After the Guns of War Fall Silent

When wars end, the guns used in them often fall into the hands of criminals. Consider what happened in a country in southern Africa that experienced a shift from politically motivated violence to criminal violence. Political violence there took the lives of some 10,000 people in just three years. When that conflict ended, criminal violence soared. Competition between taxi drivers resulted in “taxi wars,” where thugs were hired to shoot the passengers and drivers of rival companies. Increasingly, military-type assault rifles were used in robberies and other crimes. The number of homicides committed with guns reached 11,000 in one recent year, the second-highest rate in the world for countries not at war.

The knowledge that criminals are armed and dangerous creates fear and insecurity. In many developing countries, the wealthy live in virtual fortresses, surrounded by walls and electrified fences that are guarded day and night. Residents of developed countries also take precautions. This is true even in places that have not experienced civil strife.

Tens of millions of these weapons are simply given away by militaries that are downsizing, or they are recycled from one conflict to another. In some lands there is such an abundance of assault rifles that they are sold for as little as six dollars or can be traded for a goat, a chicken, or a bag of old clothes.

After the Cold War, armies in both the East and the West were reduced, and governments gave or sold excess equipment to friends and allies. According to a writer at the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Norway, since 1995 the United States alone has given away more than 300,000 rifles, pistols, machine guns, and grenade launchers. It is reasoned that giving weapons away is cheaper than dismantling or storing and guarding them. Some analysts estimate that perhaps three billion dollars’ worth of small arms and light weapons legally cross national borders each year.