Child Soldiers In War

Should Countries prosecute child soldiers for crimes committed during wartime? In over twenty countries around the world, children are direct participants in war. All through history and in many cultures, children are participants in military atrocities, even when such actions were against cultural morals. Dating back to the 70’s, several countries have held conventions to deter this widespread dilemma. The violence, torture, and abuse these children face are horrific. Many of the youths are less than fifteen years of age, recruited to be soldiers, forced into marriage at young ages, or joined to escape their poverty-stricken reality. What does one do when one is fighting a war he or she knows nothing about? If your child were in this predicament,
The book is about a character named Salva who is in class daydreaming about going back to the village. His teacher, who is evacuating the class, interrupts Salva from his daydream. The teacher realizes the village is under attack by rebels and sends the kids running into nearby fields and bushes from danger (7). Since some kids are faster than others are, the rebels catch some. The school now becomes a military barracks and the students either flee or become soldiers, trained in hand-to-hand combat. They are trained to load, aim and fire some sort of automatic weapons in time as seen in the PBS explores ISIS in Afghanistan episodes /frontline documentary. These children went from basic arithmetic to becoming savages searching for infidels. Going from gluing pictures to guerilla tactics and shedding blood because they had to. Some children are given certain orders from acting as human shields to being strapped with dynamite to detonate at some specific site. Does one still think children deserve prosecution for being forced into this
The military use of children has been evident throughout history and widespread. “Many of these children have been through things that no adult, let alone child, should have to go through” says Julie Bodin of Save the children foundation. In 1989, the United Nations asked that measures be met to protect those under fifteen, but allow volunteers under the age of eighteen to join the army. As a result, I feel like more should be done to monitor schools, teachers and students. Once, these children are prosecuted in these war torn countries, what measures will be put in place to provide assistance for their physical and psychological recovery. How will they reintegrate back into their society and become a successful citizen? It is very unlikely after years of violence, being forced to fight a war that is not their own. Therefore, child soldiers should not be prosecuted for crimes they committed at