Omar Khadr's Oppression Of Children In The Military

At a young age it’s difficult to grasp the concept of death, but as time passes, the youth turn into the old and the old turn into the deceased. Whether people like it or not, death plays a role in their lives and it’s something no one can escape. Child soldiers are forced to kill, and if they don’t then they too are killed. Young children are trained into fierce warriors every day, and stopping this action has proven to be difficult. It can be argued from a recruiter that brings in children that children are disposable, easy to train, and almost infinite. Most of these kids never receive a chance to do what they want in life, furthermore it seems like children, especially in Africa, are being picked off the streets they’re grapes on a grapevine. The International Justice System appeals to cases like this everyday, as it can be a struggle to understand if a child is truly remorseful, and if they deserve amnesty. Children who are forced into crime should be given a chance to redeem themselves, as they generally have no intention to cause harm.

Children aren’t mature enough to make life or death decisions. All child soldiers should have a chance to be forgiven. “Others enlist ‘voluntarily’, usually because they see few alternatives.” ("From Cradle to War." Amnesty International. Amnesty International USA, Web. 3 May 2016.) Children aren’t wise enough to make the decision, and deserve a chance to be forgiven, just like an immigrant has a chance to become a citizen. And even though once someone is killed, they are permanently dead, the children who kill don’t really know what they’re

Child Soldiers Ishmael Beah once said “My squad is my family, my gun is my provider, and protector, and my rule is to kill or be killed”(Beah 116). Most children live a normal and happy life, but not all children live that way. Some children hold baseball bats while others hold guns larger than they are; some children dodge dodgeballs, others dodge bullets. Most children go home to see their parents or guardians, child soldiers often go “home” to their squads and Lieutenants. Child soldiers can be rehabilitated if civilians and officials aren’t indifferent .

Are you aware that right now, at this very moment, there is a group of young boys ages 8-13 who are clenching a gun being ordered to kill against their will? It’s understood that others opinions about the dangers of child soldiers being free are only because they don’t want to risk anything but, isn’t life all about taking risks? You risk your life leaving the house, and breathing. Also, countries should not prosecute child soldiers for the crimes they committed during wartime. There also should not be an international minimum age of criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Here are three reasons why they should not be prosecuted or held responsible. Also that there should not be an age limit. One. Children are afraid, young, and clueless. Two. Children are 99.99% of the time drugged, forced, and brainwashed. “Children are often brainwashed and drugged before they are forced to fight. Their vulnerability can allow warlords to make them into cold-blooded killers” (O'Neill 1 ). Three. Children are independent, lonesome, and they want/need a family. One that gives them love.

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.

Imagine being forced out of your home with a gun to your back. All your muscles are tense making, sure that you don’t make the wrong move. Stepping out of your house, you see the people who invaded your home point a gun at your parents. You scream for them to stop, but they ignore you. You want to do something about it but your body won’t move. Tears roll down your eyes because you know what they're about to do. In a blink of an eye they do it. They kill your parents to make sure that you can never come back to your home. You’re now stuck in the war, someplace you never wanted to be. This is what happened to many child soldiers. They were taken out of their homes and forced into the war. During the war, commanders would force drugs into their

Suicide bombers, rebel groups, minefield clearers, and soldiers are words used to describe these children in a terrible situation. In places like Afghanistan, Iran, and Guantanamo Bay children as young as 5 years old are apprehended from their families, and are taken to army camps to fight against the U.S-backed government. These children are so innocent, but many think that they need to be arrested for what they are doing. Instead of playing on a playground with their families they are brainwashed, drugged, forced to kill, and poisoned with alcoholic beverages.

Visualize men with guns breaking down your door and pointing them at your family. Now imagine these men taking your children, forcing them to serve in their military force. In only an instant, your children are gone and you are left with no knowledge of the fate of your kids. As terrifying and seemingly impossible as this imagined scenario may be, it is a stark reality for many families in third world countries. Where families fear not if their children will be taken but when those doors will be broken down, and their screaming children will be dragged out through the front door. The parents know that they cannot not stop these men even if they attempt to. Yet, in an unreasonable twist becoming a child soldier is not only a gamble with the reaper, but it is also a chance to survive. Enough food to survive is more or less guaranteed, while back at home the odds of surviving are insurmountably against them. Becoming a child soldier is a double edged sword that is neither ally nor enemy to the children. These children are abused and coerced into staying with the men who ripped them from their families. Those that attempt to escape or resist are torn down brutally in order to be rebuilt, while those that embrace it sacrifice their humanity and risk the onset of psychologically damaging PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Militias and rebel forces, strained on man power, turn to child soldiers as a cheap and readily available replacement source. Trained to become war hardened

It’s estimated 300,000 child soldiers are still in the world today in at least twenty countries. Sierra Leone was just one of them. Forcing AK-47’s on children in the midst of war (1991-2002.) Adults once forced to be a child soldiers still have vivid, traumatic memories from their brainwashed childhood. They have their innocent childhoods taken away from being on the front lines of combat & have to grieve for the separation from their family. It’s key for everyone to understand what children are going through in other countries not as fortunate as yours.

The kids don’t have a choice to do anything, the “Choices” they do have not been real choices if you think about it. The author of the article “Summative Essay; Child Soldiers Victim or Perpetrators” explains they can’t do anything, they can't leave, they had no idea what they were getting into. “ At the time they might believe that recruiting would lead to a safer life as necessities including food, water and shelter would be available; actually fighting in war would not cross their mind. However, once they are recruited the children become over reliant on their commanders for shelter, money, water, drugs and alcohol that they find an extreme difficulty to leave.” This emphasizes the children were taken advantage and lied to, they were thinking they were going to be safe and have food and shelter but instead they were put in the war and on drugs.

Some kids are even getting taken from their home and from where they play, like playgrounds and soccer fields. To the young ones, those places are their safe havens and where most of them spend their time. As these kids are taken, they have no say so in what’s going on. Often times, the kids either don’t fight back and train to become a solider or their family and their lives are on the line. Essentially meaning that the groups the kids are being stolen by threaten to kill you and your family. Others claim that these kids are volunteers and they have the choice to join. Others may also say that as they grow older, the begin to enjoy what they are doing but many forget that these kids are being bribed and drugged at a very young

The side that argues prosecuting the child soldiers says kids were given the option to stay or leave, and most chose to stay. That is only partly true. It is true that they are given the option. Yet, the children indirectly forced to stay. Because they have become addicted to the drugs the warlords gave them, they are now dependent on them for those drugs and simply cannot leave, as it reads on debatewise.org. Also, Ishmael Beah points out that through the war, they have gained a connection to their commanders and fellow soldiers. For some, including Ishmael, it is the only family they have left. So, they may, indeed, choose to stay, but not for the reason the many believe. Instead of staying for the fighting, the stay for of family. Those who argue that child soldiers should be considered the perpetrators also say that if we grant amnesty to the soldiers, there would be no justice for the victims they killed. This is completely agreeable and understandable. It is agreeable that there should be punishment given in order to fulfill justice for the victims. However, in order for justice to be fully satisfied, the children should not be the ones punished, but rather, the warlords who wish to come to the US from their country of origin. The warlords drug the child soldiers and kill those who do not follow orders. They also force some to join. If child soldiers were

Imagine you are woken up one night to find a group kidnappers who are taking you away to serve in the military, and having to watch the killing of your parents right in front of you right after. This is what some young children, who are now soldier, had to experience. Vision.org states that “UNICEF reports that the LRA has abducted children as young as 5 but mostly between the ages of 8 and 16, often after killing their parents in front of them. The young “recruits” are then forced to march to southern Sudan. Those who can’t carry their loads or keep pace with the others are killed. Those who attempt escape are severely punished.” It is obviously not their fault that this is happening, therefore child soldiers should be given amnesty. Their commanders frequently drug them, there are countries funding certain militaries that allow child soldiers. This allows their commanders to keep drafting children. Finally, they are brainwashed during

Throughout the world children younger than 18 are being enlisted into the armed forces to fight while suffering through multiple abuses from their commanders. Children living in areas and countries that are at war are

This includes drugging and abusing them. This shows in the article “Child Soldiers: Victims or Perpetrators?” where it says “More often than not children have no say in whether they enlist or not and once recruited the children become brainwashed through the use of drugs and alcohol. The drugs and alcohol make the children become more compliant enabling them to commit atrocities which they never would have before.” This shows how army commanders are drugging kids in order to brainwash them and get them to do stuff for the army. This shows again in the same article where it then says “Children are often forced into fighting and have little choice over whether or not they enlist.” This shows how they don’t even have a say when they go to war and are tortured or threatened into joining the army. While I have views towards these tortured and brainwashed kids, their have also been promises that the commander has