Through the eyes of an everyday citizen, we see children as the youth of the world, the little pods, bursting with imagination, youth and ingenuity. But, when the word “soldier” has been added on to the front, we get a totally different image. We think of soldiers as people who fight for our country, people to admire. Then, what do we think of child soldiers? Do we think of them as heros or as villains who are taking away the peace of the world? In reality, they are neither. Most child soldiers are taken to places where they are trained, given drugs, forced to murder, do genocide, and even rape. But did the kids want to do all this? No. Kids are manipulated while their minds are not yet mature. While their minds have been developing, they soak up all kinds of information. Especially since they are enduring harsh training. They start to take this violence in as what they are and what they were meant to do. After all that child soldiers are victims to the themselves and their own hatred. They deserve to be treated better.
First of all, most kids constantly get manipulated by terrorist groups, gangs, and even some militaries. Since they are usually kids, they have a developing brain. This makes it easy to manipulate them just by surrounding them with a situation and cramming a lot of information into their head. The majority of people think that these kids just join because they want to cause harm. The thing is, they don’t. They only join because they think there is a benefit. For example, they think that they will gain some profit, they will be able to have food, a place to sleep, a shelter. Soon, under the influence of organizations, kids start to lose basic functions like operating within normal life. This is evidenced by, having been forced to take drugs and alcohol just so they follow orders obediently without question. After being forced to do things like this for a very long time, they start to actually grow into it. They start saying that they like it, like Awil, he says,” What do I enjoy?.. I enjoy the gun.”Being manipulated can really harm children’s lives and can scar them for life. After hard training for almost 5 years, the ways of life have molded Awil's brain into a war machine. That is why people think child soldiers are perpetrators. Additionally, his commander admits that he should be in school. Before, he was 7, now he is 12. Even though he chose to become a soldier, it as not like he had a choice. This can cause all kinds of problems as when these kids are out killing people by their commander’s orders, they do not see what happens is really what they are doing. They cannot see the people they have killed because they are always thinking that they are benefitting themselves. These are some reasons that
Second of all, children endure a lot of harsh stress within their lives. Whether it is because of their commanders or being sexually harassed, there are many reasons. For example, 10 out of the 30 percent of child soldiers are actually girls, many of which are sexually harassed and or given to their commanders as wives. Sometimes, they are forced to act violently against friends, family and their community. This is to ensure that the children never return to their own family again. What this suggest is, that if every child soldier had to go through this, that means that from 7,000 to 10,000 families had had their children taken from them to serve in one of 21 wars since 2001. Also, Children are not only soldiers, they become cooks, messengers, guards, suicide bombers and are sometimes sent out into minefields in front of older soldiers. These are some facts that prove that children are actually the ones suffering, not only just the victims.
In conclusion, children are a reflection of ourselves. Soon we will pass on the world on to them. They should not be rushing into a battlefield. They have been tossed around their whole life, lost without someone to emotionally attach themselves to. Without a parent, relative, friend they march into the dark part of the world wandering about until they become a fearsome warrior without feelings. We should be the bridge, the people who link the two million children who have been killed in conflict, the one million or more that have been orphaned, the six million that have been seriously injured or permanently disabled, and the ten million that have been left with serious psychological trauma. It is true that, they may have committed many murders and did many horrible things, but they are still the same children that will carry on the world.
First of all, most kids constantly get manipulated by terrorist groups, gangs, and even some militaries. Since they are usually kids, they have a developing brain. This makes it easy to manipulate them just by surrounding them with a situation and cramming a lot of information into their head. The majority of people think that these kids just join because they want to cause harm. The thing is, they don’t. They only join because they think there is a benefit. For example, they think that they will gain some profit, they will be able to have food, a place to sleep, a shelter. Soon, under the influence of organizations, kids start to lose basic functions like operating within normal life. This is evidenced by, having been forced to take drugs and alcohol just so they follow orders obediently without question. After being forced to do things like this for a very long time, they start to actually grow into it. They start saying that they like it, like Awil, he says,” What do I enjoy?.. I enjoy the gun.”Being manipulated can really harm children’s lives and can scar them for life. After hard training for almost 5 years, the ways of life have molded Awil's brain into a war machine. That is why people think child soldiers are perpetrators. Additionally, his commander admits that he should be in school. Before, he was 7, now he is 12. Even though he chose to become a soldier, it as not like he had a choice. This can cause all kinds of problems as when these kids are out killing people by their commander’s orders, they do not see what happens is really what they are doing. They cannot see the people they have killed because they are always thinking that they are benefitting themselves. These are some reasons that
Second of all, children endure a lot of harsh stress within their lives. Whether it is because of their commanders or being sexually harassed, there are many reasons. For example, 10 out of the 30 percent of child soldiers are actually girls, many of which are sexually harassed and or given to their commanders as wives. Sometimes, they are forced to act violently against friends, family and their community. This is to ensure that the children never return to their own family again. What this suggest is, that if every child soldier had to go through this, that means that from 7,000 to 10,000 families had had their children taken from them to serve in one of 21 wars since 2001. Also, Children are not only soldiers, they become cooks, messengers, guards, suicide bombers and are sometimes sent out into minefields in front of older soldiers. These are some facts that prove that children are actually the ones suffering, not only just the victims.
In conclusion, children are a reflection of ourselves. Soon we will pass on the world on to them. They should not be rushing into a battlefield. They have been tossed around their whole life, lost without someone to emotionally attach themselves to. Without a parent, relative, friend they march into the dark part of the world wandering about until they become a fearsome warrior without feelings. We should be the bridge, the people who link the two million children who have been killed in conflict, the one million or more that have been orphaned, the six million that have been seriously injured or permanently disabled, and the ten million that have been left with serious psychological trauma. It is true that, they may have committed many murders and did many horrible things, but they are still the same children that will carry on the world.