5. Dr Mike Wessells - On Child Soldiers

My guest today is Dr Mike Wessells, Professor at Columbia University in the Program on Forced Migration and Health.

Over the decades, Mike has conducted extensive research on the holistic impacts of war and political violence on children, and he is author of the book ‘Child Soldiers: From Violence to Protection’.

Currently, Mike is the lead researcher on inter-agency and multi-country action research on strengthening community-based child protection mechanisms. He also regularly advises UN agencies, governments, and donors on issues of child protection and psychosocial support, including in communities and schools.

Some of the topics we covered during our conversation are:

• Ongoing confusion about the definition of Child Soldiers
• Some of the push and pull factors that encourage child soldiering
• How children deal with trauma
• Misunderstanding of Western interventions
• Importance of culturally appropriate interventions
• Agency of children in war
• Healing and overcoming trauma
• Self-care needs of humanitarian workers

This was a very confronting conversation and I remain deeply grateful to Mike for sharing his invaluable lessons on this important topic. As you will hear, not only is Mike an eminent expert on the subject, but he is also deeply compassionate and a true gentleman.

You can find out more about Mike’s work and his publications on:

https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/people/our-faculty/mgw2106

And you can find out about his book ‘Child Soldiers: From Violence to Protection’ here:

https://www.amazon.com/Child-Soldiers-Protection-Michael-Wessells/dp/0674032551