Child Soldiers
When war is thought of, usually a picture comes to mind of man vs man, nut in reality, there is women, and even children. Children fighting, killing, dieing. The natural thought of a child may be happiness, games, and toys. What about guns, grenades, and explosions? That is right, guns. Children with guns, killing other human beings is quite disturbing once really thought of. Children from other countries killing other without regret. Child soldiers should be held accountable for their actions. These children committed serious crimes, they had a choice to do what they did, and these children lack emotion. No regrets. Wanting power, wanting attention. The article “Armed and Underaged” by Jeffrey Gettleman illustrates “...to criminal drives led by warlords whose goals are nothing more than plunder, greed, and power.” Not only do these children kill innocent people, but they are doing so not for freedom, nor peace, but for power. Following up, in the article “Guantonomo’s child - Omar Khadr” by Patrick Reed states, “In 2002, during a military firefight, as a young teen, Khadar was alleged to have thrown
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In the article “Should child soldiers be prosecuted for their crimes?” states,” But rather than the decision on whether to prosecute should be left to state.” If this child committed a crime so serious that the decision has to be left for the state to decide, then obviously the answer is to charge this child as an adult. Another piece of evidence is in the article “Armed and Underaged” by Jeffrey Gettleman states “He is shouldering an automatic…” No child should have an automatic, let alone shoot another human being with it and not be charged as an adult. The last piece of evidence is from the same article that connects back to my theory which says,” he is working for a military…” Any child that works for a military, is consequently one who
As defined by Timothy Webster, author of Babes with Arms: International Law and Child Soldiers, a child soldier is “any person under the age of eighteen who is or has been associated with any kind of regular or irregular armed group, including those who serve as porters, spies, cooks, messengers and including girls recruited for sexual purposes (Webster, 2007, pp.230). As this definition reveals, a child soldier is more than simply a child with a gun. It is estimated that there are approximately 300,000 children under the age of 18, being used as soldiers in 33 conflicts currently, and this figure continues to rise (Webster, 2007, pp.227). Similarly, in 1999 it was estimated that more than 120,000 children, under the age of 18, were used as soldiers to fight ...
The first reason these kids shouldn’t be prosecuted or punished in any way is because it wasn’t their choice to be a soldier to begin with. According to Child Soldiers, Prosecution, most kids were forced to fight and had no choice of weather to enlist or not. There are about 200,000 child soldiers worldwide state's Armed and Underage, (Gettleman) and these kids are doing things their adolescent brains
There are several aspects of military life that are unique, and often misunderstood by educators. There are five main demands the military makes of the families of servicemembers, such as frequently moving, being separated from loved ones, deployment, risks such as injury or death, and behavioral norms (Segal, 1986). Permanent changes of station (PCS) make it difficult for families to build community ties, build strong relationships with school personnel, and receive continuous services, especially if children have special needs. Deployment is merely one aspect of military life that is strenuous for the families of active service members. Another hardship that many face is psychological issues. Some
“This is how wars are fought now: by children, traumatized, hopped-up on drugs, and wielding AK-47s” (Beah). Innocent, vulnerable, and intimidated. These words describe the more than 300,000 children in nations throughout the world coerced into combat. As young as age seven, boys and girls deemed child soldiers participate in armed conflict, risking their lives and killing more innocent others. While many individuals recollect their childhood playing games and running freely, these children will remember “playing” with guns and running for their lives. Many children today spend time playing video games like Modern Warfare, but for some children, it is not a game, it is reality. Although slavery was abolished nearly 150 years ago, the act of forcing a child into a military position is considered slavery and is a continuously growing trend even today despite legal documents prohibiting the use of children under the age of 18 in armed conflict. Being a child soldier does not merely consist of first hand fighting but also work as spies, messengers, and sex slaves which explains why nearly 30 percent of all child soldiers are girls. While the use and exploitation of these young boys and girls often goes unnoticed by most of the world, for those who have and are currently experiencing life as a child soldier, such slavery has had and will continue to have damaging effects on them both psychologically and physically.
The civil war of Sierra Leone lasted from 1991 to 2002. In this civil war approximately fifteen thousand kids were forced to become soldiers. Either by being kidnapped or by having their lives threatened. The situation was an extremely sad one. They had no choice weather they wanted to be soldiers or not. Like Ishmael said in A Long Way Gone, “It was either kill or be killed.” This situation is one where most people would not even be able to imagine themselves in. Ishmael Beah was a boy who suffered, because of the civil war. His family was killed and he was forced to become a soldier for the military. He eventually was rescued by UNICEF and eventually moved to the United States. For a decade, there has been a war between Mexican drug cartels and the Mexican government. There have been an unacceptable number of kids that have been used as soldiers in this war. Approximately, thirty thousand youngsters have been forced into becoming soldiers. In contrast to Sierra Leone, the soldiers here are only for the drug cartels, but in Sierra Leone even the government made the children become soldiers too. Just like the children of Sierra Leone, the children of Mexico are also kidnapped or threatened into becoming soldiers. Once captured, they are transformed into belligerent
Child Advocates works with court appointed volunteers to break the cycle of child abuse. Child Advocates works with people of all races and social classes. Since abuse and neglect is not specific to a particular race, gender, age, or social class. Each court appointed advocated is assigned one case at a time. A child advocate is guided by their advocacy coordinator which enables them to perform a thorough investigation of the case.
Storr, Will. "Kony's Child Soldiers: 'When You Kill for the First Time, You Change'" The Telegraph, 2 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 May 2014. .
Current and former members of the armed forces make sacrifices every day for our freedom. While some have lost their lives, other have returned home with after having lost other things.
Shockingly, many of them have often been spotted carrying very sophisticated weapons, and many weapons that can take down planes. child soldier is detrimental to peace and to children who are the future (British Job p6). most people are wondering why children are used as soldiers. the most basic reason is children are more obedient than adults, they can almost carry out every order from their commander.... ...
“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.
A child soldier is defined as someone who is under eighteen years of age and is actively fighting in war. It is estimated by UNICEF that some 300,000 child soldiers, both boys and girls, are currently fighting in wars. A majority of children are turned into child soldiers through recruitment or force while others join because they live in a poverty stricken area or a war zone. (UNICEF) Most child soldiers range ...
For decades, there has been constant conflict on whether or not children should be used in war or battle. Millions of children have been forced into fighting for militaries. The question is, should child soldiers be given amnesty? “Children are forced by commanders through false promises, drugs and things which you can’t even imagine, to kill innocent civilians, other children, and even their own families.” This quote from Child Soldiers helps give a good idea of what these children are being put through and what they are being forced to achieve.
By definition, a child soldier is any person below 18 years of age who is recruited or used by an armed force in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, coo...
Children at such a young age don't have the mental ability to think long term about their actions, especially when they are being forced or drugged. Some may argue that if child criminals get punished for their actions, then child soldiers should too, but that is just not the case. The difference being, child criminals choose to commit their crimes, child soldiers are forced to commit crimes. As an example, in the article Child Soldiers it states, “More often than not, children have no say in whether they enlist or not and once recruited the children have become brainwashed through the use of drugs and alcohol” (Child Soldiers).
In many countries at war, countless young children are forced into becoming soldiers who commit terrible crimes that they must go through with, or their lives will be taken from them. These children are often drugged, and are acting this way to save themselves and their families, which almost every kid would want to do at all costs. They are not fully aware of the repercussions and impacts of the horrific crimes they are made to do. Although these kids perpetrated very dreadful offenses, they had no say in it, and therefore, should be granted amnesty. However, there should be some conditions, such as community service and ongoing medical treatment.