Ishmael Beah, a teenager in Sierra Leone, was forced into becoming a child soldier (Errol). Drugs and guns defined his youth. He has since recovered from his corrupt childhood and went on to write a book about his experiences. Hundreds of thousands of kids under the age of 18 share the same fate as Beah, but overcoming their past is not as easy. The use of children in war is a cruel military tactic that is being used worldwide in countries such as Chad, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, etc. Child soldiers need to be saved immediately because they are in extreme danger, they lose their education, and being a child soldier has many lasting psychological consequences.

Do you think it’s safe to constantly be in a war zone and while the effects of all sorts of mind altering drugs make you kill? Up to about a quarter million child soldiers are being used (“Facts About Child Soldiers”). That’s enough kids to fill two and a half football fields. In the past decade, an estimated two million children have been killed in armed conflict. Three times as many have been permanently disabled or seriously injured. According to UNICEF they are punished if they show any emotion and ultimately are stripped of all feelings. They use children because they can be easily manipulated (Errol). When taken the boys are given a variety of drugs usually consisting of brown brown, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, or tranquilizers. These drugs get rid of their pain and put them through hallucinations. The combination of drugs and stripped emotions creates perfect war machines, but the drugs are also extremely dangerous. Beah explains “Shooting became just like drinking a glass of water,” (Errol).

Our adolescent years are spent learning about algebra and physics, but the only thing child soldiers are learning about is how to kill someone. Child soldiers are denied of their education. They lose a lot of school time while participating in the battles. Also “children are most likely to become child soldiers if they are poor,” (“Facts About Child Soldiers”) so even after the being freed the families of the child soldiers can rarely afford to catch up in their education. This lack of education can greatly impact their futures and make it hard for them to find jobs. Schools are also destroyed in these conflicts making it hard even for kids that aren’t child soldiers to learn. Those that aren’t destroyed become very disorganized (Jayatunge and Somasundaram). So the use of child soldiers affects all the children in the countries learning, and this can be a real burden for a country’s economy, especially if the country is developing. Obviously, this is a problem from an learning standpoint.

Some people claim that UNICEF is having enough done to save and rehabilitate the children that had been previously used in war. One can not deny that UNICEF is doing a lot such as rescuing child soldiers, rebuilding schools, and reuniting families. However, this is not enough. UNICEF needs to make stopping the use of child soldiers top priority. These children’s’ futures are be ruined. The more we can help, the better. Their futures depend on the help they can get from organizations like UNICEF, thus we need to do all we can to help the victims of the disaster and in the long run, diminish the using of child soldiers as a military tactic.

Once the children have been liberated their problems are finally over…ish. The kids have no emotion and it’s hard to get it back. UNICEF states that around 10 million kids are psychologically traumatized after being a part of these conflicts. The children are often forced to kill their parents in order to make sure that there is no returning. Most kids can’t get to rehabilitation, some even get re-recruited (Jayatunge and Somasundaram). They have nowhere to go. Those that do make it to rehab rarely come out fixed. Beah says “We often beat up the doctors, specialists and nurses,” (Errol). It’s hard to live a normal life when your past is filled with guns. Beah states “I was lucky to be rehabilitated,” (Errol). Most of the kids are lost forever.

This is, without a doubt, a giant problem. It is affecting an abundance of countries worldwide. The kids are abused, suffer from the absence of education, and are traumatized. It is an extremely dangerous problem. It is affecting the lives of many and, as stated earlier, around 2 million people are being killed in the fighting. This is a problem that must be stopped. To make a difference we need to do two things. Help spread the word and inform people of the hardships happening all around the world, and tell UNICEF, President Obama, Congress, etc. that more actions must be taken to help the children of war. Their futures depend on us.

Citations



Barnett, Errol, and Eoghan Macguire Contributed to This Report. “Ex-child-soldier: ‘Shooting Became Just like Drinking a Glass of Water’” CNN. Cable News Network, 09 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/08/world/africa/ishmael-beah-child-soldier>.



Jayatunge, Ruwan M., Dr., and Daya Somasundaram, Prof. “Psychosocial Problems of Child Soldiers – I.” Psychosocial Problems of Child Soldiers – I. N.p., 11 May 2012. Web. 4 Feb. 2013. <http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Psychosocial_problems_of_child_soldiers_I_20120510_02>.



“Facts About Child Soldiers | Human Rights Watch.” Facts About Child Soldiers | Human Rights Watch. N.p., 3 Dec. 2008. Web. 5 Feb. 2013. <http://www.hrw.org/news/2008/12/03/facts-about-child-soldiers>.