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The issue of child soldiers
The issue of child soldiers
The issue of child soldiers
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The issue of child soldiers
The issue of child soldiers
The issue of child soldiers
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
This literary piece “The Making and Unmaking of a child soldier” by Ishmael Beah, unravels aspects of the world often looked over. The book opens an eye on how child soldiers are used as spawn for civil wars for ruthless warlords over drug empires in Sierra Leone. Children are forced to become soldiers to serve for military and save their country, Sierra Leone. Child soldiers are also forced to work and there are many different jobs which are given to child soldiers.
These young children, often as young as 6-8 years old, are thrown into a world of warfare and violence, forced to perform unimaginable acts. This practice often results in devastating consequences in the lives of children who become child soldiers. Moreover, child soldiers face countless numbers of physical consequences. These young individuals are exposed to violence, forced to endure harsh living conditions, and often subjected to physical abuse. Child soldiers also suffer from long-term psychological consequences, including trauma and loss of childhood innocence.
Often referred to as “child soldiers,” these boys and girls suffer extensive forms of exploitation and abuse that are not fully captured by that term”
There are thousands of child soldiers in the world today. These children are stripped from their homes and sent to fight with people twice their age. Many haven’t even had their 11th birthday yet. Although some people say that child soldiers should not be granted amnesty, evidence shows that these children do deserve amnesty, except in cases when the former soldiers show violent behavior after war because children are forced to commit acts of violence and are force addicted to illegal substances so they won’t want to leave.
In the article, “CHILD SOLDIERS AND THE GLOBAL AGENDA” it says, “Children need be the victims of war only if there is no will to prevent it.” This helps show how children should not be involved in war in the first place. They aren’t the ones who have started the war. It isn’t their fault in the first place so why are people punishing the children for their involvement when it wasn’t their fault. They expect the kids to serve time or to get a death sentence when it was adults like them who brought them into this mess.
Imagine your childhood, sweet, cute and simple. This isn 't the case for everyone. Right now there are child soldiers who are making memories, but they aren 't good. They 're violent and damaging, but there is nothing they can do about it. These children are being forced by commanders to fight in war, they are seeing things that children should never have to see, and they 're being put under drugs and can 't think clearly.
Many young children under aged have been taken in by the government. They are being held captive tell they are drugged enough and brainwashed to go out and kill or to be killed. They are forced to train to kill under the influence of drugs and they are hardly aware of what they or doing. Child soldiers should be given amnesty because of the absents of their minds and them not being able to process what they are doing. These children are often seen as targets because they are under aged and not able to take responsibility for their actions so they are targeted to be able to kill without punishment.
Child soldiers deserve amnesty, but the situation that they were forced into leads to the thought that they should be free, but have certain restrictions. According to the article by Errol Barnett on CNN news about child soldiers, “Somebody being shot in front of you, or you yourself shooting somebody became just like drinking a glass of water” (Barnett). This shows how easy it can become for child soldiers to kill people. Since many former child soldiers have spent a major part of their childhood and adolescence killing people, it may be wise to put restrictions on them. Restrictions should be placed on former child soldiers, such as the right to bear arms, because although it isn’t their fault that they were forced into a life of war and violence, they still have grown up murdering countless innocent people.
And also if they don’t listen or do what is told they are killed. There are some people who believe that there’s not a problem with being a child soldier. My opinion is that child soldiers isn’t such a good idea because on the article Child soldiers, Prosecution it says “ Child soldiers are not morally responsible for their actions. Children are often forced into fighting.” And also in the article Child soldiers-Summative essay it says “They have no choice, if they don’t fight their killed, if they fight they kill.”
When these children use their weapons, others are killed, and these children can get prosecuted. Child soldiers should be given amnesty because they are not fully responsible for their actions, they join without fully knowing what they are doing and for reasons other than wanting to fight, and they should be rehabilitated instead of being prosecuted. Child soldiers should be given amnesty because they are not fully responsible for their actions. Often, child soldiers are doing what they do because of drugs or because they are being forced to. Most times child soldiers are not doing what they want.
Child soldiers throughout the world should deserve amnesty because of what they’ve been forced to do and why they did it. These former child soldiers were usually 8-14 years old and did not have enough education to make the decision an older person would make. Some kids don't get a choice and were forced to fight. But some people still say that these kids should not get amnesty and should get help or even put in jail. Kids were forced to take drugs and kill people, no choice was theirs.
A recent statistic from “War Child” states that there are 250,000 child soldiers in the world that are being recruited by the governments. For many years now, a question has been raised between if child soldiers should be granted amnesty or not. I strongly believe that child soldiers should be granted amnesty for the crimes they committed during war. I believe that not only are the civilians of the country victims of the war, but as well as child soldiers. I believe this for a few, main reasons.
Have you ever imagined growing up on a life of drugs, war, crime, and seeing things that many adults won’t dare to ever see? In many countries around the world, this is what many children have to deal with. There is an occurring issue of people across Africa and parts of Asia using children as soldiers in war. They act and take upon the roles of real combatants, causing the people of the public to act in different ways. It’s been well documented that these children have used guns and war tactics, and committed various illegal and illicit acts of violence.
Now visualize this. A kid, who wears a dingy, tattered military uniform, helplessly standing in the midst of warzone where the stench of death from all of his fallen comrades and enemies is everywhere. Child soldiers have become an issue when organizations such as the LRA, ISIS and much more out there are still aggressively recruiting child soldiers in secret to enhance their strength for their militant group. ISIS is believed to have recruited more than 1100 children and more than 50 child soldiers have died in the year 2015 from fighting for their Syria militant group (International Business Time). However, it takes two to tango in order for an organization to build up so rapidly.
Assignment page Video Where many children all over the world merrily and freely live under the protection of the law, for others, this is a distant reality, they live in a world where they’re battling poverty, stripped of their childhood and basic human rights are expunged, they’re the innocent victims of conflict, and war is made to seem their one and only duty, not to mention that these are children no more than 10 years of age. They are put into a situation where it’s to kill or be killed. The United Nations defines a child soldier as, “Any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity.” Since the past 15 years, child soldiers are being used in almost every region of the world. Unlike most children, who go to school, they’re abducted from their families and forced into becoming a child soldier, where living conditions are beyond imaginable.