“The Bullets Sound Like Music To My Ears” Socialization of Child Soldiers within African Rebel Groups Lotte Vermeij Thesis committee Promotor Prof. Dr D.J.M. Hilhorst Professor of Humanitarian Aid and Reconstruction Wageningen University C0-promotors Prof. Dr S.G. Gates Research Professor Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway Professor of Political Science Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway Dr G. van der Haar Assistant professor, Disaster Studies Group Wageningen University Other members Prof. Dr M.E. Glasius, VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands Prof. Dr C. Leeuwis, Wageningen University Prof. Dr A. Özerdem, Coventry University, United Kingdom Prof. Dr A.L. Smeulers, Tilburg University, the Netherlands This research was conducted under the auspices of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences (WASS) 2 “The Bullets Sound Like Music To My Ears” Socialization of Child Soldiers within African Rebel Groups Lotte Vermeij Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. Dr M.J. Kropff, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Monday 20 January 2014 at 11 a.m. in the Aula. 3 Lotte Vermeij “The Bullets Sound Like Music To My Ears” Socialization of Child Soldiers within African Rebel Groups 292 pages PhD thesis, Wageningen University, Wageningen, NL (2014) With references, with summaries in Dutch and English ISBN 978-94-6173-770-0 4 “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” Anaïs Nin 5 6 Contents Page Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………………………….9 List of Tables and Figures…………………………………………………………………………………………….12 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms……………………………………………………………………………..13 Map of Africa………………………………………………………………………………………………………………16 Map of Uganda……………………………………………………………………………………………………………17 Map of Liberia…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….18 Map of Sierra Leone…………………………………………………………………………………………………….19 Map of Mozambique……………………………………………………………………………………………………20 Part I: An Introduction to Child Soldiers, Socialization and Rebel Groups……..21 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………..22 2. Studying Child Soldiers and Socialization..………………………………………………………….28 Theoretical framework and research procedure 3. Life Within a Rebel Group: From Child to Soldier………………………………………………..61 Recruitment, creation, and use of child soldiers within rebel groups Part II: Case Studies………………………………………………………………………………….76 4. Following the Holy Spirit…………………………………………………………………………………..77 Child soldier socialization within the Lord's Resistance Army 5. Too Tough To Die…………………………………………………………………………………………….115 Child soldier socialization within the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy 6. An Idle Mind Is the Devil’s Workshop……………………………………………………………….158 Child soldier socialization within the Revolutionary United Front 7. Matsangas: Puppets or Patriots? …………………………………………………………………….202 Child soldier socialization within the Mozambican National Resistance Part III: From In-Group Socialization to Reintegration………………………………251 8. Socialization Within African Rebel Groups: A Comparison………………………………….252 Effects, similarities, differences 9. Towards a New Future…………………………………………………………………………………….270 Conclusions and recommendations References…..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….275 Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….285 Samenvatting……………………………………………………………………………………………………………287 Appendix: Informed Consent Form…………………………………………………………………………….289 7 8 Acknowledgements “Please take our stories with you. Tell the world about us, tell the people what the war did to us. Please let them come help us. We are just children.” Vincent and I were sitting underneath a mango tree on a cool, sunny morning when he begged me to take his story to the outside world. He was only 14, but he had already spent 6 years of his childhood with the rebels. He lost his family, lost his friends, lost his home. Having lost everything that had ever made him feel safe, he told me how the rebels had become his new family after his abduction, how he saw his commander as his father, and how gunfire started to sound like music to him. Returning from the bush, he could no longer remember a life without violence. Vincent was not the only one. During my field research in conflict-ridden areas throughout Africa, I met hundreds of children like him. Many of them asked me how my research would help them—I said I did not know the answer to that very valid question, but the one thing I knew was that sharing their stories would help people to understand their situation better. And I added that I would do everything to get their message across to those who needed to hear it, leading, I hoped, to better support during their struggles for a better future, and preventing other children from experiencing the same horror. Although I could not make any promises, these children granted me a degree of trust that is indescribable. I will never be able to express how grateful I am for their willingness to share the worst experiences they had had in their short lives, for their devoted cooperation and generosity, and for taking me on journeys characterized by hope, loss, strength, and resilience. Without their devotion I could never have realized this project. I sincerely hope this dissertation will bring forward valuable insights that can contribute to better disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration (DDRR) programs for former child soldiers. Researching the socialization of child soldiers and the inner dynamics taking place within rebel groups could have entailed numerous difficulties, had it not been for my excellent research assistants who were unwavering in their commitment. They offered valuable insights, tireless support and opened doors that would otherwise certainly have remained closed. Without their guidance into the realities of child soldiering I would not have been able to get access to hundreds of informants, nor to the inner circles of these rebel groups. Victor Oloya, Jennifer Jane Watmon, Edward Jayah, Doris Kalih, Mariam Cole and Michael Oliveira Silva—I owe you a great debt 9 of gratitude and I am so thankful for the journeys we experienced together. Heartfelt thanks also go out to Boia Efraime and Albino Forquilha, who assisted me greatly in Mozambique. Acknowledgements are also due to the many people and organizations that gave me a warm welcome in countries spread across the African continent. You always made me feel at home and I will never forget your warmth, hospitality, and invaluable help along the way. It is thanks to you that there were moments of joy every day, despite the grim topic of my research. Among the things I will never forget is doing interviews in the IDP camps of Northern Uganda during the rainy season. As we traveled by motorbike, with the roads transformed into mud slides during the many heavy downpours, families would invite us into their tiny makeshift homes, offering to share the little food they had and giving us the most comfortable seats available. Having close to nothing, but willing to share everything. These are memories, or lessons rather, that will remain with me forever. These acknowledgements would be incomplete without mention of the institutions that provided generous financial support during the course of this research. The Research Council of Norway, the Foundation for the Freedom of Speech Oslo (Fritt Ord), the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the Nordic Africa Institute (NAI), the Group Disaster Studies at Wageningen University, the Wageningen School of Social Sciences (WASS), and the IS Academy Human Security in Fragile States—thank you for believing in me and supporting my work. At NUPI and PRIO I was fortunate in working with individuals whose commitment to this project was unmatched. I am grateful to my colleagues and friends for their feedback and support during various stages of this project, especially to Benjamin de Carvalho, Cedric de Coning, Grant Dansie, Kendra Dupuy, Ingvild Magnæs Gjelsvik, John Karlsrud, Trine Nikolaisen, Viola Selenica, Randi Solhjell and Francesco Strazzari. Also, I would like to thank NUPI librarians Tore Gustavsson and Hazel Henriksen, and language editor Susan Høivik for their valuable input. I owe a very special thank you to Scott Gates and Jeffrey T. Checkel for generously offering their insights, ideas, and wisdom, and for challenging me intellectually. Scott and Jeff: your tremendous enthusiasm, dedication and guidance encouraged me to embark on this mission, fueled my curiosity and stimulated me to extend my initial research on the LRA to this much larger project. Thank you for being great sources of inspiration and for challenging me to reach new levels. Also, I would like to thank Thea Hilhorst, the special chair of humanitarian aid and reconstruction, and Gemma van der Haar of the Disaster Studies Group, who supervised my work during the writing process of this project. Thank you for 10 supporting and facilitating me at the Disaster Studies Group at Wageningen University and providing significant feedback and insights. Your comments encouraged me to look at my work from new perspectives and helped me lift this dissertation to another level. And your support allowed me to focus solely on the writing marathon during the final stages of this project, for which I am truly grateful. I also