09/16/2005

Some ex-combatants who were released from the LTTE participate in the vocational training programs. “The [former child combatants] don’t act like the others,” explained an instructor. “They can get angry and aggressive. We have to take special care for them – through counseling and sometimes literacy courses. Counseling can help them understand. We don’t single them out, though; everyone goes through the 10-15 days counseling course.” The child combatants are still at risk. Of the fifty that have recently completed the program, eight have disappeared --- either rejoining the LTTE or fleeing to avoid re-recruitment.