Child Soldiers And Children Under The Age Of 18

This led to “occasional dangerous physical assaults on one another or even staff at the school” (United States, National). When reintegrated into normal society without treatment, the child soldiers reverted back to their only way of living, which was in the brain-washed state of constant warfare. Even when medically checked over, the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital wrote them off as “possessed demons”, failing to recognize the implications of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Outdated and ineffective programs brush aside the traumas of war and write them off as mentally deranged, which would further isolate the once child soldiers from society and cause them to deal with the repercussions of PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc. alone. This is why the United States should set up rehabilitation centers, allowing the large percentage of child soldiers to find solace and return to normalcy, preventing from slipping back into the travesties of war and to not pose a threat to society.

Historically, there have been child soldiers even in the United States. Bugler John Cook, served in the U.S. Army at the age of 15 and received the Medal of Honor for his acts during the American Civil War (“Child Soldiers Are Unfortunately Nothing New”). However, the use of child soldiers has dramatically declined in western civilization during the 20th century. Surprisingly, the recent use of child soldiers in Africa is still seen in media today.

As with any victims of trauma, child soldiers experience post traumatic stress disorders, but they may also experience withdrawal if drugs were used to keep the child soldiers in line. In A Long Way Gone, Beah describes his experience with withdrawal: “My hands had begun to shake uncontrollably and my migraines had returned with a vengeance… No one paid any attention, as everyone was busy going through our own withdrawal stages in different ways” (140) and post traumatic stress disorder: “Whenever I turned on the tap water, all I could see was blood gushing out… Other times, the younger boys sat by rocks weeping and telling us that the rocks were their dead families” (145). The wounds these children gain might be physical as well, as children were often used to clear minefields or as cannon fodder (Child Soldiers

These are the words of a 15-year-old girl in Uganda. Like her, there are an estimated 300,000 children under the age of eighteen who are serving as child soldiers in about thirty-six conflict zones (Shaikh). Life on the front lines often brings children face to face with the horrors of war. Too many children have personally experienced or witnessed physical violence, including executions, death squad killings, disappearances, torture, arrest, sexual abuse, bombings, forced displacement, destruction of home, and massacres. Over the past ten years,

Child Soldiers is a major global issue which is affecting todays 21st century. Many Countries around the world are illegally operating child soldiers such as Burma and Sierra Leone currently there is a crisis as many more children are being subject to this cruel act. Many world media and Non-governmental organisations such as the guardian and Human rights watch have reported thousands of child soldiers in Myanmar Burma. The Convention on the rights of a child and the Universal declaration of human rights strictly prohibits children in armed conflict further the United Nations further prohibits children in armed conflicts. The International Criminal Court has previously dealt with Thomas Labunga a leader of the liberation forces of the Congo whom used children as young as 10 in his military . However these measures have not been effective as there are still children in conflict due to state sovereignty.

Many people around the world have the luxury to sleep safely while on the other hand, war is a way of life for many other people. We are living in an era where human suffering has been escalating exponentially. Children in many countries are spending their childhood fighting as soldiers. They are forced into doing dirty things that no child should have to see. These children have to deal with living their life under constant fears of being trapped in an ambush, landmine or gun fires.

While there were some problems during the World Wars, today there is no significant problem with child soldiers in powerful countries, such as the USA, Britain, and other UN countries. Sadly, there are countries that do use children, including Somalia, Iraq, Mali, and others in Africa and around the Middle East. The logic behind why children are chosen for soldiers is sad and disturbing. Children are recruited because they can be persuaded to fight for things

Many countries are now recruiting children to join their forces. It is mostly countries in Southern Africa that are using these tactics. Child soldiers have been around for many years, but the problems it is causing is just now coming to the attention of government officials.

In the last ten years over two million children have been killed, over one million orphaned, over six million have been left seriously injured or permanently disabled and over 10 million have been diagnosed with psychological trauma (Invisible Children 1). Here, they are referring to the infamous child soldiers. The issue of child soldiers has a long history of positive and negative reviews, but in summary, child soldiers are put into war as unofficial soldiers. These kids are treated so terribly by their commanders and fellow soldiers that they can become a threat to society upon their release from battle. There is an ongoing debate amongst society regarding whether or not these child soldiers should be given amnesty or charged for their crimes.

It has been observed that when interviewed, almost all the children living in war zones or near war zones are constantly in fear of becoming a child soldier. This is no way to live, life should be about pursuing happiness, not constantly watching for men coming to take a child away. There have been many different proposals to try and stop the use of child soldiers, but this is such a widespread problem that it is difficult to fix. New ideas are presented every day that may have the potential to stop the war crime that is using child soldiers. Cultures of Resistance Network have been endlessly fighting to stop the use of child soldiers. They have been working alongside the UN to create a law making it a crime to have children fight in wars. The website explained how they are working towards this goal, “One of Child Soldiers International's major goals is to promote the widespread adoption of international legal standards—including those enshrined in relevant sections of the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child—prohibiting the military recruitment and use in hostilities of any person younger than eighteen years of age. The organization further works to promote the recognition and enforcement of these standards by all armed groups, both governmental and non-governmental” (End the Use of Child Soldiers). This new idea of creating a law that applies to every country is very possible solution. This idea is still in the early stages, so it is unclear whether it will be passed, but this has the potential to make a great difference. Getting these children out of war and into a safe place will be better for the future of the world. Another, similar way that the UN is working

Children from almost every region of the world are illegally serving in armed conflict around the world. In the last 2 years, 20 states have been reported to have child soldiers in government, government-affiliated, and non-state armed groups (“11 Facts About Child Soldiers”). Children should not be affiliated with war and should be protected from those who act otherwise because children have no understanding of life and deserve a life of freedom. Children are stripped of their youth to participate in dangerous and violent activities out of their free will, even if they were to be saved, they would still carry scars and bad habits that would prevent them from living a normal life. These children are our future generations and should be protected and well raised.

Child soldiers is a serious issue worldwide, there are about 300,000 children as young as nine years old involved in armed conflicts all around the globe today. This problem is most critical in Africa; however children are also used as soldiers in various Asian countries, parts of Latin America, Europe and Middle East. Children are used as child soldiers mostly by non government armed groups for many different reasons. Conditions are usually very harsh for the child soldiers and discipline is kept by brutal punishment. Life is very dangerous and characterized by a great amount of hard work in an environment that lack food, drinking water and no

The practice of conscripting children forcefully to soldiers is one of the most nefarious forms of slavery in the modern world. In the late 20th and early 21st century it was a rising conflict and a common occurrence in places such as Iran, Liberia, and Uganda. Human rights activists recognized that the use of child soldiers will increase in the near future, as well as involving the conflict of HIV/AIDS in these areas and the increase of the youth population. Children are enslaved, captured, and abused under the hired gun. They are forced to do certain tasks requested by whoever recruited them. Children are vulnerable and they can be manipulated easily. According to the article Background and History of Child soldiers “In Asia, the key recruiters

Whether you are businessman or a construction worker, war has some far reaching effect on us. Though the evidence provided above is substantial enough to sway even you, the reader, to believe children are the true victims of war, there are many who think soldiers are the victims. Their logic can be backed up by many things. Modern media rarely covers anything else besides soldiers fighting in war. News reporters capture soldiers, strapped up in military equipment, fighting for their nation. Soldiers do directly take part in wars and they do get directly impacted by it. They are the ones who are fighting and dying for their country. Soldiers look out for each other in the battlefield. Many people argue that soldiers are the primary victims of war because they suffer physically and psychologically after the war. There are many wounded veterans who have received their physical scars from serving in the army. Soldiers will often face opposing fire and bomb explosions. Those who are lucky make it out of war alive, those who aren’t so lucky die or get wounded. According to Robert Naiman, more than 500,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were treated for wounds and disabilities (Naiman, 2010). Half a million veterans now face difficulties dealing with day-to-day tasks such as walking, driving, or working. These former soldiers would now find it difficult to provide for their family and purchase their bread and butter because they are now limited to the jobs they can perform. Along with physical disabilities comes mental illnesses, such as PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder arises from experiences from shocking or traumatic events. Those diagnosed with PTSD, are mostly soldiers who have experienced unspeakable events during their service. This disorder causes diagnosed people to experience enormous amounts of stress and may be frightened in some situations. PTSD is a long-term illness that has no permanent treatment.

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.