The Horrible Effects of Being a Child Soldier

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Today there are at least 3,000,000 boys and girls under the age of 18 who are fighting as soldiers. At least 14 countries such as Colombia, Myanmar, and Afghanistan are by far the most well-known. Many are forced to become soldiers and are used to fight in terrible wars (‘Child soldiers: A worldwide scourge’). This can create trauma for them and completely ruin their lives. Children who become soldiers can be killed, kidnapped, and tortured in many ways. Many child soldiers are killed in the war. The children who survive the war can suffer from psychological trauma. The trauma can affect their social and cognitive development. After the war the children soldiers are released or try to escape, and they often try to get back to their families when possible. Child soldiers continue to suffer from the adverse effects of war when they return to do their education, rehabilitation and social integration processes. Children are traumatized by experiences such as frequent shelling, bombing, round-ups, deaths, injuries, destruction, shootings, and landmines. Studies focusing on Mozambique and Philippines report considerable psychological consequences. (Richman, 1988), (CRC, 1986), ('Psychosocial Problems of Child Soldiers') Park 2 Children and adults have the same effects from wars but suffer from it in many different ways because of their live long termed complex. Common symptoms include chronic suicidal preoccupation, self-injury, explosive anger, episodes, senses of helplessness and hopelessness, isolation, distrust and a loss of faith('Psychosocial problems of child Soldiers')... ... middle of paper ... ... country, another country, or for an individual purpose. Works Cited Will, Storr. "Kony's child soldiers: 'When you kill for the first time, you change'." The telegraph 12 Feb. 2014 -Sen, Arijit . "There Are at Least 500 Child Soldiers Fighting in Northeast India, and the World Hasn’t Noticed." Time 24 Mar. 2014 -Parry, Tom. "Tragedy of kidnapped child soldiers forced to kill or be killed by Joseph Kony's savage Lord’s Resistance Army." Mirror 16 Sept. 2013 -Becker, Jo. "Child soldiers: A worldwide scourge." Los Angeles Times 22 Mar. 2012: n. pag. Web. -Somasundaram, Daya , and Ruwan M. Jayatunge. "Psychosocial problems of child soldiers - I." Ministry of defence and Urban development. N.p., 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. <>. -"How Joseph Kony brainwashes child soldiers." INVISIBLE CHILDREN. N.p., 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. <>.

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