Violent conflict, with its bloody assault on people and institutions and
its invariably debilitating aftermath, is the epitome of “development in
reverse.” Sadly, as the many case studies in this book and other publications
amply demonstrate, conflict and poverty are closely interwoven.
Conflict blunts, and subsequently unravels, years of hard-won
economic and social development. Recent research also shows us that
development patterns—which worsen inequalities, deepen poverty, or
slash at the ties that bind societies together—can themselves contribute
to the likelihood of conflict and its haunting recurrence.
One of the most devastating impacts of violent conflict is the damage
it inflicts on education systems and the children and students they
serve. More than two million children have died as a direct result of
armed conflict over the last decade. At least six million children have
been seriously injured or permanently disabled. Long after the guns
stop firing, the lives of students and teachers continue to be imperiled
by the discarded litter of war: landmines, unexploded shells, and the
proliferation of assault rifles, guns, and ammunition. Some schools in
Cambodia and Angola will be closed for years to come because they sit
in the middle of a minefield, and whole villages have simply become
“no-go” areas.
Teachers often bear a heavy cost in times of conflict. In Rwanda
more than two-thirds of the teachers in primary and secondary schools
were killed or fled. In Cambodia the carnage was even greater, leaving
the system virtually without trained or experienced teachers. In Timor
Leste, the impact on teacher numbers of that relatively short conflict
was uneven: in primary schools, 80 percent of the teachers were Timorese
and remained, while almost all secondary school teachers were
Indonesian. The failure of the Indonesian teachers to return left Timor