http://www.lihpao.com/?action-viewnews-itemid-40396
策劃、編譯■謝雯伃
索馬利亞境內的武裝衝突，自1990年代開始持續至今，
不論是索馬利亞過渡聯邦政府或是反抗軍，當地參與衝突的各派，
都不斷在火線上剝削兒童，讓此區成為全球使用童兵最嚴重的區域之一。
本應天真無憂的孩子在軍隊中被當成伙伕、炸彈製作者、性奴隸或是士兵。
他們有的因為宗教狂熱而獻身，有的則在利益的吸引之下而舉起槍枝，
犧牲的除了童年的天真，更有國家的未來。
索馬利亞南部港口小鎮吉斯邁尤（Kismayu）的教師說，當地大約有半數的學齡兒童捨棄學校，加入要推翻無能政府的反抗軍行列。
About half of school-age children in the southern Somali port town of Kismayu are ditching classes to join rebels fighting to topple a fragile government, teachers said.
這些孩子被金錢和民兵團體的神秘性給吸引。索馬利亞民兵團體在這個幾乎無法給人民工作和發展機會的混亂國家中四處作戰。
They are lured by money and the mystique of militia （1） fighting in a chaotic country that has little to offer them in the way of jobs or opportunity.
這個位於非洲之角的國家，自1991年罷黜獨裁者巴瑞（Maslah Mohamed Siad Barre）之後，一直沒有新的中央政府，目前臨時政府正與反抗團體青年黨（al-Shabaab）爭戰中。青年黨掌控著吉斯邁尤，甚至對使用當地港口者徵稅。
The Horn of Africa （2） nation has had no central government since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and an interim government is battling al Shabaab rebels who make money through taxing port users in Kismayu.
「這些孩子驕傲地拿起槍到處晃，於此同時，教室空盪盪的……伊斯蘭主義者的指揮官們，在公共聚會或是清真寺中大力遊說這些孩子。」一名拒絕透露姓名的吉斯邁尤教師表示。
■索馬利亞的孩子被金錢和民兵團體的神秘性給吸引，民兵團體在這個幾乎無法給人民工作和發展機會的混亂國家中四處作戰。圖為索馬利亞首都街頭的伊斯蘭主義武裝團體。 （圖文／路透）
"They proudly carry their guns around while the classrooms are empty... Islamist commanders woo the children whether in public gatherings or in the mosques," a Kismayu primary school teacher said, declining to be named.
聲稱忠於蓋達組織的青年黨，是許多索馬利亞人畏懼的團體，因為該組織訴求要實施嚴格的伊斯蘭律法，包括如果褻瀆神明或是搶劫就要處死。
Al Shabaab （3）, which professes loyalty to al Qaeda, is feared by many Somalis for its application of a strict form of Islamic law, including executing people for blasphemy and robbery.
在過去，該組織曾策劃過青年可蘭經頌讀比賽，勝利者的獎品是反坦克地雷、電腦和AK-47步槍。17歲的加達（Mohamed Kadhar）就是輟學加入軍事團體的孩子之一。
In the past, the group has organised Koran-reciting competitions among youths with prizes like anti-tank mines, computers and AK-47 guns for the winners. Mohamed Kadhar, 17, is one of the many children who have dropped to join the militant group.
他對身為童兵的生活感到滿意、毫無怨言，因為在這個國家的衝突狀況下，在其他地方絕對賺不到這麼多錢，即使他曾經在學校讀過幾年書。
He is content as a young soldier and has no regrets because he could never earn as much money elsewhere, even if he had gone to university, because of the country's conflict.
「我會離開學校，是因為在學校絕對賺不到這麼多。我現在是一名青年黨的民兵。夢想是當一名聖戰士的部隊指揮官，聖戰士在未來的一年內將會拿下索馬利亞。」加達在首都摩加迪休表示，他剛剛才結束與政府軍的巷戰。
"I left school because I couldn't get hundreds of dollars in school. I am now an al Shabaab militia. My dream is to become a mujahedeen （4） commander of the troops who will take over Somalia in the coming year," Kadhar said in Mogadishu after returning from a street battle with government forces.
索馬利亞分析師警告，在像青年黨之類的團體控制下，會給年輕人帶來可怕的後果，普遍的貧窮，給這類團體徵召新人的機會。
Somalia analysts warn of dire consequences should the young people be left at the mercy of groups like al Shabaab which take advantage of widespread poverty as a recruitment tool.
「過去擔心許多年輕人會加入暴力宗教和部落戰士團體的憂慮，現在成真了。」卡達首都杜哈一名政治史教授愛爾米（Afyare Elmi）接受《路透》電話訪問時說。
"The concerns over many youngsters joining violent religious and tribal fighters are real," Afyare Elmi, a political history professor told Reuters by phone from Doha, Qatar.
「我們必須要了解，大多數孩子這麼做，是因為缺乏就業和教育機會。」
"We need to understand that most of these are doing it because of lack of employment and educational opportunities."
無力預防的家長
PARENTS HELPLESS TO PREVENT
許多失業的家長，也只能接受年輕人蜂湧加入軍事份子陣營的殘酷現實。在辛苦照顧孩子多年後，他們的孩子紛紛加入青年黨或是「伊斯蘭黨」（Hizbul Islam）這個反抗團體，讓家長自此失去孩子。
Many unemployed parents are living with the tough reality of the rise of militancy among the young. After toiling （5） to fend for their children, they lose them to groups like al-Shabaab or Hizbul Islam, another rebel group.
「我的丈夫在1994年過世。我只能賣菜養活我的孩子。」吉斯邁尤一名3個孩子的母親馬哈穆德（Mariam Mahamud）向《路透社》表示。
"My husband died in 1994. I sell vegetables in order to maintain my children," Mariam Mahamud, a mother of three told Reuters from Kismayu.
「我本來很開心，他們都去上學了，我很快就可以退休了。但我的一個兒子加入了民兵，從此不再和我聯絡。」
"I was happy thinking I would retire soon now that they have gone to school but one of my sons became a militiaman and he doesn't contact me anymore."
（路透Reuters）
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