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Child Warriors Take to Fighting in Liberia

Aired September 01, 2003 - 14:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: As post-war Liberia stumbles to its feet, a cholera epidemic rages in Monrovia, along with another plague, thousands of young children armed with AK-47s and other weapons roam the streets, cocky veterans of war, confused and frightened by the prospects of peace.
CNN's Jeff Koinange reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the forgotten faces of Africa's endemic civil wars -- child soldiers. They are easy to recruit, easy to train, and many end up as lean, mean, killing machines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I kill all our enemies.

KOINANGE: He's only 16 but says he has been fighting for more than half his life. He calls himself "General Come Down To My Level".

(on camera): Why do they call you that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, because I see my enemy, they always come down to my level. I make sure they come down to my level.

KOINANGE (voice-over): Other kids have equally colorful names. This one calls himself "Colonel Bad Blood." He's only 14 years old.

This is 13-year-old "Captain Bush Shaking," while this is 11- year-old "Lieutenant Snake In The Grass." And this little lady is 12- year-old "Sergeant Teresa bomb" (ph).

The more flamboyant the name, it seems, the more respect they feel they'll get. They are just a very few of the many child soldiers who fought for the army of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. The rebel groups have their own vanguard of teenage warriors.

On closer scrutiny there's not much difference between the two.

(on camera): Nobody really knows how many child soldiers have fought in this Liberian conflict -- thousands, maybe even tens of thousands. But what's evident is that most of these young men and women have known nothing but war, rape, pillage and plunder for most of their lives.

(voice-over): Time after time, child soldiers are usually the ones sent to the front line, perhaps because they are more malleable, less aware of the danger.

But the ones who survive risk being scarred for life. To Liberia's defense minister, this goes to the heart of the country's predicament.

DANIEL CHEA, LIBERIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: Unless we demilitarize the brains of our people, the peace that we're looking for is going to be short lived.

KOINANGE: When they're not busy fighting, these teens are busy doing what any normal teens will be doing -- dancing, laughing, growing up. Most, though, would rather be elsewhere.

First they need to rebuild many of those schools. It will take much longer to rebuild the lives of these ten age killers and longer still to rebuild the shattered psyche of a nation.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, Monrovia, Liberia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 1, 2003 - 14:23   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: As post-war Liberia stumbles to its feet, a cholera epidemic rages in Monrovia, along with another plague, thousands of young children armed with AK-47s and other weapons roam the streets, cocky veterans of war, confused and frightened by the prospects of peace.
CNN's Jeff Koinange reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are the forgotten faces of Africa's endemic civil wars -- child soldiers. They are easy to recruit, easy to train, and many end up as lean, mean, killing machines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I kill all our enemies.

KOINANGE: He's only 16 but says he has been fighting for more than half his life. He calls himself "General Come Down To My Level".

(on camera): Why do they call you that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, because I see my enemy, they always come down to my level. I make sure they come down to my level.

KOINANGE (voice-over): Other kids have equally colorful names. This one calls himself "Colonel Bad Blood." He's only 14 years old.

This is 13-year-old "Captain Bush Shaking," while this is 11- year-old "Lieutenant Snake In The Grass." And this little lady is 12- year-old "Sergeant Teresa bomb" (ph).

The more flamboyant the name, it seems, the more respect they feel they'll get. They are just a very few of the many child soldiers who fought for the army of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. The rebel groups have their own vanguard of teenage warriors.

On closer scrutiny there's not much difference between the two.

(on camera): Nobody really knows how many child soldiers have fought in this Liberian conflict -- thousands, maybe even tens of thousands. But what's evident is that most of these young men and women have known nothing but war, rape, pillage and plunder for most of their lives.

(voice-over): Time after time, child soldiers are usually the ones sent to the front line, perhaps because they are more malleable, less aware of the danger.

But the ones who survive risk being scarred for life. To Liberia's defense minister, this goes to the heart of the country's predicament.

DANIEL CHEA, LIBERIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: Unless we demilitarize the brains of our people, the peace that we're looking for is going to be short lived.

KOINANGE: When they're not busy fighting, these teens are busy doing what any normal teens will be doing -- dancing, laughing, growing up. Most, though, would rather be elsewhere.

First they need to rebuild many of those schools. It will take much longer to rebuild the lives of these ten age killers and longer still to rebuild the shattered psyche of a nation.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, Monrovia, Liberia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com