .
We had to go through many villages and
towns in the bush
literally finding our own way . So we
made a phone that we're pathfinders
and eventually we found ourselves in
Mathematica and we stayed in the
for a little while then we were
captured by the CDF Civil Defense
Forces . Another faction of
the fighting forces that we had was the
CDF in Sierra Leone and these were
basically civilians who have magical
powers who believed that they needed to
save and fight the rebels
not to enter their own townships or
villages . But in my assessment of the
entire conflict , every
fighting force committed their own
amount of atrocities . The CDF
was the general name , but then if
you're coming from northern parts of
the country , they will call them the
cheese . If they are coming from the
eastern part of the country from the
monday side , they will call them the
comma jaws or the southern parts will
become a jaws . But if they're coming
from the , from the eastern parts from
corner exist , they will call them the
tama boroughs and that was the same for
those that were coming from northern
parts in kona do exist and they will
call them the drama borrows and all
this fighting forces committed their
own equal atrocities because they were
all literally killing innocent people
assuming that they're rebel spies and
that is how I was almost killed . And I
called up the 2nd miracle right ?
We got into the point where ng
the rebels says , well
everyone here firstly in the
second batch of my rebel sets , they
wanted to when , when we were captured
the second time , the rebels were
actually caught in the hands of people
and they will ask long sleeve or short
sleeves . So short sleeve will mean
they will maim your hand from this side
and for long sleeve they will name it
from the rest . So it depends
what you choose . Mhm And then we'll
put your hand on top of a wood and use
a machete and cut it off . Mhm .
And I was next in line before the
Ecowas fighter plane flew for the
second time . So that's what I call
what I call the second miracle because
when that happened I was able to escape
my thought Miracle was with the CDF
wearing The
80s were already in consonance with the
Ecomog fighters and they were securing
the township of Masataka and he said ,
where are you coming from ? And I had
this little scar on my hand but it's
still bad and they said I had this
scars because I have , I had this
car because I had been using my finger
to shoot a gun . But unfortunately
When I was about 10 years old , I
had a bottle that break in my
hand . And so it's gave me a
huge court on this side
and on this side . But
they couldn't understand this . So
immediately when they saw my finger
they said , oh you're a rebel , you've
been shooting the gun . That's why you
have this car . And I was looking very
tattered because I had only one
slippers , a flip flop
that I was wearing and it hurts shirts
that had lots of banana liquid on it .
So raw bananas . The liquid is very ,
very tainting if it touches anything
it's extensive forever . And I had a
shock bent that I was wearing . He said ,
ah you're looking very bad . That's why
you're a rebel . And I had a couple of
scars in my hand wound marks because I
we were walking through the forest with
bush blades and everything that were
bruising and cutting us .
And we were kept in a little cage . So
there's this cage that they had that's
um you know they will , they will
literally put you in this
cage you built with sticks
and anyone who is placed in that cage
will be kept there for washing . Unless
if there's someone who has a god . But
these were the moments when even your
mother will be afraid to answer . That
is my , that that is my son because she
could just get herself into trouble by
just answering . There was this woman
that I've never get to see . She came
up faint complexion and said , I know
that boy he's a student . Even when he
was , she was asked in a voice of a
rose , where are you sure ? You know
him in Creole ? She said yes he's
a schoolboy .
And we were literally waiting to
be washed And when they said they're
taking you down to the stream to wash
you , they spray you off and leave you
to fall into the water and the water
will take you or they bury you by the
riverbank . That's
my thought miracle . But
significantly I went through all those
difficulties and I didn't
want to be someone who will hurt other
people . So I choose a different
part . When
I was able to be saved by this
woman , I had to live within the
township of Madoka washing dishes
for people and eventually to my Baraka
doing the same . And I found a friend
of my mother at this time .
My mother has been coming to this
hospital which is the biggest hospital
in Sierra Leone and she was coming
basically to look among the people
whose hands were being named because
Red Cross at that time was
bringing displaced people .
You know a couple of organizations were
coming with people from war wounded
zones who are already war wounded who
have been named and they will bring
them and they will take pictures of
them and put them on notice board and
put them in public strategic areas for
family members to look and identify .
Yeah relatives and my mother was
going to concerts hospital consistently
to check if I was among the peoples who
were being brought from corner whose
hand was being maimed , thankfully
I was not among them . And so my
mother's friend who saw me told me
about the story and I said , please
auntie Fatto when you get to Freetown ,
tell my mother that I'm here and I'm
still alive and my hands were not
chopped off through the grace of God .
And she came in from my mother but she
was very poor . So she had to sell some
of her jewelries and send anti Fattouh
with transport for me to come to
Freetown when she was going for her
next trip because she was going there
to buy banana and other fruits .
I missed the difficulties in all the
troubles . My mother didn't want me to
tell the story . So when I came back to
Freetown I eventually got enrolled and
my mother became my only psychosocial
counselor . She didn't allow me to go
through any DDR disarmament and
demobilization program and
reintegration . No , she said that's
how people will get to know that you
are from a child soldier and you're not
a rebel . My son is not a rebel . And
so you have to be a happy child with a
lot of negative memories that wasn't
running in my head on a daily basis . I
kept to watch . He said until when I
got to a point where I felt empowered
and decided to tell my story with the
inspiration of the former american
priests who passed away is a while ago .
He encouraged me to share my story and
refer to my story as a story of
resilience fast forward .
I went to school and I was able to go
to university and today
I work for humanitarian organizations
and I am very popular in my country for
the work I do part of the work that I
do is to respond to critical disasters
that has happened in my country or that
continues to happen because I had the
opportunity to study
humanitarian studies and eventually
Founded the project in 20 18
that has helped Over 64 Children
with complex sicknesses including
congenital heart disease perforated in
us and many other difficult and
critical conditions and send them to
India and other countries around the
world for very major surgeries
today . Many people are very
excited and happy for the work I do ,
but not so many knows my story .
I'm sure I would have been able to be a
better person if I had been have had
the opportunity to have some more
psychosocial supports other than just
the one that my mother was giving me .
Even though I am very grateful she's
normal here today . But I am very
grateful that she stood by me even in
those moments of difficulties .
Many former child soldiers in my
country have become dropouts , drug
dealers involving in crimes . Some have
been used as soldiers in other
conflicts in zones across the world and
some I still find it very difficult to
survive . I count myself a
fortunate one even though I feel the
pain of those brothers and sisters
who go through the Crucibles of life
every day . If all the
child soldiers were being given the
opportunity to be properly disarmed
both from the arms that they were
carrying and also in their brain
through psychosocial support , life
would have been better for them . Most
of the DDR program , the development
demobilization and reintegration
program that was being done . We're
crash programs where they will train
these young people for a few months to
become a driver so that they can drive
commercial vehicle for a few months so
that they can become carpenters for a
few months so that they can be auto
mechanics . Most of them sold the two
boxes that they received immediately
they completed the training because
these were young people who were used
to using the barrier to get what they
want . And so when they
felt that there was no other way for
them to survive . The only thing they
had were the tools that they give to
them for sustainability and livelihood ,
but because the training was not enough
for them to be able to use the skill
and use those tools to make their
livelihood . They had to seldom
and had a terrible life . Things could
change if only they have been given
a better opportunity and enroll them
into a proper institutions that provide
livelihood , trains and vocational
skills . So it's better if we
are able to ensure that we set systems
and policies across the world that will
enable former child soldiers to have
the opportunity to be properly
reintegrated so that they can become
better people and contribute to society .
Thanks to the United States of America
for passing a new law on
child soldier , it's
identifies with the realities that
child soldiers in my country
experiences on a daily basis . And it
is the same with me . Thank you very
much .