The process of warfare has been an inevitable tragedy throughout the history of the world. Human beings have gone to war over land, money, religious or political beliefs, and racial disputes since the beginnings of recorded history. Even in the Western World today we see the brutality and hardships of war as our troops are sent to fight conflicts in the Middle East.
War is violent and brutal for any person to experience, and particularly difficult for those whose lives are turned upside down by having to hide or to be obligated to participate in it. However, there are soldiers in the world today who have known nothing but violence and war for all of their very short lives; children soldiers. Armies and militant groups in certain regions of the modern world are using children to fight in their conflicts, and the UN as well as many human rights groups are finding it very difficult to prevent, or to remedy, this complex situation.
In the last ten years alone, hundreds of thousands of children have been taken from their homes and trained to fight in armed conflicts. The majority of these children do not make it out of these conflicts alive.
Who Uses Children As Soldiers?
A variety of organizations use children for military purposes around the world; some are government-backed armed forces, others are independent militias who oppose a certain government. There are also extremist organizations and faction groups that have broken away from conventional rule and are fighting to become self-governing. However, the cause or purpose of the fighting appears obsolete when the lives of thousands of young people are destroyed in the process.
These armies and groups generally opt not to have these trained children fight directly in the conflict, but rather the militant groups use them to carry out various tasks and services. Most of these tasks are quite dangerous, and include everything from stealing food and resources from local areas, to laying land mines and other explosives in or near the war zones.
Whilst in service to these militant groups, the children are given the same, or often less, healthcare and vital resources as the grown adult, usually male, soldiers. They often go long periods of time without clean water or proper nourishment, which are key to growth and development during youth. According to childsoldiers.org, the children are also frequently beaten, humiliated, and sometimes sexually abused.
Child Soldiers Are Used All Around the World.
Humanitarian organizations and journalists have reported that militant groups and some extremist organizations all over the world use children as soldiers for their cause. Groups using children as soldiers have been reported in parts of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and some parts of Asia, but according to the UN and some human rights groups, the problem is at a critical point in certain regions of Africa.
Most children soldiers are reportedly between the ages of 14 and 18, but in many regions of Africa, children as young as 9 years old have reportedly been trained by militant groups.
Many of these children who have been lived to talk about their situation claim that they had no alternative but to join and serve with these military groups. Some children claimed that they were obligated to join after witnessing their families or homes destroyed by the very militant groups that they later joined, not out of empathy for any cause but out of fear from what they had seen the groups do to their homes. Other children reported that they “enlisted” out of poverty, and that they were promised money and a better life in exchange for their military service – neither of which they say they have received. However, according to recent reports, most children become soldiers after being abducted from their homes and families during raids or attacks on a region.
Stopping The 'War Crime' Against the Innocent
To combat this injustice, humanitarian organizations have developed ‘Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration’ programs, or DDR programs, specifically targeting children who have been forced into military service. These programs attempt to re-establish societies in war-torn regions by setting up schools, health services, and other essential facilities.
DDR programs are particularly helpful to children involved in combat, many of whom have been trained to behave like soldiers, and have lost much of the precious innocence of childhood. Programs like DDR help take weapons out of children’s hands, and replace them with learning materials. They also provide care and health services to these children, many of whom do not have or have lost touch with their families.
While much is being done to combat this crime against humanity, there is still much to be done. The use or ‘recruitment’ of children under 15 in combat was declared a war crime by the UN, and has been treated as such during contact with some militant groups and governments. However, many of these groups and militaries are considered dangerous, and it is difficult for any organization to get close enough to these groups to discover if and where child soldiers are being used. Once the children are discovered within these groups, organizations are reluctant to actively help the children, out of fear of inciting a violent response from the militant groups.
People in the western world can help address this issue by contacting local and international representatives, and encouraging them to bring this issue to the forefront of international politics. Visit Childsoldiers.org or UN.org (the United Nations website) for more information on this important topic.
Sources:
- United Nations Website
- Child Soldiers Website
Kathleen Szeluga - I swear to report the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me logic and reasoning.
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