Chapter 9: A Child Soldier Who Knew Too Much
Henry Bran who arrived, aged seventeen, from El Salvador in 1981.
Henry’s father recruited his son into the army to protect him during the civil war. The guerrillas, who were his friends, would not kill him, but the army might. His sister and brother-in-law, fearing Henry was being indoctrinated, arranged for him to join them in the UK. Henry became a singer in Britain, campaigning for child refugees. There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers in the world today.
Photo: Henry with his many guitars in London, circa 1984: Courtesy of Alicia Mc Keown, daughter of Henry Bran
Watch the film, The House That is Not There, animated by his daughter, Gabriela Bran, about Henry's return, as an adult, to his childhood home.
