WHAT IS THE ISSUE?
The use of child soldiers through history is unfortunately, quite extensive. Child soldiers have been used in many countries, across multiple cultures, for long stretches of our history. It wasn’t until the 1970s when international conventions began the endeavor of limiting and then ending the use of child soldiers in armed conflict. The history of child soldiers is not a pretty one, it is bloody and terrible. In the last decade alone, 2 million children have been killed in conflict, 1 million children have been orphaned, over 6 million have bee seriously injured or permanently disabled, and over 10 million children now carry the burden of psychological trauma. War is a gruesome battlefield that can affect every aspect of a child’s life. Child soldiers are not the only children who fall victim to the horrors of armed conflict.
One of the largest areas that have experienced the horror that is child soldiers is Uganda due to the influence of the Lord’s Resistance Army and the seemingly endless war in northern Uganda. Another country that’s recent history shows use of child soldiers is Sudan. As of March 2004, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army has released hundreds of child soldiers from ages 10 to 17 who have been forcibly recruited to join at ages as early as 7 to 8 to join in the fighting. However, as the country falls back into conflict, the same children are forced to rejoin along with thousands more newly “recruited” child soldiers. A third place where children have forcibly been conscripted is the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here, children were forcibly removed from their homes and forced to commit atrocious acts. Child soldiers in DRC are seen more as a target of violent action rather than individuals who need help and care.
But why is it that children are used so often in the course of history during bloody conflicts in third world countries? There are many factors; some are more researched and agreed upon than others but there still remain many a reason why children are forcibly removed from their homes to become soldiers. According to a United Nations study, one reason is that children are considered more economically efficient than adults because they are more easily indoctrinated and have the ability to be more efficient fighters because they have not developed a fear of death. Poverty is another large reason for why it has become more common for children to join armed forces in order to ensure food and water for their families. Discrimination also play a role in reasons behind child soldiers because of a need to seek out revenge against the aggressors of the child’s particular ethnicity. However, according to the UN, the largest cause of child soldier recruitment remains that they are cheap and easy to control soldiers that adult commanders and leaders can conform to their will over their young years through fear and intimidation.
The use of child soldiers is one that has been around for a lengthy period of history. However, its extent is sometimes contained within countries that are constantly fighting which creates such long lasting conflicts that some humanitarian aid groups stay for a time but then leave, prompting recruitment of child soldiers to begin again, thus the problem is never truly solved.
The use of child soldiers through history is unfortunately, quite extensive. Child soldiers have been used in many countries, across multiple cultures, for long stretches of our history. It wasn’t until the 1970s when international conventions began the endeavor of limiting and then ending the use of child soldiers in armed conflict. The history of child soldiers is not a pretty one, it is bloody and terrible. In the last decade alone, 2 million children have been killed in conflict, 1 million children have been orphaned, over 6 million have bee seriously injured or permanently disabled, and over 10 million children now carry the burden of psychological trauma. War is a gruesome battlefield that can affect every aspect of a child’s life. Child soldiers are not the only children who fall victim to the horrors of armed conflict.
One of the largest areas that have experienced the horror that is child soldiers is Uganda due to the influence of the Lord’s Resistance Army and the seemingly endless war in northern Uganda. Another country that’s recent history shows use of child soldiers is Sudan. As of March 2004, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army has released hundreds of child soldiers from ages 10 to 17 who have been forcibly recruited to join at ages as early as 7 to 8 to join in the fighting. However, as the country falls back into conflict, the same children are forced to rejoin along with thousands more newly “recruited” child soldiers. A third place where children have forcibly been conscripted is the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here, children were forcibly removed from their homes and forced to commit atrocious acts. Child soldiers in DRC are seen more as a target of violent action rather than individuals who need help and care.
But why is it that children are used so often in the course of history during bloody conflicts in third world countries? There are many factors; some are more researched and agreed upon than others but there still remain many a reason why children are forcibly removed from their homes to become soldiers. According to a United Nations study, one reason is that children are considered more economically efficient than adults because they are more easily indoctrinated and have the ability to be more efficient fighters because they have not developed a fear of death. Poverty is another large reason for why it has become more common for children to join armed forces in order to ensure food and water for their families. Discrimination also play a role in reasons behind child soldiers because of a need to seek out revenge against the aggressors of the child’s particular ethnicity. However, according to the UN, the largest cause of child soldier recruitment remains that they are cheap and easy to control soldiers that adult commanders and leaders can conform to their will over their young years through fear and intimidation.
The use of child soldiers is one that has been around for a lengthy period of history. However, its extent is sometimes contained within countries that are constantly fighting which creates such long lasting conflicts that some humanitarian aid groups stay for a time but then leave, prompting recruitment of child soldiers to begin again, thus the problem is never truly solved.
References
http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/effects-of-conflict/root-causes-of-child-soldiering/
http://invisiblechildren.com/our-model/
http://www.child-soldier.org/child-soldiers-in-drc
http://www.child-soldier.org/children-in-conflict-child-soldiers-in-uganda
http://www.child-soldier.org/sudan
http://www.child-soldier.org/
http://gdb.voanews.com/634F4111-FB2A-4B0B-B925-0BA054993971_mw1024_s_n.jpg
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/child-soldiers.jpg
http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/effects-of-conflict/root-causes-of-child-soldiering/
http://invisiblechildren.com/our-model/
http://www.child-soldier.org/child-soldiers-in-drc
http://www.child-soldier.org/children-in-conflict-child-soldiers-in-uganda
http://www.child-soldier.org/sudan
http://www.child-soldier.org/
http://gdb.voanews.com/634F4111-FB2A-4B0B-B925-0BA054993971_mw1024_s_n.jpg
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/child-soldiers.jpg