In the coming month of September the international community will be encouraged to celebrate and reflect upon International Literacy Day, which takes place on 8 September, and the International Day of Peace, which occurs on 21 September. The links between the two may not be obvious, but the following story, shows how education and peace are inextricably connected.

It is 1.05pm and I am standing on North Sydney train station scanning the commuters as they come by. I'm looking for Jaya, a young man from Sudan. His arrival had been delayed by at least half an hour so I have had time to ponder what Jaya will be like. Jaya is an ex Child Soldier from Sudan. I wonder if he will he look different to any other youth of his age, will I be able to see his life experience written in his face?

I spot a young Sudanese man in the crowd, baseball cap on his head, looking around to see if anyone is waiting for him. I think that he looks like any other young man in his early twenties. I call his name we shake hands and head to my office at Caritas where he relates his story to me.

Jaya's Story

Jaya's story is similar to other stories of child soldiers, but also different in that he actually chose to join the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) at just 9 years of age. What interests me is what motivated him to make that choice. I tell his story here using his actual words as closely as possible.

Jaya lived with his parents in a large traditional family compound in Aweil in Southern Sudan. His father was a Commander in the rebel based Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and thus the family frequently moved around the country from one rural community to another. As a child Jaya received no formal education "my mother took care of us, but education was not considered important"; explains Jaya.

When Jaya was 9 years of age an Arab militia group attacked the village where he was living. In front of Jaya, they shot dead his father, 3 Uncles, and 5 brothers. Jaya was shielded from the bullets by his fathers' body and so he survived.

"I saw them being shot, my brothers, uncle and father...and as my father fell he looked at me and I was crying...he put his blood onto me so the soldiers would think that I also had been shot...he tried to speak...stay in Sudan was what I heard" Jaya quietly tells me.

After the raid the Militia group took Jaya and another boy captive and for the next 3 months they worked as virtual slaves, tending goats and cattle for the Militia until they were brave enough to escape:

"We ran for 3 days and nights, without food or water... but we did not know where we were running to and we were afraid. All around us were wild animals in the bush, as far as we knew all our family were dead, just as we were dead inside".

After 3 days Jaya and his friend were found by members of the SPLA.

"I remember, recalls Jaya, that it had been raining when we were surrounded by a group of men... we did not know who they were, enemy or friend. Luckily they were members of the SPLA. They recognized me and we were embraced and welcomed by the group.  We stayed with this group from then on."

At age 9 Jaya began his training as a soldier. For the next few years he learnt to service, carry and fire a Kalashnikov rifle. He explains:

"The gun was bigger than me and heavy but my heart was bigger and stronger than the gun. When I joined the army I did not really understand what war was about....I just wanted to feel safe and to belong...I was also taking care of family business...doing what I believed my father wanted me to do"

At age 12 Jaya was given command of a small group of solders and was sent out to "protect the local communities in his area".

A few months later his life would change again.

"I was in the bush when we came under fire. Before I could take cover I was shot in the leg and was badly injured...I managed to drag myself, somehow, under some bushes...someone found me and took me back to the camp....without treatment my leg became infected. Eventually I was taken to a local village for medical help. Here I was found by an NGO working in the area and taken to their mission near Maradi. From here I was transferred to Lokolcho (on the boarder between Sudan and Kenya)"

Under the protection of the UN, Jaya was recognized as a child soldier,
"I was given medical treatment and rehabilitation... but it was something I did not want. I was violent and angry I wanted to return to my troops to continue to protect my people."

Jaya, with the help and support of a local pastor and rehabilitation workers was eventually reunited with relatives in Kakuma and persuaded to get an education, to begin school, (where he would complete both primary and secondary schooling in under 2 years) and learn that there was more to life than fighting and death.  From here he was assisted to  apply for a United Nations Humanitarian visa and travelled to Australia.

Jaya explains, "over 3 years ago I arrived in Australia and with the help of a sponsor and relatives living here, began my schooling at Christian Brothers College in Melbourne. The Red Cross has helped to trace my family still alive in Sudan and my mother has been found. She survived the massacre in the compound and was also taken prisoner by the Militia, but was taken to a different place than me....I now have completed my HSC, and once united with my mother will have a family once again.'
Jaya continues confidently and with a definite sense of hope: "I am hoping to become an actor and find ways to tell my story. I still want to return to Sudan but understand now that there are more ways to assist my country than just through the use of the gun and that education is a key".

I asked Jaya about the friend who escaped with him from the militia but he tells me that he was killed soon after becoming a soldier.

Recruitment (often forced) or conscription of child soldiers into groups such as the SPLA has been common in Southern Sudan. Many of those who have been recruited have not survived. Many have been separated from family, school and their local community, and denied the opportunity to experience the normal daily activities of a child. They have been taught the ABC of a gun, how to kill and how to survive under fire yet they are only children.

In 2005 the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in Sudan ending 22 years of civil war, however peace in the south remains fragile. Local conflicts, such as cattle raids, militia activity and tension over sharing scarce resources, commonly occur. To help the peace process the government of South Sudan has set up the South Sudan Peace Commission. The role of this commission is to faciliatate the promotion of peace and reconciliation across the 10 southern states through the establishment of local peace commissions at the state, county and community levels.

In the upcoming month of September the international community will have the opportunity to celebrate and reflect upon International Literacy Day, which takes place on 8 September, and International Day of Peace,
which occurs on 21 September.

The story of Jaya shows a clear link between Education and Peace. Help build the link by promoting these events in your community.

International Literacy Day

International Literacy Day reminds us that although there have been significant efforts made by the international community towards ensuring that all primary school age children have access to basic education, there are still, many children who, like the child Jaya, do not have access to education.

In 2008 when reporting on progress of the Millennium Development Goals, UNESCO identified that currently approximately 77 million primary school age children remain out of school. Seven out of ten of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa or South and West Asia (to find out more visit the UNESCO site).

The reasons why so many children do not have access to education are diverse and complex.

Often poor families cannot afford to send their children to school, they cannot pay the fees, buy the uniforms, or may need the children to work to supplement the family income.  For other children there may be no schools accessible in their area or teachers to teach at the local schools. This is particularly evident in remote rural communities. For children who have been affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the opportunities to attend school may be impossible. They may have been orphaned and left to care for their siblings, or have parents who can no longer work or earn an income due to the illness and thus have no resources to send the children to school.

Caritas Australia believes that education is essential for self-esteem, financial security, social justice, health and for long term sustainable community and economic development. Together with its partners, Caritas Australia promotes and supports access to quality education for all, including children, youth and adults. Holistic community based development programs include provision for opportunities to improve: the quality of education available, girls' access to education, support for teachers, health/hygiene/sanitation education, Adult literacy, vocational skills training and peacebuilding education. Various linguistic programs which support the use and recording of Indigenous languages both overseas, in countries such as Burma and in Australia, are also supported by Caritas Australia.

International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace to be celebrated on 21 September provides us with an opportunity to take time to reflect and take action for peace in our world. It is a day devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.

The United Nations believe that "the Day shall be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence."

2001-2010 has also been declared by the United Nations as the: International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World.

The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, stated at the opening of this decade for Peace and Non-Violence that "there remains no higher goal, no deeper commitment and no greater ambition than preventing armed conflict. But true peace is far more than the absence of war. It is a phenomenon that encompasses economic development and social justice. It means safeguarding the global environment and curbing the global arms trade. It means democracy, diversity and dignity; respect for human rights and the rule of law; and more, much more."

The way that Caritas Australia provides emergency aid and development assistance enables them to work actively toward the prevention and transformation of conflicts. By incorporating peacekeeping activities, which include conflict resolution, education, reconciliation, and prevention into their work, they are strengthening civil societies so these societies can collectively advocate for their own need.

The way these Peacebuilding activities are undertaken is directly related to the conflict context in which Caritas Australia is working.
In areas which may be vulnerable to conflict, such as Kenya, Caritas Australia proactively works with local partners, to prevent conflict through human rights education, or advocacy, as well as providing communities with access to resources such as:  education; health; food and microfinance. These programs help address social injustices before people see violence as their only option for change.

In places where violent conflicts are ongoing, such as Uganda, Caritas Australia is careful to ensure their programs do not prolong the war, but rather utilize resources for peaceful change. Activities to achieve this include: working with local partners to provide peace education for those seeking shelter in refugee camps, or facilitating respectful relationships between conflicting parties. Caritas Australia also works with returned child soldiers through rehabilitation programs which address trauma healing, and reconciliation.

In areas which are recovering from violence, such as East Timor, Caritas Australia believes that it is vital to help those affected rebuild their homes, livelihoods and communities, as well helping to establish a social space for the long process of recovering from trauma, and reconciling relationships.

Anna Orchard
Communications Officer, Caritas Australia