War Effects On Child Soldiers

War is replete with death and dismemberment; but victimization is when the horrors of war are inflicted upon the innocent. The victims of war feel a sense of terror when the harsh realities completely alter their way of life. The people that are indiscriminately thrust into war due to unjust circumstances are considered victims. In the article, "Children - the ultimate victims of war" Graca Machel states that, "War violates every right of a child - the right to life, the right to be with family and community, the right to health, the right to the development of the personality and the right to be nurtured and protected" (Machel 1). In the setting of war, children are frequently the ones that are abused the most. Both war memoir’s The Bite

“For child soldiers, everyday is a living nightmare” (Chatterjee, 2012). Child soldiers are children under the age of 18 who are used in the military for any source of benefit. Child soldiers worldwide have become a huge issue, leading to many unnecessary deaths as well as lifelong mental trauma. According to “For Child Soldiers, Every Day is a Living Nightmare” 90% of the child soldiers in Liberia show post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as 65% showing depression post-war. Developing these mental illnesses makes the rest of a child’s life a living hell, not to mention their inability to get a job or provide for themselves or their family. Mental illness is probably the best thing you can come out of the war with. An article written in SOS Children’s Villages charity called “Children in Conflict: Child Soldiers” states that over the last 10 years: over 2 million children have been killed, over 1 million children have been orphaned, and over 6 million children have been injured or even disabled, and over 10 million children have struggled with psychological trauma due to war.

Something that makes it hard for children to assimilate back into their lives is the several physical and mental disorders that can occur. In the article, Enduring Scars: Child Soldiers and Mental Health it says “The traumatic experiences that these children are forced to experience lead to increased incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and psychological distress. Even when being compared to other children that lived through civil wars and have witnessed the brutality of war, former child soldiers suffer from markedly higher levels of psychological disorders.” Since their brains have captured the horrible events that happened during their time being a child soldier, they will have flashbacks that will keep them from moving on with their life. Another type of mental illness that may happen is Anxiety Disorder. Anxiety Disorder is when one worries or has a fear of something that interferes with their daily routine. This is most commonly found in child soldiers because they are continuously panicking about what happened to them in the past. In addition, a physical disorder that may possibly happen is a spinal cord injury. When the child is forced to take part in a war he/she may get injured on their spinal cord because the spinal cord is what connects your brain to the other parts of your

Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi once said “... no child has ever waged a war; children are victims of war”. Throughout history, wars have continued to go on, but aside from the damage to land and resources, we don’t often look at how the children are affected by the bloodshed. Many times, children are the most impacted by war because they are in the most fragile part of their life. Children growing up during wartime have to struggle with and endure psychological and educational impacts, but somehow, they do grow as a person after it.

Although it is illegal, child soldiers are being forced to do unwanted jobs, however there are organizations that can help these children. These organization have gone out of there way to help children in dangerous situations. There are many countries that are being affected by this epidemic. All of the children affected are either run by the government or used in rebel groups.

Children are used in war as a way to reduce the costs of war. Children do not have to be paid as much as adults and they eat less than adults. They are also used for their vulnerability, so children may not understand the risks of war and their actions. Children are also easier to control than adults, and the kids are less likely to question their authority. Children become child soldiers for different reasons including being forced into the war or seeing the war as their only option (check this source for this sent) ("Child

This is mainly because if these kids do not get enough help emotionally and physically after the war then they will be scarred for life and have super bad truma. Which can sometimes in the worst cases result in suicide and physical harm to themselves. A lot of the time the kids are not able to get the help that they need and this results in emotional problems. Studies show that only five percent of child soldiers get the help that is needed to get them back to being completely emotionally stable. Even though that not all of these children can get help it is important to try to help the ones that do make it out of the war because they deserve a chance at a civil life just as much as you and

* Child soldiers > * Some facts > * Why children join > * Voices of young soldiers > * Developments > * International Standards > * DDR > * Committee on the Rights of the Child > * Government armed forces > * Armed groups > * Frequently asked questions >

Throughout the course of history, children have been used to do a variety of tasks, from watching their brothers and sisters at home to fighting in wars. Although it seems surprising and unheard of, it is estimated that there are as many as 300,000 child soldiers in the world today. These statistics may seem alarming to you, but that is just a fraction of how many children in general are being exploited as we speak.

As a kid have you ever thought what is would be like to be in the army? Well child soldiers as young 8 are living that day after day because that is there only choice. All of these children have been taught how to live as a soldier,the children don’t have any family, and how to kill without any mental effect. These child soldiers are victims of war and torture.

Starting off with the term “child soldiers”, it already seems as if this a bad thing for children. To give a brief explanation about child soldiers they are mainly children both boys and girls who under the age of 18 and are used for any military purpose. Child soldiers went in war and are told to fight as well as kill. Some countries may not have many people to put forth and army so they would need to have children involved. There are also some children out there who volunteer to join on their own because there are times when they separated from their family. “Child soldiers are right in the middle of a contradiction inherent in the modern construction of youth: innocents versus perpetrators. They are simultaneously feared and cast as innocents

"An awareness video was prepared ... to inform people how much these guns can be dangerous," Said Dr. Abdul Rahim Majeed. What Majeed is referring to a scene of children playing with guns in Kabul Afghanistan. This is just one example of how war and guns affect children. War can have a mental and physical effect on children.

I have seen the videos of children in the war and I was shocked that how they were struggling to live just a single day. It is hard to recognize the pains and grief within children. Though, we all need to know that children is the always the one who get phycological and mental

Some countries in the world think that it is ok to use children as soldiers in wars. Usually the reason the countries do it is because it’s being taken over by terrorists or a rebel army. Children are usually forced into being soldiers even if they don’t want to get involved. We need to figure out how to stop this before it becomes too big and they start making a army out of children.

Imagine being asleep in your humble abode. All of a sudden you are kidnapped from your window and forced to be a child soldier. Would you Imagine being asleep in your peaceful residence. All of a sudden you are kidnapped from your window. You are now being forced to be a child soldier. Would you plead for amnesty after being forced to commit war crimes?