Kill or be Killed Child Soldiers Essay - 574 Words

â€Å"Children, you call them? They can pull a trigger just as well as veterans †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Colonel Marcus Cullen, War Hammer 40,000). People should question the world in which they live when a child is forced to become a soldier. Especially when the children are under the age of 18, they should not be required to fight. Many children who are demanded to fight are taken from their families. These young adolescents are mistreated; malnurtured, abused and the girls are usually used for sexual purposes. Everyday a child, from the regions in Africa, is recruited or abducted from their family to fight in an army. Children who are drafted to fight usually do not have parents and are older (The Situation). Some volunteer for income, food, or because they†¦show more content†¦The children are trained for two brutal months, and then are set out for combat. Hence the cruel training, war was not much prettier. Nearly 300,000 child soldiers are fighting under a commander today, thi s number grows every year as more and more children are captured (House). The reason for the use of a child in warfare is because they are easy to manipulate, and do not argue, as an adult would (House). There are several jobs for a child in war; they can be spies, servants, messengers and plainly for fighting (Steel). To keep the children from fear and sorrow, they are injected with a mixture of cocaine, alcohol and marijuana. Younger children are placed in the front of the army because they are the ones who carry the AK47s, and they do not show much grief (House). There are many girls recruited to be a child soldier as well, some are given to the boy soldiers or adults to become their wives (Steel). Girls make up about 30% of the child soldier population (Parry). Most of the young women were used for sexual purposes such as rape (Steel). Soon the girls would become mothers and would have another responsibility of feeding and caring for their children, most infants did not survive very long, or even get through the birthing stage (Steel). Due to the girls being pregnant, the lady soldiers suffered through diseases, starvation, neglect and much more (Steel). Girls were not the only ones who suffered through disease, the boys did as well. After children areShow MoreRelatedThe Fear of Child Soldiers in 3rd World Countries736 Words   |  3 Pages Child Soldiers How would you feel if your child was forcibly abducted from your home to be a soldier, and back in return you got 5$? This is one of the biggest fears for families in third world countries. Children are being used as soldiers, servants , and slaves against their will. Child soldiers has become a highly debated issue, due to the high popularity of Joseph Kony. Child soldiers is unfortunately accepted usually because of the economic needs of families needs to survive in poverty. ChildRead MoreThe Issue Of Child Soldiers1129 Words   |  5 Pagesage of 9. You had no place to go anyway, for the people in the army killed your parents to abduct you. You are forced to fight for them, even if you don’t want to. You cannot escape since they would possibly kill you if you were caught, and you can’t even share that information, they could kill you for knowing so much about punishment. One day, you are in the battlefield and you kill an American soldier since you were forced to kill. 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