Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War

by Jimmie Briggs

Ida, a member of Sri Lanka’s Female Tamil Tigers, fought with one of the longest-surviving and successful guerilla movements in the world. She is sixteen. Francois, a fourteen-year-old Rwandan child of mixed ethnicity, was forced by Hutu militiamen to hack to death his sister’s Tutsi children.More than 250,000 children have fought in three dozen conflicts around the world, but growing exploitation of children in war is staggering and little known. From the “little bees” of Colombia to the “baby brigades” of Sri Lanka, the subject of child soldiers is changing the face of terrorism. For the last seven years, Jimmie Briggs has been talking to, writing about, and researching the plight of these young combatants. The horrific stories of these children, dramatically told in their own voices, reveal the devastating consequences of this global tragedy.Cogent, passionate, impeccably researched, and compellingly told, Innocents Lost is the fullest, most personal and powerful examination yet of the lives of child soldiers.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, War, Africa

216 pages, Hardcover

First published June 14, 2005

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having studied and written about the horrors of child warfare myself in Heart of Diamonds, I appreciate the way Jimmie Briggs helps us understand this terrible phenomenon. Using children as soldiers is not a modern innovation, but he shows how it has evolved in an age of light, cheap weapons and insidious guerrilla warfare.

The greatest strength of Innocents Lost is the way personal stories of children pressed into war are put into the context of the larger conflicts in which they fight. Briggs also does a good job of showing the effects of the phenomenon on not just the children but on their families and others as well.

I particularly appreciated his refusal to sensationalize the children's stories. Briggs is a journalist, not a dramatist, and he used his skills to present the individual stories with passion while resisting the urge to make us wallow in pathos. Even with his objective tone, it is difficult to read the accounts--often told in the children's own words--without being deeply saddened.

While much of the research behind this book was done several years ago, it should be noted that all five of the conflicts Briggs investigated are still going on in one form or another. As recently as October, 2008, there were reports of Rwandan children being sent to fight for the CNDP, a rebel force in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has since been integrated into the Congolese army. And Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army continues to ravage southern Sudan and the DRC, kidnapping children just the way Briggs describes.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this book focused more on the author's journey and experience in the countries he was researching, but the subject of the book is still important and worthy to read more about.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was good but it was not what I was expecting. I thought it would be a bit more in depth. It would be hard to categorize because it is not in depth enough to be considered scholarly or even investigative reporting but it is not light reading either. While it was short, it was very informative. I learned a lot about the conflicts in Colombia and Sri Lanka. He was able to make these very confusing conflicts (esp. Colombia) understandable.

[Emily Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the concept of this book. It contains some powerful stories about the harrowing effects of children whose lives have been ravaged by war. However, of the child soldier narratives that I've read, this doesn't make the top of my list of what I would recommend to people. There is an outsider feel to this, being written by someone who visited with these children but couldn't truly know their thoughts, experiences, or trauma.

[Sarah Eisele · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disturbing book because it discusses the horrible atrocities young people can perpetrate when abused, brainwashed, and exploited. Written by a jouranlist, who got himself in some seriously risky situations in order to portray how these children become involved with militias, what happens while they're there, how they escape, and what is available for them to help them recover (very little!).

[Caylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

although clearly written like an expose/extended news article, it is a very intense, enlightening, beautiful and well-written work. at times you will feel like your there, and it can feel very troublesome. i saw jimmie briggs speak a couple years ago and got to meet him, and he is very engaging and kind.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly wonderful overview of the use of child soldiers in 5 different countries. The writer adds both a well-researched background and a personal touch to his observations and interviews of individuals involved in these conflicts. Very well written and informative.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

meh.

I felt like the author was caulky through his voice. I loved the book as reference to topics that I wanted to google/wiki/whatevs though. Sometimes it seems hard to find things happening on the global scale while weeding through the news.

[Malena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book taught me a lot about the sad, harsh realities of young children being forced to go to war. The author, who is a journalist, tells the stories of children in Rwanda, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Afghanistan.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart breaking book! Its such a tragedy that children in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Uganda are being used as child soldiers. I actually met Jimmie Briggs at a conference in Washington D.C. and he's a very nice person.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbing book about how corrupt governments and cults take advantage of the children. It also opens the perspective of the continent of Africa and the wars..

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed it - not very informative, more a story of the author than a book on child soldiers