Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Letter from Haiti: Fighting for survival

1994; BMJ; Volume: 309; Issue: 6953 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1136/bmj.309.6953.525

0959-8138

César Chelala,

Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology

Children dressed as soldiers on Afnica 's Day ofthe Child take care of them, that is the recipe," he says."The attendance should be voluntary.Never lock them upthat is the biggest mistake you can make.Don't force the children to stay.They will run away, but eventually they come back because they receive food and are given attention-things they crave and cannot get elsewhere.This process of demobilisation is also an adventure for them.After a while they will trust you-that is what it is all about.Give them love, care for them, listen to their story, no matter how horrible it is, and gradually you will see them change.After half a year you will see them play.That is the aim: that they become children again, enjoying football."They come in as criminals, ready to fight, they fight with everything available-bottles, chairs.They are very aggressive; self mutilation is common.They know how to kill."The priest looks me deep in the eyes and speaks softly: "They know perfectly well how to decapitate somebody-the back side first."He does not explain the reason for this approach, and as a doctor I'm too embarrassed to ask.The priest tells me of a child who is deaf from launching rocket propelled grenades from his shoulder and of 8 year old children who take a gun apart while you have a cup of coffee.'We trace the parents through our Catholic network, and I'm proud to say that the first 100 children recovered well.We plan to follow them up for three years.We will pay for schooling and teach them a trade."I'm impressed with his story and believe that he has hit the right approach.Education and employment are the important issues.The lack of them has caused a decline beyond repair in Sierra Leone.In the airport I'm body searched by a child.Officially the children take the role of an adult only on this day, but many children in Sierra Leone have no youth at all.By the time I board the plane I have already worked out a plan to offer support for the displaced people in the camps.I also have ideas for giving aid to child soldiers that we could use in other countries.It was a tiring but useful trip.