Name: Miles friedman

Social Justice Group: Child Soldiers

Date of Fieldwork: February 14, 2018

Name of Organization: UNICEF

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Tasha Gill, Senior Advisor, Child Protection in Emergencies at UNICEF

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did:

we went into the offices of the UNICEF and had a conversation about what they do to help children in armed conflict. We also talked about what happens after a child is released.

What I learned:

I learned that the UNICEF is doing as much as possible to stop the issue of child soldiers on the actual battlefield. While the UN is working more on the legal side of the issue. One thing that UNICEF really works on is reintegration. Reintegration is a huge problem because a lot of the time a kid is released they will go right back to the armies because they have nothing to do. This also happens because of complete reintegration can take up to two years which is way too long. Something they do to help this is that they have a healing ceremony for the former child soldiers in their towns. In the ceremonies, they will step over an egg to symbolize that what they have done is past them and in the rearview mirror. it is also a way for their families to believe in them because a lot of the time families are ashamed of their kids and won’t take them back. The egg also symbolizes cleansing for the kids in the villages and towns.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

In this fieldwork I learned that you have to stick with the kids and not just leave them at the front door of their house. Because if you do they will just go right back to war. You have to be persistent and stick by whatever you are trying to get accomplished. I also learned that you have to be willing to give up your time for someone else to make a difference in this world.