Orphanages, Schools and Children: Who is accountable when Children die in Combat situations?

By Prof. Harendra de Silva

There has been much concern about the bombing of what is claimed to be an orphanage ('Sencholai') by the Sri Lankan Air Force and protests have been made by the SLMM (Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission) of Norway and the UNICEF.

On one hand children should be protected by any form of violence of war, while on the other hand it should be the responsibility of the United Nations, specifically the UNICEF to prevent recruitment and address that issue. Although they should be sorry about the death of 'children' if there were any there, their highest responsibility should have been to condemn outright the recruitment of Children in combat, which we have not seen so far. Is this the policy of the UNICEF Mission in Sri Lanka who have been hijacked by terrorists for a long time from the time the UNICEF gave 1.44 Million US$ to open the transit centres for so called demobilization of these children in 2003.

It was proven to be a mockery by many including the Reuters, but no one in the UNICEF was made accountable to the failure. Instead they were all 'kicked upstairs'. We all hope this is not the policy of the UNICEF in ROSA (Regional office) or New York (Head office)!

This is an excerpt from a book (Power Games in War and Peace) written in 2003 by Well known Child Rights Activist and Founder (former) Chairman of the National Child Protection Authority and an Ashoka Fellow (Wash DC) awarded for Social Entrepreneurship. He clearly indicated (in 2003) that Sencholai is a Brain washing centre for Orphans to be made into Suicide cadres.

A verbatim section from the book Pages 126-127 "Orphans and Single Parents: Dead or missing parents on both sides due to the conflict result in the inevitable consequence of orphans and displaced children. Poverty, lack of infrastructure for legal adoptions, and a lack of resources for foster care, compound the effects, leading to trafficking of children into illegal adoption or domestic labour, and sexual exploitation especially in areas bordering conflict zones where an abundance of soldiers come for recreation after receiving their salaries. Child conscription, which is a form of hazardous employment, may be preceded sometimes in the guise of "adoption". This is particularly so in some orphanages in conflict areas like "Sencholai" and "Kantharuban", funded and run by the terrorists.

Instead of sensitive teachers the caretakers are militant soldiers and "heroes", and the former home is named after an orphaned hero who died in battle - an ideal role model for the ultimate objective! The fact that the walls of these institutions are decorated with military propaganda, as well as of pictures of heroes and martyrs and the prayers for martyrs makes the ultimate objective quite obvious (The Sunday Times - Sri Lanka, Page 6, 16th June 2002).

"Brainwashing" or "emotional abuse" are just two terms used for obvious or subtle conditioning of young innocent minds, in the name of "training" and "discipline", from early childhood to "volunteer" as (child) soldiers, at an age set by themselves ignoring international norms.

On one hand the absolute need to care and protect these children needs acknowledgement. The fact that the majority of parents have been killed in the war by either side, and the fact that the children would only know what is told to them, provides the perfect culture medium to cultivate hatred to contaminate their "sterile" minds.

The International community and negotiators should be reminded again of this problem: never to call it a "sensitive" issue when addressing it. On the other hand they can justify funding the apparent "face" of the program. It is the responsibility of well-wishers to address this issue honestly if there is a genuine intention of impartiality and supporting peace."