One Day the Soldiers Came (31 page)

It is easy to feel despair when looking at the problems faced by children in wars, but there are many programs that try to help and there are many resources available to learn more about these regions or issues, in addition to the materials listed as references.

Refugees International was founded in 1978 in response to the crisis in Cambodia and has grown into a powerful independent advocacy organization. Refugees International generates lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for displaced people around the world and works to end the conditions that create displacement. They accept no public money in order to remain an independent voice for action. Sixty percent of the proceeds of this book benefit their work. You can learn more about what they do at http://www.refugeesinternational.org. Their Web site also allows you to get involved through donations, hosting an event, contacting policy makers about issues concerning displaced and vulnerable people, and writing editorials for your local newspaper.

In addition to Refugees International, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (http://www.child-soldiers.org/) works to prevent the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, to secure their demobilization, and to ensure their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

Save the Children (http://www.savethechildren.org) helps children in crisis and children in poverty around the world. They run many community outreach, health, education, and recreation programs across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Save the Children also offers teacher’s guides for discussing these subjects in the classroom.

CARE is a global poverty fighting organization, whose work focuses primarily on empowering women and on delivering aid to all people affected by armed conflict. You can become part of their fight by joining the CARE Action Network and making your voice heard (http://can.care.org/).

The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children (http://www.womenscommission.org) coordinates the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, which advocates on behalf of the children of war on a policy level and publishes thorough reports on the state of children around the world affected by armed conflict.

Additionally, Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org) investigates the conditions of children around the globe and advocates for their freedom, safety, development, and dignity.

By far the largest organization that helps refugees and displaced people is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (http:// www.unhcr.org). UNHCR is mandated to protect refugees, displaced persons, stateless persons, and all other persons under its mandate, to coordinate efforts all over the world in order to solve the problems faced by the displaced people and ensure respect for their fundamental rights: the right to employment and to education, the liberty of worship, the right to travel, and the protection of the law.

If you would like to learn more about refugee issues, there are many useful books and documentary films available, in addition to the material in this bibliography. These titles should be available from your local library. For a staggeringly thorough account of the contemporary phenomenon of child soldiers, Peter W. Singer’s book,
Children at War
, is an invaluable resource.
A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis
by David Rieff examines the development of humanitarian organizations from their beginnings as organizations devoted to the alleviation of suffering to their current, more partisan state, and Michael Maren’s
The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity
looks at the effects of international aid on the societies it is meant to serve.
Darfur: A Short History of a Long War
by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal details the history of Darfur: its conflicts, and the designs on the region by the governments in Khartoum and Tripoli. It investigates the identity of the infamous “Janjaweed” militia and the nature of the insurrection, charts the unfolding crisis and the international response, and
concludes by asking what the future holds in store.
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire with Major Brent Beardsley offers an eyewitness account of the failure to stop the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. A more detailed reading list is available from the Refugees International Web site.

As for films, Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk’s documentary account of the Lost Boys coming to America,
Lost Boys of Sudan
, gives an insightful look at the resettlement process as it is experienced by Sudanese youths.

Burma: State of Fear
, a film by FRONTLINE/World reporter Evan Williams, provides a look into the repressive nation of Myanmar. Williams traveled undercover to Burma (also known as Myanmar) to expose the violence and oppression carried out by Burma’s government against its own people.

Total Denial
by Milena Kanev, is the inspiring story of fifteen villagers from the jungles of Burma whose quest for justice eventually lead them to bring suit in a U.S. court against two oil giants—UNOCAL and TOTAL—for human-rights abuse. The filmmaker’s “guide” during this journey was Ka Hsaw Wa, described by Kerry Kennedy in her book
Speak Truth to Power
as “a man of incredible courage and commitment, with the firm belief that one man can make a difference.”

A sensitive look at the lives of three different children around the world can be found in
Living Rights
by Duco Tellegen, which explores dilemmas facing three young people on three different continents.

One of the most affecting films relating to issues of war and forgiveness is
Videoletters
(http:www.videoletters.net), which creates lines of communication between former enemies in ethnic conflicts. Beginning in the Balkans, the project has now spread to Rwanda and the volatile Caucasus region.

Finally,
Promises,
a film by Justine Shapiro, B. Z. Goldberg, and Carlos Bolado, follows the lives of seven Israeli and Palestinian children filmed over four years as they develop a sense of who they are and who they are supposed to become. Its sequel,
Promises: Four Years On,
is a sobering return to the children’s lives and a study of what happens to children of conflict as they grow up.

Of course, donating money to the organizations listed above is an essential way to help, as is learning about these issues and speaking out
to policy makers to create more effective global responses to humanitarian crises and ensuring that children’s concerns are not overlooked by those in power. You can organize reading and discussion groups, write to your local paper and to your representatives in Congress, and organize community support for refugees living in this country. The only real solution to these problems, however, is for each and every one of us to work towards a society where opportunities abound for every child and where the next generation will inherit peace as their birthright.

One doesn’t write a book like this alone. Since the project began, I have benefited from the kindness, wisdom, patience, and generosity of countless individuals and organizations, some of whom I would like to thank here, in what paltry way these end papers can. I assure the reader, the best parts of this book I owe to the following people and organizations, while any and all errors are entirely my own.

Travel and research were made possible by the generous financial support of Jay Gouline, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, and Ed Vinson and the Mills Corporation.

The staff of Refugees International has been unbelievably helpful in every step of this project. Ken Bacon’s initial faith in the idea and in me made the entire endeavor possible. Without the amazing support of the development team over the years—Michelle Kucerack, Antonia Blackwood, Scott Shirmer, and Haida McGovern—I never would have gone on that first mission. It is, however, the advocates who took me into the field with them to whom I owe my greatest debt. Their hard work and patience in the face of surly militiamen, lazy bureaucrats, foreign bacteria, traumas real and imagined, and the odd volcano, as well as their sharp insights and amazing sensitivity to affected populations were a model and an inspiration. I would particularly like to thank Veronika Martin, Joel Charny, and the tireless, courageous, and wise Anne Edgerton, who also devoted a great deal of time and consideration to this manuscript. My debt to board member Jan Weil cannot be put into words for her role as a mentor and as a friend.

I owe all of my interviews and in more than one case, my life, to the many guides and translators I had along the way: Augustin, Eric, Nelson, Daisy, Mohammed, Arber, Ilir, Dada, Florim, and Simon. Additionally, countless staff members from UNHCR and various non-governmental organizations lent me their time and resources in the field. The Women’s Commission, Christian Outreach and Development, Doctors Without Borders, and Save the Children were particularly helpful.

I am grateful to Sterling Lord, who saw fit to bring this project into his esteemed literary agency and to the amazing agent extraordinaire, Robert Guinsler, a true friend who believed in me and in this work even when I thought it impossible. Without Robert’s guidance, patience, and tenacity, through times when lesser agents would have cut and run, the stories of these young people would never have seen the light of day. I thank you.

Sarah Durand’s editorial guidance added immensely to the strength of this book and her insight and hard work on its behalf was an inspiration. Her assistant, Emily Krump, made the whole process completely painless, and for that I am in her debt. I am also grateful to Ilene Smith and Professor Leslie Woodard for gracing me with their valuable time and insightful comments. Additionally, Robert Coles has been an inspiration to this project from a very early stage, putting his faith in an unknown twenty-three-year-old, imparting a fraction of his tremendous wisdom, and lending his effort with amazing humility.

For the initial spark that sent me on my way to that first soccer game in the dirt, I want to thank Julia Hart. And for endless writerly advice, I am eternally indebted to James V. Hart. My dear friends Clea, Alan, Amanda, Brett, Matty, and Michelle listened patiently and encouraged me constantly as this project evolved. Natalie Robin acted as my first line of defense on draft after draft of the manuscript and Victor D’Avella pushed me from day one. James Jayo lit a fire under me and made me believe that indeed people did want to hear these stories.

I cannot give enough thanks to my parents, Anne and Andy, and to my sister, Mandy, for putting up with countless sleepless nights while I was abroad. I am sure they would have preferred I stay home where there were no foreign bacteria, surly militiamen, or active volcanoes. In spite of their fears, they always encouraged me to keep going. And of course, Tim Jones, my North, my South, my East, my West, who quite simply makes all things possible.

Lastly, I cannot name all the children to whom I spoke, but I owe them the greatest debt of gratitude. They gave me their time, their stories, their energy, and their friendship; they shared their fears, their hopes, and the fabric of their lives with a stranger. I pray that one day they will have a chance to read this book and may see the best of themselves in its pages and can, perhaps, tell their own stories, to fill in where my words have inevitably fallen short. They each remain, as ever, in my thoughts. It is for them this work began and it is with them that it ends.