Child Soldiers: Why Do Soldiers Play Children?

Jeffrey stated that “More than 200,000 children worldwide are still used as child soldiers.” This trend is reportedly present mostly in Africa, as generals need to be able to two people for every person that they lose. Moreover, it’s easy to teach kids to something that they can’t tell is right from wrong. After being trained these newly made warriors are trained to kill while being completely stoned or high on a cocaine-gunpowder mix that is given as a drug to them. The fault does not fall upon those trained to kill, but the trainees that put them up to such an awful

Children are the building blocks of future generations, yet many of them are used and abused in the most atrocious manners. Many children lives are torn apart by wars that they did not start, but are forced into partaking. It is not uncommon for children to be awakened in the middle of the night at gunpoint and taken from their homes; both boys and girls alike, many of them just under the age of ten. As part of their recruitment, children are sometimes forced to kill or maim a family member thus breaking the bonds with their community making it difficult for them to return home. During war children are often used as child soldiers, porters/messengers and ___________________ thus ripping the joys of childhood from their lives.

Children in US are perceived as the next generation, the future per say. We have multiple laws across the country to punish many ways of what we call is child abuse. While some may argue more could be done, I feel the intention to protect the children in this country is not questionable for most people. While reading these articles about children soldiers, one thing is clear: poverty and education seems to be the common ground why children are either forced, or willingly join an army.

In areas of constant conflict, anyone found could be forced to turn into a soldier, fighting for a cause that has no importance to them. The use of child soldiers has spread to almost every region of the world causing more and more children to be involved. The loyalty of the children do not matter since the children are young enough that they are easily intimidated and therefore easily controlled causing the use of child soldiers to be more simple and convenient. In countries like Syria, war participation is normal for children, some children join the army on their own will to seek revenge on those who killed their friends and family, some join because they feel societal pressure and are under the impression that volunteering will provide a form of, income, food, or security and willingly volunteer to join the

When you picture a child, do you picture a once innocent but now traumatized, once caring but now bloodthirsty child carrying a gun taller than himself. This is what a child soldier would look like. These kids are As of 2013, there are approximately 300,000 children serving in militaries or in radical groups around the world. They are either volunteered or have been taken by force into these militias, but most who volunteer have lost their family to the tragedies of war. These children are victims. Victims of abuse and victims of violence. They have been abandoned on the streets with nowhere to go but the military, the children are exposed to terrible things, and some of the girls who are in these fighting groups are being abused and harassed.

First off, child soldiers are often forced to be recruited. “Often they are abducted at school, on the streets or at home.” ("From Cradle to War." Amnesty International. Amnesty International USA, Web. 3 May 2016.) Almost all child soldiers are forced to do things as a soldier that they wouldn’t actually do, such as hurt or kill others. So although some child soldiers want to hurt or kill, most don’t want to. So obviously, most child soldiers are forced to do bad things that they don’t want to do, and wouldn’t do if they hadn’t become a soldier.

“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.

Recently, two million children have died over the past ten years due to becoming a child soldier. A huge deplorable development that has extended recently is the increase of child soldiers. Children are constantly being used as soldiers for various reasons. In some countries, there are more child soldiers than they are adults because children are more compliant. Children have been exploited as soldiers because they are being recruited to do a violent action, it is difficult for them to, later on, assimilate back to their lives, and child soldiers are regularly used in developing countries.

Whoever says such a thing is wrong. Many if not most of these children occupy command positions and are responsible for organizing or ordering commision war crimes and human right abuses. Many also join according to their free will because some terrorist groups offer money. Or one may join to avenge a lost family member or friend. These children knew exactly what they were doing and should not be excused from their actions simply because they were too young to take responsibility for their

Child soldiers are struggling with recovering from their unbearable life they lived involving wars and deaths. These are children who become fearless and careless on killing innocent lives such as their own blood, in order to keep themselves alive. These children are either considered victims or perpetrators, but their isn’t a wrong or right answer. Child soldiers live in a terrible place that isn’t required for these children. Throughout society today there has been multiple arguments on how to categorize these children in. Some may argue, Child soldiers are perpetrators because they’re well matured to make their own decision and are well capable of having protection. However, others may argue that these children are victims because they’re

First of all, the children are being used for war crimes and they are underaged. When you join the military you have to be over or right at a certain age. When the military needed men they went to children and the government had enforced a statement saying “15 is considered too young to fight.”(7) Also, if children are too young to fight then they are also “considered too young to be held criminally responsible for serious violations.” (7) In the article “Armed and Underaged” by Jeffrey Gettleman, a reporter talked to a young boy , age 12, Awil. Awil told the reporter that he “enjoys the gun.”(6) Meaning that he knows nothing else about playing with his friends or anything. He has grown up all his life with a gun around. If the children

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.

First off, child soldiers are held against their will to do dangerous tasks that they have no say in. In an article interviewing Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier, he states, "Somebody being shot in front of you, or you yourself shooting somebody became just like drinking a glass of water. Children who refused to fight, kill or showed any weakness were ruthlessly dealt with.”

I am against child soldiers being prosecuted. My conclusion has been standing for a while now. Think back to when children are fighting on the front lines hearing guns shoot back and forth, falling to their knees in pain, and they didn't even have a choice. Children should not be prosecuted for a dirty deed planned by someone else, and forced upon the child by someone else, we should only prosecute the “someone else”; not the innocent child behind the master