On Halloween night, when many Westerners dress up in scary costumes and children ask for treats, a Central African boy managed to escape from the clutches of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the group led by Joseph Kony. Six days later, he arrived on foot to Ouandja, an areain eastern Central African Republic, according to the LRA Crisis Tracker. Like him, some 100,000 children have been kidnapped by terrorists, according to UN data. They prefer children of no more than 12 years old because they cannot resist, they are easily moldable and can serve as soldiers for a long time.

The fight against the LRA has managed to reduce the number of combatants, but the group is not extinct and continues killing. However, the Ugandan Army, supported by the US, announced in April 2017 that it was withdrawing from the fight against the LRA, proclaiming its victory. Given this withdrawal of troops, other methods to end the armed group must be implemented. And the radio can help.

In 2000, the Ugandan Executive approved an amnesty law for combatants that few believed and even fewer embraced. It was an initiative that promised freedom and reintegration into society. Convincing these children to lay down their arms is key, but many are afraid. They fear reprisals from the government, their community and their families. But how can they be convinced?

Radio programming has been studied as a method of broadcasting propaganda messages for political or violent ends. It was used in the Nazi era; it incited ethnic hatred in the Balkans and fueled massacre in Rwanda. However, its possible role in ending violence has rarely been investigated.

Alex Armand and Joseph Gomes, researchers from the Navarra Center for International Development (NCID), along with Paul Atwell, from the University of Michigan, took up this topic in research entitled,“The Reach of Radio: Ending Civil Conflict through Rebel Demobilization.” The research focuses on the effect that radio messages have had on combatant desertion and on the LRA’s strategy since they began in 2000.

The results show the effectiveness of radio announcements in the reduction of violence and the putting down of weapons. With one hour of broadcasting per day, killings were reduced by 7% and there was an increase in desertion. By losing people, the group loses its ability to act and changes its strategy. Attacks on civilians have been reduced, but looting has increased. There maining combatants work in small groups and steal in order to survive, as well as to demonstrate their power and thus reduce troops’ temptation to desert.

Economic incentives are important in convincing young people to lay down their arms and reintegrate into society. Enticements to participate in the conflict counter balance reasons to defect. If the value of certain products that cause conflict, such as gold, increases, less people defect. However, the increase in the value of cash crops generates employment opportunities and better wages, which facilitates and increases desertion. The effectiveness of desertion messages varies depending on the incentives to fight.

Efforts must be redoubled to defeat the LRA. Alternative methods such as the use of radio are vital to banish the devil from within. Offering an alternative is the first step, but convincing soldiers of a better future is more important. Many soldiers were recruited as 12-year old children whose only way to survive was through killing. Offering them a second chance far away from AK-47s is essential.