Research Paper On Child Soldiers
Why and how children are use for war? For hundreds of years, children have suffered many hardships during armed conflicts, and they have been especially vulnerable to being recruited, abducted or forced into joining armed groups for the sake of child soldiering. Around the world, there are more than 250,000 child soldiers deployed in active combat today. Six million child soldiers have become disabled or displaced, and two million have been killed. Armed conflict imposes huge hardship on young people living in war zones. This is a problem that still exists in todays society. Most child soldiers are between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years old, although children as young as seven have been used as child soldiers. Almost all areas that utilize child soldiers are areas that are in constant conflict. Any kid that is caught in an area of strife or battle can just be taken and turned into a soldier.There are a lot of reasons why arm forces recruit children as soldiers but the two main ones. Arm forces take advantage of kids because they are easy to manipulate and are dependent of adults. This means, that they will always obey and will be loyal to the adults that are controlling them.
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These child soldiers can be recruited form anywhere.
For example, after a war or a battle the winning side can kidnap the kids from their homes and if they resist they get shot. If there is a big war going on the government can draft kids into their army without any notice. Thats why in some countries you have to get your military id so if anything goes on they already know where you live and if you are available to fight. theres some cases that the child soldiers join the army by their own seeking revenge or because they think that by being in the army they will be protected. Most countries that have active child soldiers are the countries that experience chronic
poverty. The duties of these soldiers are almost the same. They serve as spies, scouts, messengers, and they, of course, fight on the front lines in a battle. The children are easy manipulated to make them believe that what they are doing is wright. They get their brain wash through intimidation and fear. This is why the kids become so loyal and never run away. It also depends if you are a boy or a girl. They might have some of the same duties but girls have it harder. Girls are used more often to do chores like cleaning and cooking and sometimes as kind of slaves to people with a high rank in the army. Sadly girls are also use as sexual objects and for these reason they get rapped a lot of times. During the fight the soldiers would kidnap girls and rape them. Most girls would get pregnant because of how the soldiers rapped them. The army wouldn't care if they were pregnant or had a baby. They were still expected to fight even if they had o carry their baby in their back. “I’ve seen people get their hands cut off, a ten-year-old girl raped and then die, and so many men and women burned alive...”(Vindevogel 46) During the fights the soldiers didn't care what they did to innocent people. Even after intimidation the kids and being threaten that if they don't fight they will get killed, some still refuse to kill or fight. Some picnic and cant move because of the fear they are going through in the battle. Thus the army had to find a way to make them fight. For these reasons they gave drugs to the kids so they were able to not feel anything and do what they were told to do. The drugs took their fears and gave them some kind of pump like a false courage. The usual drugs that were used are: marijuana, opium, cocaine, and amphetamines. They used these drugs because of their highly addictiveness and because once the kid is high on the drug they disconnect from the world and don't even realize what they are doing. Some children even kill their own families in battle and may not realize it. “As child soldiers, there is the inherent danger they will be killed, maimed, or traumatized during combat or while fulfilling such other “duties” as laying mines and building explosives, spying, or acting as decoys.”(Mukhar 4) They use the children for the dirty work. The people that recruit children know that most likely they will die, because of this they for the kids in doing suicide missions. Knowing that child soldiers are easy to find and to train, these kids are put in to do the dangerous jobs. Children suffer serious “mental, physical, and emotional injuries from direct and indirect participation in armed conflict, including witnessing, and perpetrating, horrendous atrocities, as well as from sexual slavery, which girl child soldiers are so often subjected to.”(Vindevogel 71) After serving in the war, if the kids are lucky enough, these kids get to go back home. The problem is that they will never be the same. This people took their childhood away. Sometimes because of the conflict once they get back home they find out that their parents were killed or had to move away. This leaves the kids alone, making them committee suicide or go back to the arm force. Currently the United Nations, UNICEF, and various humans’ rights workers are all trying very hard to enforce laws that prohibit or limit the recruitment of child soldiers. “The Conventions on the Rights of the Child” and the “Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict” are both international laws that were signed and/or ratified by over 150 countries, they made it illegal in any country to recruit, by force or voluntarily, anybody under the age of 15. From these two laws thousands of former child soldiers were demobilized and sent back to their communities. They have no education due to the constant strife in their country. If they do not resort to criminal activities such as stealing they would most likely work at low pay, long hour jobs. This is about the only thing that they can do for the benefit of their family and themselves. They have no incentive for education; they just feel that they need to do something.
Although it’s the 21st century and a lot of progress has been made in the past years, child soldiers remains an issue today. Child soldiers still get recruited and force to do atrocities even in the present. Although, the UN are doing everything in their power to stop this, sometimes the problem is to big to be fixed. Child soldiers is something that shouldn't exist, these kids should be free and studying so they can have a better future.
These child soldiers can be recruited form anywhere.
For example, after a war or a battle the winning side can kidnap the kids from their homes and if they resist they get shot. If there is a big war going on the government can draft kids into their army without any notice. Thats why in some countries you have to get your military id so if anything goes on they already know where you live and if you are available to fight. theres some cases that the child soldiers join the army by their own seeking revenge or because they think that by being in the army they will be protected. Most countries that have active child soldiers are the countries that experience chronic
poverty. The duties of these soldiers are almost the same. They serve as spies, scouts, messengers, and they, of course, fight on the front lines in a battle. The children are easy manipulated to make them believe that what they are doing is wright. They get their brain wash through intimidation and fear. This is why the kids become so loyal and never run away. It also depends if you are a boy or a girl. They might have some of the same duties but girls have it harder. Girls are used more often to do chores like cleaning and cooking and sometimes as kind of slaves to people with a high rank in the army. Sadly girls are also use as sexual objects and for these reason they get rapped a lot of times. During the fight the soldiers would kidnap girls and rape them. Most girls would get pregnant because of how the soldiers rapped them. The army wouldn't care if they were pregnant or had a baby. They were still expected to fight even if they had o carry their baby in their back. “I’ve seen people get their hands cut off, a ten-year-old girl raped and then die, and so many men and women burned alive...”(Vindevogel 46) During the fights the soldiers didn't care what they did to innocent people. Even after intimidation the kids and being threaten that if they don't fight they will get killed, some still refuse to kill or fight. Some picnic and cant move because of the fear they are going through in the battle. Thus the army had to find a way to make them fight. For these reasons they gave drugs to the kids so they were able to not feel anything and do what they were told to do. The drugs took their fears and gave them some kind of pump like a false courage. The usual drugs that were used are: marijuana, opium, cocaine, and amphetamines. They used these drugs because of their highly addictiveness and because once the kid is high on the drug they disconnect from the world and don't even realize what they are doing. Some children even kill their own families in battle and may not realize it. “As child soldiers, there is the inherent danger they will be killed, maimed, or traumatized during combat or while fulfilling such other “duties” as laying mines and building explosives, spying, or acting as decoys.”(Mukhar 4) They use the children for the dirty work. The people that recruit children know that most likely they will die, because of this they for the kids in doing suicide missions. Knowing that child soldiers are easy to find and to train, these kids are put in to do the dangerous jobs. Children suffer serious “mental, physical, and emotional injuries from direct and indirect participation in armed conflict, including witnessing, and perpetrating, horrendous atrocities, as well as from sexual slavery, which girl child soldiers are so often subjected to.”(Vindevogel 71) After serving in the war, if the kids are lucky enough, these kids get to go back home. The problem is that they will never be the same. This people took their childhood away. Sometimes because of the conflict once they get back home they find out that their parents were killed or had to move away. This leaves the kids alone, making them committee suicide or go back to the arm force. Currently the United Nations, UNICEF, and various humans’ rights workers are all trying very hard to enforce laws that prohibit or limit the recruitment of child soldiers. “The Conventions on the Rights of the Child” and the “Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict” are both international laws that were signed and/or ratified by over 150 countries, they made it illegal in any country to recruit, by force or voluntarily, anybody under the age of 15. From these two laws thousands of former child soldiers were demobilized and sent back to their communities. They have no education due to the constant strife in their country. If they do not resort to criminal activities such as stealing they would most likely work at low pay, long hour jobs. This is about the only thing that they can do for the benefit of their family and themselves. They have no incentive for education; they just feel that they need to do something.
Although it’s the 21st century and a lot of progress has been made in the past years, child soldiers remains an issue today. Child soldiers still get recruited and force to do atrocities even in the present. Although, the UN are doing everything in their power to stop this, sometimes the problem is to big to be fixed. Child soldiers is something that shouldn't exist, these kids should be free and studying so they can have a better future.