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VII. THE FUTURE
-Luiz J., December 3, 2002. Former child soldiers interviewed for this report spoke with uncertainty about the future and how they would successfully reintegrate into civilian life. Among other concerns were their feelings of lack of recognition for service and their fear of the camps closing and their abandonment. While programs currently planned may meet the needs of some, it is possible that many others will not be assisted in the absence of resources dedicated to child soldiers. Further, plans for their reintegration must move in tandem with ongoing efforts to rebuild Angola or risk being ineffective. Problems with mine contamination, forced return of the displaced, and poor education and health facilities must by addressed so that rehabilitation programs for these children can be a success. The number of landmines in Angola today is unknown. Estimates by U.N. agencies have put the number as high as fifteen million, while non-governmental de-mining organizations interviewed for this report believe there are just over one million.77 All partners agree that the presence of landmines in Angola continues to hamper humanitarian access, the reintegration of refugees and the displaced, and the resettlement of civilians to their home communities. During research for this report in November and December 2002, several humanitarian workers were killed and others wounded in mine incidents while trying to reach displaced populations. In the provinces of Bié, Huila, and Cuando Cubango, vehicles operating on roads that had been opened by the government struck mines that wounded and killed passengers. In these instances, it is believed that heavy rains caused deeper laid mines to resurface or that vehicles swerving around large puddles in the rainy season drove off de-mined dirt tracks. One humanitarian worker, operating in gathering areas in Huila province, reported that three children playing just outside the gathering areas had been wounded in separate mine incidents since June 2002. She believed that a lack of accurate information on mine contamination and guarantees that resettlement areas are mine-free continue to hamper the resettlement process.78 Almost one quarter of the population of Angola will be moving in 2003 and mine contamination is a continued hazard to them and all Angolans. Refugees will be returning to the country in a repatriation program and the internally displaced resettling in their communities. For the protection of the internally displaced, the government of Angola has integrated the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement into national law and established a mechanism for implementation.79 The international community, and especially the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has worked to ensure that these principles are followed. Despite these developments, sporadic incidents of forced return, which may violate the principles, have created uncertainty for the future of many camp residents including former child combatants. In the Chicala I gathering area in Moxico province, a camp leader voiced his concern over the closing of Calala gathering area in the same province and the lack of resettlement areas for some UNITA fighters from that camp.80 Educational opportunities and access to health care remain limited for all children, due to damaged school buildings, educational and medical personnel shortages, and lack of materials and medicines. The government bears primary responsibility for securing the progressive implementation of rights to education and the highest attainable standard of health for children. UNICEF is working with the Ministry of Education and has established a Program for Educative Opportunities that will increase the number of children in school in 2003 by 210,000 but many more still need assistance.81 Primary schooling is free for children but the costs of supplying school materials and books make attendance impossible for the poorest children and acts as a barrier to education. Former child soldiers who spoke with Human Rights Watch bemoaned their lack of ability to pay these additional costs. For many Angolans, access to health care remains elusive because drugs are prohibitively expensive and there is a general lack of medication and medical facilities in the country. Statistics from the National Institute of Statistics reflect this shortage. Approximately 250 out of 1,000 children die before the age of five and of those, 150 die before they are one year old.82 While HIV/AIDS infection rates for the country, estimated at 5.5 percent,83 are still low in comparison with neighboring countries in southern Africa, the rate is expected to rise because of increased movement of populations, including return of people displaced by the conflict. In addition, measurements are likely to become more accurate and may reveal higher rates than currently estimated. One child rights worker in Luanda told us that in informal surveys taken in the countryside, more than half of the population was unable to identify HIV/AIDS as a disease. All these factors suggest that HIV/AIDS is going to be a major health issue for Angola which is already grappling with an inadequate health system. 77 Human Rights Watch interview, Luanda, December 7, 2002; see David Hartley, "HALO Trust in Angola," Journal of Mine Action, Issue 6.2, 2002. 78 Human Rights Watch interviews, Luanda, November 25 and 26, and Moxico, December 2, 2002. 79 Human Rights Watch interview, Luanda, November 19, 2002. 80 Human Rights Watch interview, Moxico, December 4, 2002. 81 Angola Press Agency, "Some 210,000 Children in the Teaching System This Year," March 4, 2003 [online], http://allafrica.com/stories/200303040544.html (retrieved March 5, 2003). 82 Angola Press Agency, "250 Children Out of 1000 Die Before Five," January 25, 2003 [online], http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/util/display_stories.asp (retrieved January 27, 2003). 83 UNAIDS "Angola - Epidemiological Fact Sheets on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections," 2002 Update, p. 2.
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