When you picture a child, do you picture a once innocent but now traumatized, once caring but now bloodthirsty child carrying a gun taller than himself. This is what a child soldier would look like. These kids are As of 2013, there are approximately 300,000 children serving in militaries or in radical groups around the world. They are either volunteered or have been taken by force into these militias, but most who volunteer have lost their family to the tragedies of war. These children are victims. Victims of abuse and victims of violence. They have been abandoned on the streets with nowhere to go but the military, the children are exposed to terrible things, and some of the girls who are in these fighting groups are being abused and harassed. …show more content…
In most cases, this is because their villages and cities have been broken in the heat of war. According to Jeffrey Gettleman’s “Armed & Underaged”, an article about the county of Somalia and its use of Child soldiers states, “Children do not have many options in Somalia. After the government collapsed in 1991, an entire generation was let loose on the streets.” This shows that most of the children of Somalia are not growing up the way they should. They’re not in schools and most of them don’t have a home to go to. This leaves them out in the open, able to be easily taken by the Somalian Government or the rebel groups fighting the government. Some are unfortunate enough that they join the militaries as a form of a home. The children are in need of protection, the last thing they should be doing is being sent into a war. Some may say that it’s better for the children to be in the military because it gives them somewhere to go. This may be true if the one joining the military was an adult, but these children are joining at the age of 10, some even joining as young as eight years old. They should be going to school and learning how to become something great in the world, not training to be a …show more content…
In Tom Malinowski’s article, “Support of the "The Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2007"; Hearing in the US House Judiciary Subcommittee,” he says, “...the kidnapping of children by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, including the use of girls as sex slaves...” The definition of slave is “a person who is legal property of another and is forced to obey them,” and it is unnecessary to state the definition of sex. Put together, these girls are are being forced to have sex with both young and grown men. Most, if not all, of these girls aren’t even in their 20’s, let alone 18. In the United States, the act of sexual intercourse with participants under the age of 18 is illegal; this is called rape. It is punishable with 10-15 years in prison or a life sentence. There is no one in their right mind who could possibly think of a counter argument for this. The fact that young girls are being raped and abused is just wrong. In conclusion, a child soldier is a victim of war. They have been traumatized almost to the point of no return. We should have sympathy for them and try to help them be the people they never had the chance to be. They were lied to, tricked, drugged, and abused by their commanders. Although they have killed, they deserve a second chance. Not just for peace in life, but a second chance at
Children aren’t mature enough to make life or death decisions. All child soldiers should have a chance to be forgiven. “Others enlist ‘voluntarily’, usually because they see few alternatives.” ("From Cradle to War." Amnesty International. Amnesty International USA, Web. 3 May 2016.) Children aren’t wise enough to make the decision, and deserve a chance to be forgiven, just like an immigrant has a chance to become a citizen. And even though once someone is killed, they are permanently dead, the children who kill don’t really know what they’re
Child Soldiers Ishmael Beah once said “My squad is my family, my gun is my provider, and protector, and my rule is to kill or be killed”(Beah 116). Most children live a normal and happy life, but not all children live that way. Some children hold baseball bats while others hold guns larger than they are; some children dodge dodgeballs, others dodge bullets. Most children go home to see their parents or guardians, child soldiers often go “home” to their squads and Lieutenants. Child soldiers can be rehabilitated if civilians and officials aren’t indifferent .
First, children are recruited into government armies or any private organization because they are acquiescent to people who tend to be older than them.
They are more easily driven by threats and punishment, so it’s easier to turn them to one’s cause and keep them following that cause than adult soldiers. Children are also easier to keep than adults. They eat less food, and are often “are usually more tolerant than adults to harsh living conditions” (Child Soldiers 1). In addition, child soldiers are considered easily replaceable and therefore dispensable. They are used in reconnaissance, mine clearing, and for front lines fighting to keep the more
What are child soldiers? Child soldiers are people under eighteen who partake in either a regular or irregular armed group in any way. According to Warchild there are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world and often as a part of their recruitment they are forced to either kill or maim a loved one so that they cannot go back home. In Ishmael Beah’s novel A Long Way Gone (Memoirs of a Boy Soldier) the author recounts his life as a child soldier fighting on the government side in Sierra Leone from age thirteen to sixteen. This paper will be attempting to answer the questions of why certain armed groups use children, why it is wrong to do so, and how people are taking a stand to stop it.
First off, child soldiers are held against their will to do dangerous tasks that they have no say in. In an article interviewing Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier, he states, "Somebody being shot in front of you, or you yourself shooting somebody became just like drinking a glass of water. Children who refused to fight, kill or showed any weakness were ruthlessly dealt with.”
Many children in America do not consider the problem of child soldiers happening around the world today as an issue, and many do not even think about it. Child Soldiers are a continuous problem that should be stopped instantly. Child Soldiers are innocent children who are forced into armed forces and non- state armed groups. Today, there are approximately 300,000 child soldiers in war, and 40% of armed forces are using these children as soldiers. These children are helpless and have little to no choice to go into war and leave their family behind.
Over the last ten years, at least over two million children are forcibly serving in the military, with them only being 10 years old or younger. Another conflict is that child soldiers are being isolated in many parts of africa, and are being used by armed groups as an ongoing conflicts like south asia, asia, and the middle east. Some governments have also recruited children under the age of 18 into their armed forces. One of their biggest challenges is to have freedom in their own hands without having to break the law.
Since they are forced to leave their homes, kids miss out on getting an education, spending time with family, making friends, and enjoying peaceful, carefree lives. Being recruited into war changes their childhood forever. They live in fear of getting killed or harmed, and have to murder other people themselves. If they don’t, they risk getting shot or abused by commanders. An article on hrw.org (2004) states that many children are “victims of killings, rape and sexual assault, abduction, torture, forced labor and displacement at the hands of the warring factions.” This reveals that when children are forced into war, they no longer get to enjoy the fun and simple childhood everyone deserves. Rather, they must live up to adult responsibilities and perform abhorrent crimes. In addition, these children are often given many drugs to make them more inclined to kill. An article on vision.org (2008) talks about a child soldier rehabilitation camp director that has reported that kids “would do just about anything that was ordered” while on drugs. The use of drugs in young people dangerously affects their overall health and alters their minds substantially. Also, Child Soldiers International notes that child soldiers “run a high risk of being killed or maimed.” This clearly describes the health and future of these children as they are forced into war. As can be seen, recruiting kids into war negatively affects their physical state and their
People brainwash the children at a very young age into think that it is an honor to fight in the military. Imagine you growing up and seeing videos in the center of the town about joining and seeing people get terrorized for not joining. According to an article, “The Challenges of the African Criminal Court in Prosecuting Child Soldiers”, “Kids are brainwashed.” This evidence tells you that they make the kids think that what they are doing is right but it’s really not. They use many mechanisms to brainwash the children. They often drug them using types of alcohol, and a mix of gunpowder and cocain. The next step is to bring them into a small area packed with children. They then show the innocent kids videos of live or
Even though kids under the age of 12 can’t be held accountable for crimes and actions, what these child soldiers are doing would cause a lifetime sentence in prison for any adult. Child soldiers have been involved in the most brutal acts. In an article that discusses the issue it says,”In Sierra Leone, child soldiers have committed acts of rape, mutilations and mass killings of civilians.” This is just only one of the many times child soldiers would do such a thing as this. Nobody in their right mind would participate in such act. Such things are inhuman and whoever is caught in the act, no matter the age, should be stopped or even put to death.
I believe that former child soldiers can become functional members of society. Children are extremely resilient and can bounce back from traumatic experiences. However, the treatment and care that they need to overcome this traumatic ordeal is not provided to these children as child soldiering almost always occurs in impoverished countries. This means that the facilities and experts that are needed to care for them are not available. But I also think that a lot of family and community
Child soldiers are struggling with recovering from their unbearable life they lived involving wars and deaths. These are children who become fearless and careless on killing innocent lives such as their own blood, in order to keep themselves alive. These children are either considered victims or perpetrators, but their isn’t a wrong or right answer. Child soldiers live in a terrible place that isn’t required for these children. Throughout society today there has been multiple arguments on how to categorize these children in. Some may argue, Child soldiers are perpetrators because they’re well matured to make their own decision and are well capable of having protection. However, others may argue that these children are victims because they’re
Claim: Those so-called “child soldiers” shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions, because they are just innocent souls that are fighting in wars filled with violent, horrific and extremely dangerous incidents and sights, which shapes them into powerless and nameless individuals who are in a position where they have no logical awareness of.
Around 120,000 adolescent children are now engaged in conflicts throughout Africa (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 4). In Sudan, for instance, thousands of children, some as young as 12, were recruited against their will into separatist and government groups (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 5). Thousands more children have been enlisted into the armed forces throughout Asia and the Pacific. The most significant numbers are in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and recently, Cambodia. Myanmar, a country in Asia, has some of the most child soldiers throughout the world, with children being recruited into both non-government and government armed forces (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 6). The number of child soldiers has been decreasing annually, but these children are still being taken against their will.