Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews from across Colombia―including former child guerillas, former hostages of the guerilla organization, mothers of child soldiers, and humanitarian aid workers― this volume explores the experiences of children involved with the Colombian guerilla group the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc). Going beyond the predominant humanitarian perspectives on child soldiers, Johanna Higgs delves into the specific social and cultural aspects of the Colombian conflict to give a contextualized, culturally relevant understanding of the processes of both militarization and demobilization of children, deploying the theoretical lens of “lifeworlds.” In so doing, Higgs not only provides insight into children’s involvement in conflict in Colombia, but presents a clear case for a move away from homogenized understandings of “child soldiers,” thus far dominated by viewpoints from industrialized Western nations. Tying together perspectives from anthropology, sociology, psychology, politics, and international development, Higgs provides not only a much-needed examination of how children are militarized, soldiering in the Farc context, and demilitarization, but also a blueprint for how research can be tied to specific cultural contexts.
Author(s): Johanna Higgs
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: xi+233
Intro
Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
1 Introduction: The Children of the Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)
References
2 Children and War: A Global Perspective
Introduction
Children and War
The Historical Global Context
Why Do Children Join Armed Groups?
Poverty and Powerlessness
Ideology
Replicating Social Structures of Peacetime
Initiation Rites
Enjoying Violence
Normalisation of War
Colombia
Conclusion
References
3 Entering the Field
Introduction
The Research Terrain
Entering the Field
Ethnography with Former Child Combatants Living in MedellinThe Second Phase
Building Trust
'Me quedo callado', Navigating the Silences
Limitations
Sexual Harassment
Conclusion
References
4 The Lifeworld
Introduction
Lifeworlds in Colombia
The Lifeworld, the Subjective and the Social
Knowledge
Communication
Gender
Memory
Place
Consciousness, Identity and the Lifeworld
Observing and Learning About Phenomena
Entering Consciousness and Sedimentation
Multiple Worlds, Shifting Worlds
Growing Up in the World of Violence
Conclusion
References
5 The Militarised Lifeworlds of Children in Colombia
Introduction 'The Whole World Is a War'The World of Violence
Performative Violence, Drug Trafficking, Cocaine
Structural Inequalities and Violence
Honour, Guns and Child Recruitment
Conclusion
References
6 'I'm a Soldier': Life Inside the Armed Group
Introduction
Armed Groups, Violence and Collective Identity
The FARC
Separation
Training
Memory
Creating an Other
Shifting into the Guerrilla Identity
Conclusion
References
7 Coming Home: The Unmaking of a Child Soldier
Introduction
Reintegration and the Colombian Peace Process
Shifting Out of the Violent Lifeworld Demobilising in ViolenceFocusing on the Future
Stigmatisation, Resentment and Acceptance
Becoming a Civilian Again
Moving Forward and Economic Opportunities
Conclusion
References
8 Conclusion: Colombia and the Road to Peace
Reference
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
