Child Soldiers in Uganda

Jesse Groves U.S. History- Ms. Casper Period 4 June 1st, 2008 The Fear of becoming a Child Soldier If a child goes missing in the United States, the police are notified and then issue an Amber Alert. Radio stations begin broadcasting descriptions, while TV stations flash pictures of the abducted. Billboards along roads flash important information regarding the abduction. The police move out with helicopters and cars, and the Army National Guard may even be called in. Everything is put into operation to bring a child home to its family. At the same time, they go after the abductor to put him or her behind bars, so he or she cannot harm any other child. In contrast, in another part of the world, 30,000 children have been abducted in the past 18 years in Uganda. Many families have lost at least one child, or their villages have been attacked and destroyed by an army of abducted children known as The Lord’s Resistance Army. Children ten years old are taught to kill, often beginning with their own families. Other child soldiers are killed while others are commanded to kill in order to stay alive. If children do escape, they will never be the same again. The countryside is virtually empty from people having moved into “safe” villages that are supposed to be protected by the government which does not always happen. The use of child soldiers during Idi Amin’s rule has destroyed the country’s future because Uganda’s children are being forced to kill instead of enjoying a normal childhood of laughter and dreams. Child soldiers live short lives because their exposure to war increases their chances of

Bibliography: Beah, Ishmael. “The Making and Unmaking, of a Child Soldier” New York Times 14 Jan, 2007 Gold. Thomson Gale. Alameda Free Library. 19 April. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/retrieve>