Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network
Show Name: Speaking for the Silenced
Episode 4: Child Soldiers: Part 2
Tune into this week’s episode of #SpeakingfortheSilenced!
You are listening to Speaking for the Silenced podcast with your host(s) Jacqueline Sun.
In this episode of Speaking for the Silenced, we will finish a two-part segment discussing child soldiers and their roles in wars. This week’s episode will focus on the country of Yemen specifically, a place infamous for their frequent employment of children in fighting. Yemen is a desert country in Western Asia.
Segment 1: Background
- Yemeni Civil War fought between Houthi Rebels and Saudi Arabia starting in 2014
- In 2011, there had been political uprising, led to the war
- Now given support by Iran, a Shia majority nation
- Shia and Sunni Muslim divide + conflict
- Yemeni Civil War predicted to end quickly, continues today
- Both sides exploit child soldiers
Segment 2: Set-Up for Child Soldiers
- Villages left impoverished, no food/resources, disease
- Houthis and Saudi Arabia coalition take advantage of this, target the villages
- Offer jobs to the unknowing children before throwing them into the war
- Houthis engage in form of indoctrination in summer camps
- Make fighting out to be a holy, noble purpose
- In 2020, the UN had counted 163 cases of children being turned into soldiers by Yemen.
- In 2021, Houthis have continued their advancement
- US is trying to pull out of support for Saudi coalition
Segment 3: What Has Been Done
- Organizations and groups are fighting child soldiers in Yemen
- Believe it violates International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute ban on child soldiers
- Trying to have the UN intervene
- CRUCSY program that reintegrates children
- Prioritizes safety and assimilation
- Issue is at its roots connected to the Civil War, so hard to pinpoint exact solution
- Visit the Children And Armed Conflict UN website or the Borgen Project to learn more about the issue.
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