“Amnesty is as good for those who give it as for those who receive it. It has the admirable quality of bestowing mercy on both sides.” -Victor Hugo. Forgiveness is a natural part of life. We have very limited control over what others do, and even less over what people think, and the least amount of control on people’s actions. Some people act out of violence, but others act out of hope, deception, or love. As a matter of fact, Child Soldiers are some of those people. They are placed into war, killing opposing men, saving whomever they can, and can be seen as threats. But I believe we should forgive them-- grant them amnesty. Think and answer to yourself-- if you had to choose between losing your life, or the life of someone you love, and joining an army and killing your family, which would you really choose? …show more content…
Child Soldiers have no control. Either they choose life-- joining the war, or they and their family die. Sometimes, children choose to go into the war because they believe they will have shelter, food, protection, and safety. In one article-- Children in Somalia Facing War Crimes-- states “Al-Shabab is also using increasingly threatening recruitment methods, luring children with the promise of phones, money . . .” They are deceived into believing that they will be impervious and wealthy, when really, they are being constantly lied to. They are promised a better life for them and their families, targeting the victim where the recruiter knows is a soft spot. When one loves someone, a family member or friend, they will go great lengths to help them. “Children are forced by commanders through false promises . . . Children are often forced into fighting through false promises. . . . They have no choice, if they don’t fight they’re killed, if they fight they kill.” (Summative Essay 4/Child
There is no exact known number of children currently being utilised in warfare worldwide. The issue of the military use of children is so widespread that no figure can be calculated, although it is estimated that there are currently over 250,000 child soldiers across the world. Many are drugged and brainwashed into murder, many are forced to sever all ties with their family or watch them die. Most are faced with a simple choice: kill or be killed. Although the notion of child soldiers is vastly alien to contemporary Australian society, it is a reality in many parts of the world. ISIS have been known to employ the use of children in warfare and over 30,000 children have been abducted into the Lord’s Resistance Army for military purposes. It
...t they are easy to access; they are low cost, and easy to manipulate. When children are on the battlefield fighting for their lives, they become more violent and tend to do more killing than usual, raping girls, and torturing others. The armies, militia, and rebel groups recruit the children and separate the community to resist the conscription. The child is being forced to commit murder and turn against their family and friends because this proves that the child is recognized and implicated in the violence they have created. Child soldiers are known to be criminals, traitors, or even terrorists, so they would be held in military prisons. When either girl or boys are captured they go through abusive interrogation procedure, torture, isolations, rape, and death threats. These are the consequences of children being on the battlefield and shortly after being captured.
Children at such a young age don't have the mental ability to think long term about their actions, especially when they are being forced or drugged. Some may argue that if child criminals get punished for their actions, then child soldiers should too, but that is just not the case. The difference being, child criminals choose to commit their crimes, child soldiers are forced to commit crimes. As an example, in the article Child Soldiers it states, “More often than not, children have no say in whether they enlist or not and once recruited the children have become brainwashed through the use of drugs and alcohol” (Child Soldiers).
First of all the child soldiers/suicide bombers are located in many different continents all around the world. The majority is based in the Middle East and Africa: Burma, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Congo, Liberia, and also Sierra Leone (British Broadcasting Corporation World Watch). Being poor, disconnected from their families, or get a poor to no education make them more likely to become victims (Human Rights Watch). Girls make up an estimated 10-30% of the child soldiers in Uganda and Nepal (Do Something). Some join because they are too young to realize the consequences that war may bring upon them, and want to be a part of the army because of the weapons they use and uniforms they wear. Being bathed, fed, and properly clothed is another reason for them wanting to be a part of these groups, in which they would not receive during their every-day lives (British Broadcasting Corporation World Watch). The children that survive the war are captured by the rebel groups and are then converted into child soldiers, along with the kids who had just...
A child soldier is a child who has been abducted and forced to fight in a conflict in which they would not typically be involved in. Child soldiers have their relatively normal childhood taken away if they are abducted. Instead of playing with the other children, they are forced to murder them. Many are forced to watch the people they once knew be tortured and they may even take part in the act. Child soldiers are internationally banned, yet many countries still utilize them to this day. Uganda is one country in which they are used. The use of children in armed combat in Uganda sheds light on the fact that the concept of power is indeed a double-edged sword.
Before it can be decided whether or not to forgive child soldiers, the question, “What is a child soldier?” must be asked. A child soldier, is a person under the age of 18 who is being used, and most often being forced, to fight other people. Some may ask, “How can you force a child to fight if they do not want to?” A better question to ask would be, “Who wants to?” you may think that no child would want to fight, but in their shoes it might be a different story. They have probably lost everything; their homes, food, water, and their safety, so when they see the opportunity to have these things again- they are going to take it. Which is my first reason child soldiers should be forgiven and given amnesty on certain levels. Also, after
In the world, there are about 300,000 children recruited as child soldiers (Hill 1). One-third of this number of children fight and serve for the government military or rebel groups in Africa (Hill 1). “According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, child soldiers are defined as all children engaged in hostilities under age 18. Although they are under 18, the roles of children in armed conflict are not limited because of their young age. Some children fight on the front lines of combat. Others perform manual labor, such as digging trenches, working in the kitchen, or carrying food, ammunition, or other supplies, often for long distances. Still others, primarily female children and adolescents, are reduced to sexual servants for military and rebel leaders” (Hill 1).
Child soldier is a worldwide issue, but it became most critical in the Africa. Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by some rebel groups and used as fighters, cooks, messengers, human shields and suicide bombers, some of them even under the age of 10 when they are forced to serve. Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically become obedient soldiers. Most of them are abducted or recruited by force, and often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. As society breaks down during conflict, leaving children with no access to school, driving them from their homes, or separating them from family members, many children feel that rebel groups are their best chance for survival.
Many child soldiers willingly join the armed forces. In their eyes, it is to follow in their families footsteps. In “ Child Soldier.Some words don't belong together.” It states that, “Children join for ideological reasons or to avenge the death of a family member,” Also, “Contrary to popular belief, a large portion of child soldiers volunteer,” And finally, “ did not turn them away when they came eager to fight,” However, children join willingly to avenge the death of a family member. Children would do anything to get revenge or save their family. Thus, makes them dangerous because they won't stop until they succeed in what they set out to do.
Throughout the world children younger than 18 are being enlisted into the armed forces to fight while suffering through multiple abuses from their commanders. Children living in areas and countries that are at war are seemingly always the ones being recruited into the armed forces. These children are said to be fighting in about 75 percent of the world’s conflicts with most being 14 years or younger (Singer 2). In 30 countries around the world, the number of boys and girls under the age of 18 fighting as soldiers in government and opposition armed forces is said to be around 300,000 (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 1). These statistics are clearly devastating and can be difficult to comprehend, since the number of child soldiers around the world should be zero. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands adolescent children are being or have been recruited into paramilitaries, militias and non-state groups in more than 85 countries (“Child Soldiers: An Overview” 1). This information is also quite overwhelming. Child soldiers are used around the world, but in some areas, the numbers are more concentrated.
These are the words of a 15-year-old girl in Uganda. Like her, there are an estimated 300,000 children under the age of eighteen who are serving as child soldiers in about thirty-six conflict zones (Shaikh). Life on the front lines often brings children face to face with the horrors of war. Too many children have personally experienced or witnessed physical violence, including executions, death squad killings, disappearances, torture, arrest, sexual abuse, bombings, forced displacement, destruction of home, and massacres. Over the past ten years, more than two million children have been killed, five million disabled, twelve million left homeless, one million orphaned or separated from their parents, and ten million psychologically traumatized (Unicef, “Children in War”). They have been robbed of their childhood and forced to become part of unwanted conflicts. In African countries, such as Chad, this problem is increasingly becoming a global issue that needs to be solved immediately. However, there are other countries, such as Sierra Leone, where the problem has been effectively resolved. Although the use of child soldiers will never completely diminish, it has been proven in Sierra Leone that Unicef's disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration program will lessen the amount of child soldiers in Chad and prevent their use in the future.
Today, an estimated three hundred thousand children under age eighteen are participating in armed conflicts worldwide. Thousands more face recruitment or are members of armed forces and groups not presently at war.(McManimon) The life of a child soldier is filled with terror, violence, horrible living conditions, lack of proper sanitization and poor nutrition. Though being a soldier at first may seem like the child’s “escape” from the poverty they live in because of the promises that are made to them, most children are brought into situations that are often worse then what they were already living in. The children involved in these situations lose their basic human rights, are abused emotionally and physically, and are treated like slaves forced to do activities that even adult soldiers would never want to do. Such activities include killing their own family members, their neighbours, even having to kill their own friends. Government organizations and non-governmental organizations work hard to try and prevent the selling of children and the transportation of children into the world of being a child soldier. Governments and high power governmental groups create international laws to be implemented however there is still an on going battle to find ways to completely stop the abduction and use of child soldiers.
Locally, child soldiers are uncommon, but in other places such as the Middle East, the use of children as fighters becomes noticeable. These kids are inexperienced at using a weapon, so this can be dangerous or deadly to themselves and others. Child soldiers are not perpetrators because they have the choice to kill others, which means they are criminals, but if they are forced to, then they are victims. Children shouldn’t be forced to become soldiers before being given drugs.
Annie Harter Mrs. Gibson Honors English II 10 April 2024 Gardens, Plants, and Flowers In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald refers to gardens, plants, and flowers. Narrated by Nick Carraway and set in the “Roaring Twenties” where extravagance meets corruption, these greeneries contrast and symbolize the harsh and hidden themes of the novel’s era. The reference to gardens, plants, and flowers communicates the theme of the American Dream and the corruption hiding beneath the Jazz Age. Jay Gatsby, in his large mansion in West Egg Long Island, NY, throws decadent parties with large feasts, orchestras, and glamorous decor. He watches his parties for the season from his overlooking window in hopes that one day his true love and happiness, golden girl Daisy
Many child soldiers are taken away from their families, majority of them being taken away after school or just stolen from their own homes (O’neill, 2007. pg.1). Kids tend to not fight back because they don’t want to risk their