They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children: The Global Quest to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers [Hardcover]

Roméo Dallaire (Author), Ishmael Beah (Introduction)

Book Description

Release date: May 24, 2011

As the leader of the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda, Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire came face-to-face with the horrifying reality of child soldiers during the genocide of 1994. Since then the incidence of child soldiers has proliferated in conflicts around the world: they are cheap, plentiful, expendable, with an incredible capacity, once drugged and brainwashed, for both loyalty and barbarism.

 

The dilemma of the adult soldier who faces them is poignantly expressed in this book's title: when children are shooting at you, they are soldiers, but as soon as they are wounded or killed, they are children once again. Believing that not one of us should tolerate a child being used in this fashion, Dallaire has made it his mission to end the use of child soldiers. Where Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone gave us wrenching testimony of the devastating experience of being a child soldier, Dallaire offers intellectually daring and enlightened approaches to the child soldier phenomenon, and insightful, empowering solutions to eradicate it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[An] impassioned call for action…. Dallaire’s troubling book, written out of evident frustration over the world’s failure to act…. [is] a blunt, angry cry: ‘What has humanity created?’"—Kirkus Reviews

"Drawing on 15 years’ experience and research, Dallaire explores the wrenching dilemma consisting of the reluctance to shoot children though they are armed and the guilt and horror attendant on killing them." —Vanessa Bush, Booklist

About the Author

Lieutenant-General The Honorable Roméo Dallaire (Retired) served thirty-five years with the Canadian Armed Forces, and now sits in the Canadian Senate. He founded and leads the Child Soldiers Initiative in association with the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies at Dalhousie University. He has received numerous honors and awards, including induction as an Officer of the Order of Canada and as an Officer of the Legion of Merit of the United States, the highest military decoration available to foreigners. His book, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, won the Governor General's Literary Award in Canada, has been acclaimed around the world, and has been turned into an Emmy Award-winning documentary as well as a feature film.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (May 24, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780802779564
• ISBN-13: 978-0802779564
• ASIN: 0802779565
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > History > Africa > Rwanda

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dallaire has been there May 6, 2012

By Mec

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I empathize with some of the three-star reviewers. Dallaire's book shifts focus several times: from his experiences, to an (imaginary) child's point of view, to a clear-eyed look at the problem, to some of his work to fight the problem -- which is open-ended because nobody has come close to solving the problem of child soldiers. Specifically, it's a bit confusing whether the part told from a child's view is a real history of a specific person; or a composite history; or a gedanken story.

Nevertheless, I'm giving this book five stars. A book is about something. This book is about child soldiers in the Great Lakes section of Central Africa and other African countries. Dallaire has served in UN forces in this area and has experiences with child soldiers on and off the battlefield.

So, even though the style falls short in my eyes, there is plenty of substance -- easily worth one's time and attention.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars We Need to Be Aware June 6, 2011

By Mike B

Format:Hardcover

An exacting, but depressing account, of the use of children as soldiers in military combat. Mr. Dallaire describes the recruitment phase - why child soldiers are used and the extreme brutality that they undergo.

Mr. Dallaire makes a strong point that once a child soldier "has been made" the damage done to he or she will never be undone. Remoulding an ex-child soldier to adjust back into society will be long-term work and involve excruciating psychological restructuring of the former child.

Mr. Dallaire also makes the case that young girls are also part of this recruitment process and their abuse is likely more debilitating than that for boys. How can these children ever hope to be accepted back into the culture that they were so viciously abducted from? Their lives are a shamble - they have had no schooling, they likely don't know their age, their parents and relatives, if they are still alive, are probably in a refugee camp.

The best solution is to stop the recruitment and the author outlines steps being taken. There would seem to be some progress and at least with this book (along with a few others) the world is becoming aware of this grievous issue.

This is a sad book - a child soldier is indicative of a "failed state" - a society in disarray. I found the book a little awkward at the beginning, but after 100 pages the persuasiveness and passion of the Mr. Dallaire overwhelms. Of the two short stories, I found the second one better.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An unforgettable book May 31, 2011

By Booklover89

Format:Hardcover

Over four years ago, I read his first book "Shake Hands with the Devil" about his time during the genocide in Rwanda. That book alone has both haunted me and made me a whole person. It has no doubt changed me profoundly. Now with this new book, he uses his experience as a soldier and a humanitarian to writing a case study on the phenomenon of children being used as a weapons system. He goes into great details of how these kids are becoming a handy way for rouge leaders to fight their wars. In the end, he makes the case for these children and how we can all make a difference in these children lives. This is nothing short of a fearless, bold, tragic, and passionate clarion call on behalf of these children may it be child soldiers or war affected children. I urge everyone to read this extraordinary and unforgettable book!