"My gun was as tall as me"
Subtitle: child soldiers in Burma.
Contributors: Heppner, Kevin.; Becker, Jo.; Human Rights Watch (Organization)
Publisher: Human Rights Watch
Published: 2002
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 213
Subjects: Child soldiers -- Burma.; Children and war -- Burma.
Other titles: Child soldiers in Burma
Description: Burma is believed to have more child soldiers than any other country in the world. The overwhelming majority of Burma's child soldiers are found in Burma's national army, the Tatmadaw Kyi, which forcibly recruits children as young as eleven. These children are subject to beatings and systematic humiliation during training. Once deployed, they must engage in combat, participate in human rights abuses against civilians, and are frequently beaten and abused by their commanders and cheated of their wages. Refused contact with their families and facing severe reprisals if they try to escape, these children endure a harsh and isolated existence. Children are also present in Burma's myriad opposition groups, although in far smaller numbers. Some children join opposition groups to avenge past abuses by Burmese forces against members of their families or community, while others are forcibly conscripted. Many participate in armed conflict, sometimes with little or no training, and after years of being a soldier are unable to envision a future for themselves apart from military service.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Written by Kevin Heppner based on research conducted in March 2002 by Kevin Heppner and Jo Becker; edited by Jo Becker ... [et al.]