Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network Show Name:  Speaking for the SilencedEpisode 4:  Child Soldiers: Part 2

Tune into this week’s episode of #SpeakingfortheSilenced!

You are listening to Speaking for the Silenced podcast with your host(s) Jacqueline Sun.

In this episode of Speaking for the Silenced, we will finish a two-part segment discussing child soldiers and their roles in wars. This week’s episode will focus on the country of Yemen specifically, a place infamous for their frequent employment of children in fighting. Yemen is a desert country in Western Asia.

Segment 1: Background

• Yemeni Civil War fought between Houthi Rebels and Saudi Arabia starting in 2014
• In 2011, there had been political uprising, led to the war
• Now given support by Iran, a Shia majority nation
• Shia and Sunni Muslim divide + conflict
• Yemeni Civil War predicted to end quickly, continues today
• Both sides exploit child soldiers

Segment 2:  Set-Up for Child Soldiers

• Villages left impoverished, no food/resources, disease
• Houthis and Saudi Arabia coalition take advantage of this, target the villages
• Offer jobs to the unknowing children before throwing them into the war
• Houthis engage in form of indoctrination in summer camps
• Make fighting out to be a holy, noble purpose
• In 2020, the UN had counted 163 cases of children being turned into soldiers by Yemen.
• In 2021, Houthis have continued their advancement
• US is trying to pull out of support for Saudi coalition

Segment 3:  What Has Been Done

• Organizations and groups are fighting child soldiers in Yemen
• Believe it violates International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute ban on child soldiers
• Trying to have the UN intervene
• CRUCSY program that reintegrates children
• Prioritizes safety and assimilation
• Issue is at its roots connected to the Civil War, so hard to pinpoint exact solution
• Visit the Children And Armed Conflict UN website or the Borgen Project to learn more about the issue.

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