The Unexplored Horror of War There have always been men who use children to fight their wars. No matter the era, these cowards have hidden behind the people we see as pure and innocent to do their dirty work, instead of being men and doing it themselves. The Ottoman Empire wasn’t any different, especially with the Janissaries. They were Christian boys turned into soldiers to fight for the Ottoman Empire. Child soldiers are still being used today, as seen in Mozambique’s civil war. Poor villages are targeted to kidnap children and turn them into soldiers, since these villages aren’t as safely protected as major cities. While the Janissaries and modern child soldiers have some similarities, like being kidnapped as children, the unfair treatment …show more content…
Both the Janissaries and the modern child soldiers share similar circumstances of their respective recruitment. Both Janissaries and modern child soldiers were recruited through the kidnapping of children, but also included children who joined willfully for a handful of other reasons. Many did so to escape an abusive household, generate a little money, or fight for a cause they strongly believe in, so not every member was attained through malicious means. Both were taught to use weapons at an early age, and they have been effective at killing because of it. Child soldiers, whether the Janissaries or the modern ones, were risking their lives for a cause they might not even believe in. One similarity that cannot be disputed is how in both cases, the children lost their innocence. One thing is letting children play violent video games, where they know that they’re not hurting real people, but it is another to give children real weaponry and have them aim and shoot at real humans, with real aspirations and real dreams. The psychological damage to their brains is unimaginable. They didn’t get to spend their childhoods playing soccer with friends, and instead spent those years without knowing that their lives might really end at any