11/15/2002

Paul is 15 years old, he tells Refugees International in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), though he appears much younger. He is told that his name will be changed in anything that is written about him, so he doesn’t have to be afraid. He can say anything. He has a warm and innocent smile, so it is quite disconcerting when he answers, this little boy clutching an orange crayon: "I am a soldier. I can’t be afraid." Paul was kidnapped, he says, by the Interahamwe, the militant Rwandan Hutu group fighting Rwandan government soldiers and their allies on Congolese soil.

"They came to my village at night. They were looting and they used me as a porter. When I carried their things into the forest, they told me that I would be accused of stealing with them, that no one would want to take me back in, so I decided to stay. There were more than 20 children in my unit, who all wanted to leave. Five of us decided to escape. The others said to us, "If you arrive safe, let us know so we can escape too. I haven’t told them yet that I escaped. That was three months ago." During his time in the army, Paul says he fought for a faction of the Mayi Mayi, a Congolese militia contesting the Rwandan occupation of the eastern DRC. "We were fighting to liberate the country from Rwanda’s army." He cannot count the number of times he was sent to the front lines. "I went to Kambegeti, Bulambika, Nyakakala four times, Mubuezu five times, other places. We would fight and run, not take villages. We fought against the Tutsi [Rwandan soldiers]."

"I regret my time in the army, I would like to say to other children not to join. To those who cause war I have nothing to say because I am too young. If I had power …." His voice trails off here and he looks at the floor. "Everyone is killing people, dying for nothing."

Refugees International presently has an assessment mission in the DRC examining the performance of MONUC, the UN peacekeeping force there. RI is calling for strengthening the mandate and capacity of MONUC so it is able to provide better protection to Congolese civilians. Only an end to the conflict, not only in the DRC but in the wider Great Lakes region, will prevent the continued forced recruitment of boys such as Paul.