Ghost soldiers : the child soldiers of Pol pot

Abstract

The former child soldiers of the Khmer Rouge regime seem to have reintegrated back into Cambodian society on their own accord. Evidence as to how they were able to do so, a phenomenon rarely seen in post-war conflicts, has been difficult to acquire. Current research I have conducted and information I have received thus far via former colleagues in Cambodia has led me to conclude that there could be a correlation between the reintegration of former child soldiers of the Khmer Rouge and the dominant religion of Cambodia, Theravada Buddhism. This discourse aims to assess whether or not reintegration was a possibility and if so, whether religion was a contributing factor.