Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Finding peace for Yemen’s child soldiers
Boys’ second chance after kidnap ordeal
AS the soldiers picked up the young boy’s body, they found a small key lying by his side.
Gently asking his devastated pal who was standing nearby what it was for, they were told: “They told us the key was for us to enter paradise if we were killed.”
The use of child soldiers in Yemen is truly shocking. Boys as young as nine have been kidnapped and forced to fight.
There are numerous reports of them being raped and force-fed drugs. Others describe being given contraceptive pills, which they were told would help stem bleeding if they were injured in battle.
Some of the lucky ones are rescued from the battlefield and taken to a special school to help them recover.
Abdullah Al-dhani was just 12 when he was kidnapped last year. Sitting in his new school, surrounded by table football machines and board games, I gently asked about what happened that day.
Speaking nervously, he recalled: “The Houthis first came to my house and asked to speak to my dad. They offered to buy me but, of course, he refused.
“The next day, I went to school as usual in my village but suddenly the men turned up there and kidnapped me. I was taken to a big city – I had never been there before. I stayed at an army base and they taught me how to shoot guns.
“We were all hungry but were only given dry bread. The soldiers were fed well and we were allowed, if we had been good, to have their leftovers. After a week or so, they sent me and my friends to the front line, where we were used as human shields. Before we went on the mission they made us take a pill – I don’t know what it was but it made me feel different.
“There were four of us there – one of my friends was killed. A huge missile hit and I saw his body on the ground. Shrapnel from the missile hit me in the knee – I still have a big scar there now. I was taken to a hospital and then what they called a recovery house.”
He goes on: “The adults gave me some money for food and left me while they went back to battlefield. I waited until it was clear and then ran away – my knee was hurting but I had to do it. I got on a bus and then another bus and eventually I was smuggled here to Marib, where I came to this school. Two friends are still fighting. I was one of the lucky ones.”
The war started in 2014, when Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, deposing the internationally recognised government of President Abd-rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Concerned by the rise of the Iranbacked Houthis, Saudi Arabia – supported by the UK and US – launched a massive air campaign to try to reinstall Hadi’s government. Both sides blame each other for the conflict, and accuse the other of committing war crimes.
The Houthis use children to boost the number of soldiers in their fight against the Yemeni army, which is backed by the
Saudis, the UK and the US. The boys, who are given basic guns, are often killed by the vastly superior weapons – some made in the UK – of the Yemenis.
Ahmed Jesar was just 13 when he was taken 18 months ago.
He said: “I was studying in school when the men arrived at the classroom.
“They told me to get up and took me away – I was very frightened. They gave me a gun and gave me a week’s training. But then we got caught up in a gunfight.
“My friend, who was the same age as me, was killed. I saw his body on the ground. I was only 13. I should have been playing with my friends and learning at school, not watching people being killed.
“I was taken to hospital because I had been injured. I knew I had to get away and managed to escape when no one was looking.”
Abdul Haziz, 12, said: “My uncle was forced to take me to join them. They gave me a gun. But then my uncle was killed in a missile attack. They took me aside and said, ‘You must get revenge for the death of your uncle’. They gave me the drug khat [a stimulant] and then another drug. I didn’t know what it was. I eventually managed to escape.”
The boys’ stories are mirrored by thousands of others caught up in the civil war.
Nathra Al-omari, educational supervisor at the Project For The Rehabilitation Of Children Recruited And Impacted By War In Yemen, said: “Some of these kids have been raped and others have taken drugs. We found keys with them
I was only 13... I should have been playing with pals, not watching people being killed AHMED JESAR ON BEING KIDNAPPED BY HOUTHIS AND MADE TO FIGHT IN WAR
and they said, ‘These are the keys to paradise’. They were taught fighting is jihad that will take them to paradise.”
According to the Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights, the Houthis recruited 10,000 children between 2015-18.
It’s a global issue. The UN’S 2018 Children And Armed Conflict report, which details abuses during 2017, shows more than 21,000 verified grave violations of children’s rights globally.
Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Nigeria – home to the notorious Boko Haram – are among the countries with the worst record.
Here in Yemen, distraught mums have set up an organisation to try to stop the kidnappings. But so many people of all ages have been taken that the Abducted Mothers Association has extended its work.
Four of the relatives bravely spoke to the Mirror. Umkhalid, from Hodeidah, had two nephews kidnapped. They were released, only to be used as human shields and killed in an air strike.
Maha, from Sanaa, saw her uncle kidnapped and returned after a ransom was paid. The father of Rukiya, also from Sanaa, was taken and released for a ransom.
Omahemd, also of Hodeidah, had her brother taken. He is still missing.
Maha said: “This has got to stop – it’s happening all the time and all over the country. It destroys families.” Rukiya said: “People are being taken for money as pawns for exchange with other prisoners.”
Jamal Hassan knows more than most. His mum, Fatem, 72, cousin Jabera, 30, daughter Halima, four, and nieces Rahama and Faten, both five, were kidnapped on April 23. When we visited, his daughter and two nieces had been freed after a ransom was paid but he was still trying to free his mum and cousin.
Looking tearful, he said: “I am so worried. How can they be kidnapped as they travel by bus? I cannot believe they are kidnapping children for money and kidnapping children to become child soldiers.”
They taught me how to shoot guns. We were sent to the battle and used as human shields ABDULLAH AL-DHANI ON BEING TAKEN AT AGE 12 AND MADE A CHILD SOLDIER