Graca Machel, former First lady of Mozambique and South Africa, once said, "War violates every right of a child - the right to life, the right to be with family and community, the right to health, the right to the development of the personality and the right to be nurtured and protected." It is surprising how significantly war affects children. Children can be victims of war. However, they can even be participants of war. These children are called child soldiers.
 |
| Young child soldier |
Over the years, the number of abducted children in Uganda has increased greatly. Currently, there are over 30,000 Ugandan children, both boys and girls as young as the age of eight, that are forcefully being abducted by the government, armed groups, and paramilitaries for exploitation. Child soldiers are recruited through many different ways. This includes being a captive when attacked, being kidnapped, and "volunteering" because they were afraid that they would be killed if they did not join. Child soldiers are compelled to commit cruel actions. Not only are child soldiers compelled to engage in military actions such as scouting, spying, fighting, killing, and combat, but they are also vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. Due to the exposure of physical and sexual abuse on child soldiers, there are many negative effects they have to face. Children are needed in the government to fight in civil wars. In 1991 - 2002, during the civil war in Sierra Leone, over 10,000 children were forced to fight for rebel groups. This includes the Revolutionary United Front and the Kamajors. If the child soldiers dared to disobey the leaders or attempt to run away, they would be killed.
 |
Leader helping a child soldier
with his gun |
A person involved in wars would feel its effects. Although this is not surprising, it can be frustrating and hard to deal with. A child soldier's suffering in war scars them for life and may cause them to draw pictures and tell stories haunted by images of death and violence. Robert, a former child soldier, expresses his worry, "I cannot sleep as my dreams carry me back and scare me. I see the faces of people being killed and the LRA comes after me again." Mirwais, another former child soldier, often doubts his future, "What is left for me? Now I will only be a burden." Mirwais is unable to support his family or feed himself because he lost his right leg during a war. Other negative effects of being a child soldier includes malnutrition, skin disease and respiratory infections due to exposure to different weathers, and sexual abuse.
 |
| Ishmael Beah |
This is the story of Ishmael Beah. You can read more about his experience as a child soldier in his book A Long Way Gone. Ishmael Beah and his friends traveled from village to village looking for food and shelter. Thinking he found safety at a military encampment, he decided to live there. As an act of retribution to the rebels, Ishmael Beah and others at the encampment agreed to fight the rebels. Ishmael Beah looked upon the rebel leaders as models and did as he was told. He even took drugs to increase his courage in battle. Fortunately, UNICEF rescued Ishmael three years later and rehabilitated him to good health. Many organizations around the world, including UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, War Child International, Peace Direct, and Child Soldiers are doing their best to help the oppressed child soldiers. They have been trying to set a standard of 18 years old as the minimum age for doing military actions.
Although children in Sierra Leone and Uganda have every right to be like the children around the world, their exploitation deprives them of their childhood, reputation, and freedom.
 |
| Female child soldier |
Sites Used:
No comments:
Post a Comment