News Points: Children and war
Bethany Whitfield, the Pulitzer Center
“It’s hard to talk about, but at least when I talk about it, I get some relief,” said Eric Gibson, a Liberian who survived the country’s civil war during his youth by living behind rebel lines.
Gibson earned his keep during the conflict as an entertainer, performing rap songs for the rebel forces. Gibson, alongside journalist Ruthie Ackerman and Rachel Stohl, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information, led a recent discussion at Georgetown University on the widespread use of child soldiers in armed combats throughout the world.
Gibson testified to the atrocities he witnessed as a young Liberian growing up in a war-torn country, experiences that include watching the brutal murder of a pregnant mother, getting shot in the leg and having to bury his best friend’s body with his bare hands.
“You can’t cry,” at such times, Gibson said, lest the rebels perceive one as sympathizing with the other side. “You have to cry on the inside.”
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