Stories on the news give a glimpse of the war-torn areas in the middle east. Countries fighting against those who threaten the citizens. Drugs and forced beheading, brainwashing, and desperation. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) are behind many of the actions. Terrorists kidnap men, women, and children, recruiting them as soldiers and slaves. Helpless victims are forced into war by the worst of the worst. Kids are being given drugs to make them more vulnerable to manipulation. Families murdered by guns and bombs. With no food, there is no choice but to join the terrorist to survive. Young and vulnerable, kidnapped by soldiers and recruited by force. Too young to understand the action of their kills. Child soldiers should be given …show more content…
To demonstrate, desperation is a term used to describe a state of hopelessness. Children are losing their homes and their families in the war against terrorism. With the U.S. and other countries bombing countries like Syria and Iraq to exterminate the terrorist group that goes by the name of Isis, Islamic State of Iraq. Children as young as 9 are joining Isis and many other terrorist groups because their lives are destroyed and their only option is to join the closest group willing to take them in. Isis and other groups are using this desperation to recruit new children. 2In an article by the Huffington Post called, “A Shocking Number of Kids are Fighting and Dying for Isis.” This article reveals that ” As it loses territory, ISIS may resort to more suicide attacks and ambushes, two of the most common causes of child deaths in the survey, they said. Militant groups tend to use these types of attacks when on the defensive, either out of desperation or as a form of psychological warfare.” To specify, a terrorist is using desperation to manipulate his or her victims into signing up for suicide attacks. Terrorist are using suicide bombings as a type of psychological warfare to mess with the minds of children. This is used to give the children no hope about living to ever see their families. 10In an article by Aljazeera called,” The Child Soldiers of Yemen,” the author states,”...with 45 percent of the population going to bed hungry daily. Poverty, insufficient education, family retribution and a deeply entrenched sense of masculinity and filial duty, activists say, all contribute to the militarization of young children.” This example proves that kids want to eat, they want a shelter over their heads and the only easy way to achieve this is to join groups like Isis without even knowing that they will only receive the food and shelter if they
In the novel All quiet on the western front by Erich Maria Remarque one of the major themes he illustrates is the effects of war on a soldier 's humanity. Paul the protagonist is a German soldier who is forced into war with his comrades that go through dehumanizing violence. War is a very horrid situation that causes soldiers like Paul to lose their innocence by stripping them from happiness and joy in life. The symbols Remarque uses to enhance this theme is Paul 's books and the potato pancakes to depict the great scar war has seared on him taking all his connections to life. Through these symbols they deepen the theme by visually depicting war’s impact on Paul. Paul’s books represent the shadow war that is casted upon Paul and his loss of innocence. This symbol helps the theme by depicting how the war locked his heart to old values by taking his innocence. The last symbol that helps the theme are the potato pancakes. The potato pancakes symbolize love and sacrifice by Paul’s mother that reveal Paul emotional state damaged by the war with his lack of happiness and gratitude.
Since the end of the Cold War, the recruitment of child soldiers has been recognized as an increasingly global phenomenon. Although the majority of the relatively recent child soldier recruitment cases have developed from armed conflicts in Africa, by the beginning of the new millennium the trend increased globally, appearing on nearly every continent, including Asia, Europe and the Americas. The prevalence of this practice has turned it into a much talked about international issue. The aim of this paper is to look at how this issue is influenced and even aggravated by globalization. More specifically, it will be argued that globalization, expressed through the existence of international organizations, such as the United Nations, have been ineffective in putting a stop to child soldiery and that globalization, defined by the interconnectedness of world economies has lead to underdevelopment and therefore exasperated conflict and as a result child soldiery.
Many kids are involved around the world in violent wars as child soldiers. These children who were forced into being soldiers had no other choice but to face their own death and therefore should be granted amnesty. This is because the great majority of the kids were forced into being war fighters. Even then, some people think that just because they’re kids doesn’t change the fact that they have performed horrible acts, and that they should be punished for their actions. Also, these kids were forced to take drugs and drink alcohol which influenced bad decisions and made them less thoughtful about the harm they were doing. So, child soldiers should get another chance and be granted amnesty after proven worthy.
There is no exact known number of children currently being utilised in warfare worldwide. The issue of the military use of children is so widespread that no figure can be calculated, although it is estimated that there are currently over 250,000 child soldiers across the world. Many are drugged and brainwashed into murder, many are forced to sever all ties with their family or watch them die. Most are faced with a simple choice: kill or be killed. Although the notion of child soldiers is vastly alien to contemporary Australian society, it is a reality in many parts of the world. ISIS have been known to employ the use of children in warfare and over 30,000 children have been abducted into the Lord’s Resistance Army for military purposes. It
After achieving economic dominance following the events of World War II, the United States and its allies in Europe began to spread their influence. Commonly referred to as “the West”, these nations impacted people all over the world through music, propaganda, and relief efforts. The United States, as a free superpower, is morally obligated to promote democracy around the world (Evinger and Montanez-Muhinda). This can easily be observed in the stories of two children, Mariatu Kamara and Ishmael Beah, whose lives are changed by a brutal civil war. Despite playing a large role in both tales, the effects of western world are much more prevalent and impactful in A Long Way Gone than in The Bite of the Mango.
In the early 1990s, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone, led by former military agents invaded Sierra Leone from Liberia. The RUF initially said they were leading a political movement. Their main goals were to promote liberation, democracy, and freedom. They said they wanted justice and equality for all civilians living in Sierra Leone. In spite of what the RUF said they were doing, they were forceful and left trails of murder in their path. When civilians lacked support for the “political revolution”, the RUF started a decade long war that ravaged the country as a whole. The RUF developed a sense of structured, militarized violence. It created a climate of opportunities for average civilians to obtain cheap weapons. With the greater access to weapons for civilians and the RUF, the politics became more militarized also. As the war waged on, poverty rose and people began to resort to looting of national resources. Laws diminished and seemed to lack any strength against the brute force of the RUF and their civilian followers (Denov, 2010).
Before it can be decided whether or not to forgive child soldiers, the question, “What is a child soldier?” must be asked. A child soldier, is a person under the age of 18 who is being used, and most often being forced, to fight other people. Some may ask, “How can you force a child to fight if they do not want to?” A better question to ask would be, “Who wants to?” you may think that no child would want to fight, but in their shoes it might be a different story. They have probably lost everything; their homes, food, water, and their safety, so when they see the opportunity to have these things again- they are going to take it. Which is my first reason child soldiers should be forgiven and given amnesty on certain levels. Also, after
Everyday a child, from the regions in Africa, is recruited or abducted from their family to fight in an army. Children who are drafted to fight usually do not have parents and are older (The Situation). Some volunteer for income, food, or because they are pressured into combat (The Situation). Those who are taken from their homes or families happen to be in a war zone, misplaced or are poor (The Situation). The children who are homeless, and know the generals are out for them end up hiding and running for their lives throughout the night. Families and children hide from the captors underneath schools, churches and cellars (Steel). Parents are forced to tell where their children are hidden, if not they are tortured and even killed (Steel). After being abducted the children are then enforced to march to camp, anyone who attempts to escape is killed (Steel). As soon as these children are captured they are immediately trained to fight.
Child soldier is a worldwide issue, but it became most critical in the Africa. Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by some rebel groups and used as fighters, cooks, messengers, human shields and suicide bombers, some of them even under the aged 10 when they are forced to serve. Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically make obedient soldiers. Most of them are abducted or recruited by force, and often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. As society breaks down during conflict, leaving children no access to school, driving them from their homes, or separating them from family members, many children feel that rebel groups become their best chance for survival. Others seek escape from poverty or join military forces to avenge family members who have been killed by the war. Sometimes they even forced to commit atrocities against their own family (britjob p 4 ). The horrible and tragic fate of many unfortunate children is set on path of war murders and suffering, more nations should help to prevent these tragedies and to help stop the suffering of these poor, unfortunate an innocent children.
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 seemingly always the ones being recruited into the armed forces. These children are said to be fighting in about 75 percent of the world’s conflicts with most being 14 years or younger (Singer 2). In 30 countries around the world, the number of boys and girls under the age of 18 fighting as soldiers in government and opposition armed forces is said to be around 300,000 (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 1). These statistics are clearly devastating and can be difficult to comprehend, since the number of child soldiers around the world should be zero. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands adolescent children are being or have been recruited into paramilitaries, militias and non-state groups in more than 85 countries (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 1). This information is also quite overwhelming. Child soldiers are used around the world, but in some areas, the numbers are more concentrated.
One of the major problems in the Middle East is child related. To be specific, child soldiers. It is estimated that there are over 38,000 kids who are forced into being child soldiers (Storr). Because child soldiers can’t prevent their horrific fate, they deserve to be granted amnesty by the United Nations. One main reason why they should be given amnesty is because they are forced and drugged into becoming killers. Children at such a young age don't have the mental ability to think long term of their actions, especially when they are being forced or drugged to. 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
Every year an estimation of child soldiers is about 300,000. Child soldiers are another form of human trafficking or in other words modern day slavery. A child soldier is any child under the age of eighteen who is a part of any armed grouped. Children, who are poor, have limited access to education or separated are most likely to be abducted. Both girls and boys as young as age seven are forced into child soldiers. Young girls and women are raped by the soldiers and if they refuse they are killed instantly. Once recruited, child soldiers serve as spies, cooks, messengers, and guards. Children are easily targeted because they can easily be manipulated especially when drugs are being
In A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Beah tells of his past in Sierra Leone as a boy soldier. As a child in the war, Beah and his fellow soldiers committed many acts of violence, including murder. This raises the question as to whether or not child soldiers should be held accountable for their actions. The answer to this question is no, they should not be, because as children, they are easier to manipulate, and their minds have become addled by much exposure to drug use and sleep deprivation.
Sometimes dealing with children can be a battle in itself, but in many countries, children fight the battles that adults have created. These young people are known as children warriors, soldiers, and combatants. The use of children in war is an unfortunate issue; but it is part of some people’s everyday life. Whether the child is fighting for their government or their life, they are often in constant danger. The foreign policies that have been put in place to protect children have yet to halt the ever-growing amount of children combatants.
Not only are children suffering from intense training but also women are suffering in Iraq and Syria. Little girls at the age of 9 are forced to marry ISIS fighters and play their role as wives.One man said that women are basically used just for sex, cleaning, cooking and are meant to be sold to people who want those same things. ISIS has made a group of women who enforce women laws. According to them women are just to be home and be servants to men. ISIS are forcing women to cover themselves completely. They have to wear 3 vails to cover their faces so they cannot be seen in sunlight, they are only to wear black vails and coverings. If women are seen wearing any kinds of designs on their clothes they are whipped and so are their husbands and the women have to get new clothing and the men have to pay for it. Women cannot show their body figures they have to hide