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Can We Learn From Child Soldiers

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Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by a state or non-state armed group and used as fighters, cooks, suicide bombers, human shields, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes. In the opinion of many people including parents, children, and political figures, the use of children in wars or for the purpose of being soldiers is unfair and wrong. Therefore, based on all of the cruelties the children face such as their lives being threatened, their being taken from their families and forced to commit these heinous acts, and not being treated fairly while they are serving, it is in many’s opinion that these children be given amnesty, and are forgiven for their acts. The first reason child soldiers should be given amnesty, is because since they were being forced into being soldiers by having their lives threatened, they were scared for their lives and were scared to go against the orders of the people who were forcing them. Some would argue that the children were being brainwashed and were being told that what they were doing was the best and only option for them. And since they are little and do not know any better, they agreed, not understanding what they were about to do. An excerpt from the story, What We Can Learn From Child Soldiers, says the following, “They were told …show more content…

They are not being fed or cared for and since they are little, their bodies are not able to deal with all of the stress and lack of food and water. If they were treated better, than maybe they would be able to fight back and rebel against their captors. There are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world right now, and if they were strong enough, they could rebel and escape. But if they escaped, then they would not be able to go home because their home would be gone. So if the children are treated better, they would have been able to stay longer and

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