Child Soldiers In Sierra Leone

C:The use of child soldiers is reaching the level of an epidemic in Sierra Leone and besides the sheer number of children in the armed forces they are also subjugated to many inhumane and awful environments.E: The use of children in warfare was once simple and honorable with basic rules that all would follow. Drummer boys and flag bearers were positions of honor that came with extreme consequence for those who would dare to harm them. E: Now, however, children are becoming so involved that one may even say that an entire army is comprised of adolescents. In Sierra Leone, one would find that there is a extremely large child soldier population within the rebel group, RUF or the Revolutionary United Front, and the government forces. To quote Linda

Imagine having to fight in a war you don’t want to fight in, seeing friends and family die all around you, but no matter how far you run you can never escape. Child soldiers in Sierra Leone do not have to imagine this - for them, it is reality. Ishmael Beah, who became a soldier at just age 12, as well as researchers such as Christophe Bayer, Fionna Klasen, Hubertus Adam know too well that the events in the war can never be forgotten. The story Beah told in his memoir A Long Way Gone captures the inhumane events that take place in Sierra Leone and tells of a story that many children have to endure. Sources like Harvard claim “among the 87 war-torn countries...300,000 - 500,000 children are involved with fighting forces as child soldiers.” Many of those children are being forced into the war without any choice at all and having to kill others as well. With this information we’re forced to ask the question: how are these children being affected by the war?

Imperialism in Africa began in the late 19th century. It began when King Leopold II began the Scramble for Africa. All of the major colonial powers went after Africa. Their goal was to gain the most wealth and to have the most territory. Having more territory and claiming valuable parts of the continent was a symbol of power. Imperialism in Africa had negative and positive consequences on both the Europeans and Africans, these can be shown through human rights issues, new industry and advancements, and wealth and influence.

During the 1870’s Europeans started colonizing countries in Africa.Europrans did this because they needed all of Africa's valuable resources.Africa was a big target because they were not very modernized in technology so it was easier for the Europeans to sieze control. The Europeans controlled Africa in two ways direct and indirect rule. Direct rule is when the country in charge rules strictly over the country and they try to civilize the people they are ruling. Indirect ruling is when the country in charge is ruling from far away and they usually rule through a native leader. Imperialism negatively affected the lives of the Africans in the 19th and 20th century because the education the Europeans provided for the Africans was of poor quality,

Firstly, Sierra Leone in West Africa has a diverse population (Sierra Leone Ethnic groups). The children, according to Theresa S. Betancourt, Sc.D., M.A.“associated with armed forces and groups”, CAAFAG, a.k.a ‘child soldiers’(almost 300,000 worldwide) became messengers,

In America a regular child wakes up in the morning to a loving home were they eat breakfast and head to school, in Africa a regular child wakes up to heartless generals were they grab their guns and head to war.What is a child soldier? They are any children recruited by state or non-state armies or armed groups under the age of 18.In Africa the child soldier problem is growing fast and there are not a enough solutions being made or things being done to stop it.

Child soldiering is ultimately stated as follows: hundreds of children across the Democratic Republic of Congo are being forced into military and other groups as child soldiers. In 2015, 488 children were documented by the UN as new recruits. Out of these “488 new recruits, 26 were girls and 30 percent were under the age of 15”(Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, 2016). Children are pulled in for multiple reasons, and then rise up to ranks of commanders and sergeants at young ages. For example, one boy was ordered into the military at age seven by his uncle, a powerful

Child soldiers in Sudan are a big issue. They started being recruited after the dispute between the two governments. Many young boys from the age of 12 years have been enlisted as soldiers fighting. They are being used to protect communities and fight the South Sudan conflict. A whole village was recruited. The boys were threatened by saying they would confiscate their family’s cattle if they did not join. Cattle is very important; it is the only source of wealth. Many children were just kidnapped and taken against their own will. Some came from their own free will, thinking they had no future. Around 16,000 children have been recruited and they are not really treated well. They are not given enough food for months. A total of 103 incidents of sexual violence affection 430 children. Boys were sexually mutilated while girls who resisted rape were killed.

There are 300,000 child soldiers around the world. 40% of the world uses them. We watched videos, read articles and books to inform us on child soldiers and how they are treated. I believe that child soldiers around the world are victims for many reasons but 3 of them are that they are forced to kill or will be killed, they are forced to take drugs, and they get treated unfairly and they are scarred for their life and have P.T.S.D.

What do you think of when you hear the words child soldiers? I think that child soldiers are victims. I think this because they are striped of their childhood and are forced to join the army. When they are old enough to use a knife they are taught to cut the head and other body parts off of things. They are just taken from their home and are sent to training camps and things like that. The kids are brainwashed basically to follow every command given to them. They used kids because they are the more dominant ones and because they could be manipulated easier. That is why I think they are victims in this situation.

Imagine being snatched from your bed in the middle of the night and forced to commit horrific war crimes at only 7 years old. In Uganda, this sadly isn’t an unusual occurrence. Children and their families live in fear of being captured and made into child soldiers against their will. Led by Joseph Kony, the Lord’s Resistance Army has abducted over 30,000 children in Uganda and forced them to fight in war. These children are forced to become brutal killing machines, and lose touch with their livelihood, morals and ultimately their childhood. A student at MHS should care about the child soldiers in Uganda because children are the future of a country. If children grow up in inhumane conditions and trained to be violent from a young age, they will grow up into antagonistic adults that our generation will have to deal with later on in life.

Consequently, human trafficking cause victims to exhibit violent behaviors, particularly in that of the children soldiers who partake in militarized conflict. Africa Recovery United Nations (as cited in Allais, 2006) documented that in the regions of Sub-Saharan Africa there are over 120,000 children in armed conflict that carry out the tasks of killing people, raiding villages for food, laying mines and explosives, act as guards and spies; these children are tortured, threatened and sexually abused. Remorselessly, child soldiers are often time given dangerous assignments and at other times ordered to commit heinous acts against their community and family (Allais, 2006). Furthermore, trafficked children of Sub-Saharan are recruited in hostilities

In Africa it is estimated that more than 120,000 Child soldiers in either Combat, or sexual Slavery, that is 40 percent of the world’s children’s population. Africa has the highest growth rate when it comes to Children in conflict. Also the age’s that are enlisting in the militias are also

Though the use of child soldiers is an overwhelmingly difficult issue to combat, it is not a hopeless cause. Groups like Child Soldiers International and USAID work tirelessly to help prevent children from being recruited and help children who have already been child soldiers in an attempt to end the use of child soldiers. Child Soldiers International works directly within communities to prevent children from being recruited. By doing this, they are able to gather integral information needed to create effectual responses to this issue. Creating laws from afar is one thing, but actually entering communities and finding out what needs to be done to directly help the people in those communities is what will be most effective in solving the problem. This organization uses what they learn from their

There are many ways in which Africa has been exploited by the international world historically. One way was through slavery. From when the first Portuguese ships arrived on west African shores in 1444 until 1885, the transatlantic slave trade has dominated the oceans for 440 years. Europeans set up the triangular trading system that exchanged enslaved Africans and plantation produce for European goods. Exploitation began with wars that were used to obtain slaves, and this is how the strongest and most fit Africans were exported out of their homeland. The slave trade caused the forced removal of millions of Africans, many who were skilled tradesmen and people with a variety of occupations. African societies became weak without them. Another common way Africa was taken advantage of was by colonization. After America had been thoroughly discovered and Native Americans had been pushed off their land, Africa became the next frontier. Colonization in the 19th century was for the sole and selfish purpose of benefiting other countries. Europeans literally “drew the map of Africa to divide and conquer it.” Areas of Africa that were unrightfully placed under direct control of the government became colonies. The colonies were actually extensions of European countries, easily gave Europeans agricultural and mineral resources at an extremely cheap price, and were the markets for manufactured goods from Europe. Africans in these colonies were not allowed to manufacture in their own