“The boys were trained to kill and dismember corpses. The girls were abused by officers and many had abortions," says Father Rafael Bejarano, director of Ciudad Don Bosco in Medellín, Colombia, summarizing his experience with child soldiers from Colombia. The teens knew what it felt like, to just want to die. Only if they could succeed in coping with these traumas, would they have a chance for a new life.

On the occasion of the Don Bosco forum "Living Between Wish and Reality" at the University of Bonn on Saturday, 20-year-old Claudia (name changed to protect her from Colombian guerrillas) talked about her time as a child soldier. Her history can hardly be better described than in the motto of the forum. She had wished for a better life, for education which would allow her to achieve this and escape poverty. This led her to follow the lures of the guerrillas, who recruited most of their child soldiers in rural areas.

Claudia does not reveal her true name or place of origin. In spite of the peace agreement between the government and the guerrillas, which was implemented after almost 50 years of war, she is still afraid of being punished for her escape. After a year and three months, as a 16-year-old child soldier, she took the opportunity to be taken prisoner by government forces while out on an errand. When faced with the alternative of choosing a juvenile detention facility or resocialization within a family, she opted for the second path that ultimately led her to the Ciudad Don Bosco Child Protection Center in Medellín.

Currently there are 1,223 children and adolescents living there, 120 of them are former child soldiers. More than 320 Salesian employees of Don Bosco take care of the psychological and physical healing of street children and child soldiers. Of the original fifteen facilities in Colombia, today only the two Don Bosco Centers in Medellin and Cali have been preserved, which provide the children with protection and, moreover, a wide range of training opportunities.

Behind the facade of the modern young woman, always smiling, with a warm personality and red strands in her long black hair, the drama in her young life can only be surmised. Claudia speaks of the training to kill, but avoids describing her own experience. She did not experience "sexual violence", she was always protected. Father Rafael adds that the girls were forced into sexual violence and thus had their "protector". She says that there is much she will never forget. But she has learned to overcome it. She still lives in Ciudad Don Bosco, where she works as a seamstress. In the afternoons, she studies health management. She hopes to see her family and four brothers soon. Orig. text: Stefan Hermes Translation: Carol Kloeppel