BOYS FIGHTING AS MEN IN YEMEN'S TRIBAL CONFLICTS

UNCLAS SANAA 000184

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP:AMACDONALD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI YM
SUBJECT: BOYS FIGHTING AS MEN IN YEMEN'S TRIBAL CONFLICTS


1. SUMMARY. A recent report by a local NGO touting high
rates of child combatants in tribal warfare has garnered
considerable international coverage. Culturally, however,
the adolescents are viewed as adults who owe allegiance to
their tribes and are fighting to protect their homes. This
may reflect another example that childhood ends early for
many of Yemen's children. END SUMMARY.

BOYS TO MEN
--------------


2. SEYAJ Organization for Childhood Protection reported on
January 26 that half of the fighters in a tribal war in Amran
governorate are children. (Note: The al-Osimat and Harf
Sufian tribes began fighting in November 2008. End note.)
Executive Director of SEYAJ, Ahmed al-Qarashi, explained to
Poloff that the "children" range from ages 12 to 15. The
statistics stem from interviews with volunteers living in
Amran since at this time, he noted, it is too dangerous for
his organization to do a field study. "Fifty percent is a
conservative estimate, however," al-Qarashi said, "Our
volunteers often report much higher numbers."


3. Yemeni law defines a "child" as under the age of 15, but,
according to al-Qarashi, "The tribes do not consider them
children." "In tribal culture, there is a concept of 'full
man'", he explained, "When a boy is married he is considered
an adult, no matter his age, and now owes allegiance to his
tribe." Al-Qarashi confirmed to Poloff that these armed
boys, often as young as 12 year olds, are married, and are
fighting to protect their households.


4. While unmarried boys are not expected to fight, very
young children are often familiar with guns. Al-Qarashi
described seeing children "carrying weapons that are taller
than they are." Pictures of children with AK-47s strapped
across their bodies litter the offices of Dar al-Salaam, a
local anti-gun NGO committed to stopping revenge killings.
Dar al-Salaam's Executive Director Sheikh Abdulrahman
al-Marwani told Poloff that "a major component of our tribal
mediation programs is the rehabilitation of children both as
victims and perpetrators of violence." Head of the Juvenile
Court in Sana'a Judge Afrah Badwellan described combating the
social perception that children are young adults as a "major
challenge" for Yemeni society.

COMMENT
--------------


5. Childhood for many ends early in Yemen and, as with the
cultural practice of child brides, the preponderance of
adolescents participating in tribal conflicts may only
reflect Yemen's very young population living as adults before
the internationally recognized age of 18. END COMMENT.
SECHE