Our interview took place at 4:45, Monday the 19th of April in San Francisco. We interviewed Professor Lynn Ponton from UCSF. She has a degree in child psychiatry and has spent time working in war zones in Africa with families that have been affected by war, and children that have been forced to fight. As a doctor familiar with the psychology of children, Dr. Ponton was able to give us in depth information on the affect that serving in a combat zone can have on a child. One very common affect of serving in war is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. This is brought on by witnessing or being involved in a very stressful environment and can be very detrimental to a child’s development and ability to reintegrate into society. She said that one way in which the children were being treated for psychological issues was “youth villages.” Youth villages are relatively recent developments that are being used in Israel. They are secluded communities in which former child soldiers from various backgrounds live together in order to make the transition back into society easier. She also told us that child soldiers are largely used in sub-Saharan Africa, The Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America. Child soldiers are often used because of they can be manipulated and brainwashed- often exhibiting behavior called identification with the aggressor. This occurs when children that are abducted and impressed into military service begin to see their captors – the aggressor – as their friend. Furthermore children are usually not expected to be used in war, making them useful to groups such as the Taliban to be implemented as suicide bombers. Finally she said that amnesty international was doing a lot
The interview took place at professor Ponton’s house. We were nervous going into the interview, but she was very receptive and made us feel comfortable. She was enthusiastic about answering our questions and interested in helping us. She also said we were free to call her if any other questions came up. My one grievance is that she did not offer us a drink and I was quite parched. I could have asked for a glass of water, but I was nervous and wanted to start the interview.
From reading our books and articles we were already aware that serving in war can result in irreversible psychological damage. We were also aware that this is a large problem in Africa. She confirmed our belief that children soldiers are used in Africa because of a lack of willing adults.
We had never heard of the “youth villages” which are apparently a very effective way of rehabilitating children. Professor Ponton was impressed with the camps success in recuperating children. She said that by isolating children in safe communities and re-teaching them basic tasks and how to function in a safe environment, the villages were proving to be highly effective. I also did not know that the Taliban used children as suicide bombers. Professor Ponton explained that terrorists use children as suicide because they are easy to brainwash and are unexpected, making them easy weapons.
The interview was fairly short – only half an hour – but we had all of our questions answered, and learned a lot of new information. It went very well, and professor Ponton was very engaging. She was enthusiastic and happy that we showed interest in a topic that she has spent so much time and energy on. Overall it was informative and interesting, and she even gave us a business card and said we could call her if we had any more questions.
