Child Soldiers Thinking about children holding guns and killing people makes us realize how corrupt the world is. In many countries around the world children are used for armies; they may be national Armies or opponents of government armies. If we think of how many children are being recruited to work voluntary or involuntary in armies we could not even guess, because around 300,000 children are active soldiers younger than eighteen years old. That is an approximation; it could be more or less, all we know is there are hundreds of children suffering from hunger and lack of love. So we ask ourselves why do they do this? Are they obligated? Are there economic reasons or just the desire of want? Many are forced and others are just volunteers. …show more content…
The children are forced to join. The groups go to villages and start to take peasants’ children without mercy. Some children have to grow up in these armies knowing they will never see their families again. In Colombia both girls and boys are recruited at very young ages. Some children have escaped and told their stories, some said they got tired of being there, or have told stories of how many murders they have been forced to see. Children who join the guerrillas do it because they have nowhere else to go; some of them are very poor, some are orphans, and others are rebels who think it is the only way to change the country. Afghanistan states that no one under the age of 22 can be accepted into its national armies, but this does not mean non-state actors follow the rule. The northern alliance, an opponent of the Taliban, recruits children telling them that the army is the only way to survive. Afghanistan is the 7th poorest country in the world and because of poverty children join armies, they do not have other alternatives to go to. Children are used in many ways including as bombs and messengers. Children have to experience death at very young ages because these groups make them think it is the best way to save their
These kids are in no condition for fighting in armed rebel groups but the numbers of these kids are starting to go up. “Over 8,000 children are fighting in armed rebel groups, battling the U.S-backed government.” They are taught to kill and are forced to think that killing is a good thing, plus, the guns they are supposed to use are even heavier than most of these kids, so that clearly shows they shouldn't be using them. These child soldiers need to be put in rehabilitation instead of being put in prison, they are being forced to take drugs, they are brainwashed into thinking
According to, “11 facts about child soldiers”, Children who are poor, have bad education,are displaced from their family, or live in a combat zone are more likely to be forced to join their local army or militia. This proves that they use them to their advantage because they don’t want to take the kids that are rich because their parents are probably paying the government more than the poor people. So the government needs a favor from the poor people so they take their children to fight. The rich kids might also put up more of a fight because they aren’t used to being told what to do and they have things to make their lives easier. Some kids are required to kill a family member (Child Soldiers). If their parents are rich and are paying the government a copious amount of money they won't want to cut them off. They still want to receive that money to pay for weapons for the soldiers or other things that will benefit
They carry messages to different camps and spy on government forces. Unfortunately, numerous children are caught while on the job. Others surrender to the government and then are detained for working for a rebel group, instead of being integrated back into a community. One of the major jobs of a child soldier is being a troop. When armies recruit children, they make sure they are able to find the most children in the most vulnerable places (Mancini 30). Ninety percent of the Lord’s Resistance Army are children (Mancini). Kids are sometimes forced to kill a family member or watch them be killed. Most younger children are recruited as suicide bombers. Children do not get stopped by armed forces when they run around a community. Therefore, they are able to bring out any sort of attack ( Mancini 21). Children recruited as suicide bombers are easily influenced into thinking that after they carry out their mission, they will go to heaven (25). One-third of child troops in the world are girls (56). When girls are exposed to killing family members and abducting other children, their girlhood is warped and relationships towards people change dramatically (58). On the other hand, girls may experience pleasure while battling on the front line because they finally feel equal to men. The girls that are not fighting on the battlefield are the “wives.” They are the children that are raped and prematurely give birth to kids whose
It is common for child soldiers had no choice in joining war efforts. Often child are kidnapped and forced into the war: “It is estimated that over the last 15 years 10,000 children have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) around Gula in northern Uganda, alone” (Children in Conflict). In places where poverty is high parents may send their children into the war in exchange for food or monetary value (Children as Soldiers). During Hitler’s reign, young boys were forced to attend Hitler Youth: “Membership in the State Youth becomes mandatory. The boys in Werner’s kameradschaften are taught parade maneuvers and quizzed on fitness standards and required to run sixty meters in twelve seconds. Everything is glory and country and competition and sacrifice” (Doerr 62). Children in wars are also subjected to sexual abuse from adult soldiers around them. The emotional impact from the sexual abuse and the highly dangerous situations they are placed in may last for the rest of their lives (Child Soldier 46). The use of child soldiers has been banned since 2000 when the United Nations adopted a protocol stating that the forced recruitment of children under 18 for armed conflict is illegal. More than 110 countries have ratified this protocol, but it continues to be an issue around the world (Facts About Child
All around the world people are looking for soldiers, either big or small, to help fight for either their country, freedom, or religion. The abundance of children on earth has lead to one idea that would change the world forever. The idea that a child, who ranges from the age of 3-18, should fight in a war with a fully operated gun, grenades, and little hope of surviving. Countries in Iraq, Sira, Africa, and Asia, pluck children off the streets, drug them, and force them to go into battle. You have to kill or be killed. Generals are usually disrespectful and a life as a soldier is very difficult. As the thought of child soldiers lead to controversy. Many people are questioning if this act of violence, war, and the fearful pledge to kill is
as they are. Children who are in these militant groups are usually put into many roles ranging from being human shields or spies and are sometimes even favored over adults as they are easy to intimidate and able to be molded into killing machines who are easily manipulated to follow orders, also, they do not demand a wage. "Unfortunately there are 'advantages ' to using children for armed groups: Children are cheap fighters and easy to manipulate. They are often drugged and indoctrinated with propaganda and movies before they are sent out to fulfill their missions," (Charbonneau, 2013).
Am here to talking about child soldiers how do they get the child soldiers hear let me tell you how they get them they kidnap them when they a little kid like ages around 7 to 9 and the people train them for war they train to kill other people some of the kids do drugs. Children are more easily manipulated than adult fighters. Many children will fight on the frontlines. Not all fight, they may be given jobs such as couriers. Girls are often forced into sexual slavery. Many are recruited by force stolen from their families and forced to fight. In some cases children are made to kill their relatives so they can never return home. Others join voluntarily, driven by poverty and the hope of a regular meal. These child soldiers are
Child soldiers may often be over-looked when discussing issues of social injustice. The average person may not know that this still occurs, but in fact, it does in places such as Sierra Leone and Uganda. The psychological, economic, and social impacts on these innocent children are staggering. These children are robbed of a normal childhood, and in most cases, a normal life altogether. Although there are many campaigns against child slavery and soldiers, not all of these children are saved from this abuse. There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers around the world, and an estimated 6,000 in the Central African Republic alone.
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.
Young children filled with potential spend every night antagonizing over the fact that they may never see the people they love again or the community they have spent their entire lives in. Previously just a nightmare, upon capture by militias, these innocent children are now identified as child soldiers and are submerged into a new dangerous environment. The standard definition of a child soldier is any person under the age of eighteen unlawfully participating in an armed force. Not all child soldiers actively fight on the front lines, other jobs include: cooks, messengers, spies, or used for sexual purposes. Records show that since the start of the 21st century, the active employment of child soldiers has prevailed in almost every region across the globe (“About the Issues:”). Multiple organizations have tried to put an end to this atrocity, but most governments in developing nations ignore the issue or do not have the means to overpower militias. Worldwide, the employment of child soldiers flourishes, but the damaging psychological, physical, and social effects provides overwhelming evidence for the restriction of this practice.
Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. These boys and girls under the age of 18 serve in things such as government forces and armed opposition groups. While serving, they can do a number of things such as fight on the front lines, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts, take direct part in hostilities or they can be used for political advantage [either] as human shields and/or in propaganda and the girls are forced into sexual slavery. Many tend to believe that child soldiers are mostly boys. In fact, 30% of armed organizations that use children have girls.
“Compelled to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed, child soldiers are forced to give violent expression to the hatreds of adults” (“Child Soldiers” 1). This quotation by Olara Otunnu explains that children are forced into becoming weapons of war. Children under 18 years old are being recruited into the army because of poverty issues, multiple economic problems, and the qualities of children, however, many organizations are trying to implement ways to stop the human rights violation.
Though the issues of child soldiers is stepping into the spot light these days and is being exposed to the world at a higher rate, armies using children can be dated back to the second world war. Child soldiers are not a new development in our societies they are something that have been around for years. Children commonly start out in support positions, acting as porters, cooks, spies, or sexual slaves. Often, though, these children end up on the front lines of combat.(McManimon) Child soldiers are frequently subject to extreme abuse and manipulation during training and combat, and generally suffer higher casualty rates than adults. (McManimon) In Uganda, girls who are abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army are "married off" to rebel leaders. If the man dies, the girl is put aside for ritual cleansing and then married off to another rebel.(Isenberg) These children are also sometimes high off of drugs that are fed to them from their assessors. Once children have become soldiers the difficulties for them to get out of the power of their group leader is astronomical. Most children accept the life of being a child soldier because of the drugs they are on, the lies they are told, the fear that they have that they might die and also because their self-esteem is so low that they believe that no one will accept them for that they have done. Children who manage to escape are in constant fear that their leaders will come after
In some countries, hunger and Poverty drive parents to sell their children into the service. These kids are not given a choice their parents are selling them into war, and being forced into war. ”200,00 children worldwide are still being used as combatants usually against their will.” “ thousands of boys,some as young as 10 are purchased kidnapped or terrorized into joining the country's army.” {Jeffrey, Gettleman. "
In the last decade child soldiering has extended over a large portion of the world. Restrained access to schooling, food and lack of income causes emotional problems. Not only do children have to witness their parents and families being killed but they are also raped, beaten and go through things adolescents should not go through. Being a child a soldier has a negative impact on the child. Separated from their families, facing psychological problems and being brain washed are all issues child soldiers have to face before they even reach puberty. A Child Soldier is under the age of eighteen and can be male or female. Similar to gangs some children leave school because they were lured and promised of a better life. While some children willingly join because they have no other option others don’t voluntarily join; they are abducted by subjection from parents and are used as human shields. Parents are killed by their own children and are nearly threatened and ordered by rebels. Children have to kill their families, or the rebels will harm the children. Parents tell their children to follow the rebel’s instructions to ensure that their children will live because they know pressure brought upon their children so they tell them to do as the rebels say even if it means killing them. The love of the parents is so strong because they risk their own lives by trying to persuade or bribe rebels not to take their children. Parents are outnumbered by rebels and can’t help their children if