Child Soldiers
by Nooshin Shabani
Aisles inside large toy stores are the only place you may expect to see a gun in the hands of a child, and even then it's made out of plastic. Reality disagrees as children are forced to kill before they have reached their teens.
In almost every continent radical rebel groups and corrupted governments have continued to use young children in times of warfare. Often these children are manipulated by the false promises of a decent life made by groups who then proceed to use them as slaves and shields on the front line.
A child solder can be very useful to the group as their age of innocence makes them less suspicious to the enemy. Most child soldiers are between the ages of 13-16 but children as young as 7 have been reported to have been abducted.
The list is endless, Sudan, Uganda, Burma, Congo, India, Iran, Columbia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Israel, Rwanda, Laos - countries throughout the world have had a dark history and an even darker present in continuing to use child soldiers. Organizations such as the Lords Resistance Army in Uganda are renowned for waiting until night falls before marching into villages kidnapping children and forcing them to fight.
Just when you thought they have no choice in this matter they are given one- join us or die!
Groups tend to use children for tasks such as spying, combat, and training. The children are often brainwashed into ruthless fighting machines. As their senses are stripped along with their childhood they are raised to kill, trained to hate, and are filled with radical ideologies and drugs that leave their soul numb. It's not only boys who are trained up; in the deluded eyes of rebels they see girls as useful for both domestic and sexual purposes. Often girls are kept as sex slaves. Not all children are kidnapped and deceived into joining, some join for revenge against enemies who have murdered their loved ones.
War not only breaks families, it breaks young minds.
The UN estimates there are over 300,000 child soldiers across the world, Africa making up a third of this figure. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the first country to be tried at the International Criminal Court for the use of child soldiers. Thomas Lubanga, president of the Congolese patriots a radical political group who fought for power used children to kill Lendu ethic groups and used them to test landmines to see if they were active. Parents were also given a choice of donating money, a cow, or their children who were promised to be paid in dollars. Lubanga was flown to the Netherlands and is facing trial.
In the Americas Columbia is also a country which continues to use children as young as 7 as soldiers and have even give them a nickname. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), a rebel group who has a army of around 18,000 members, are made up of 30% children who are referred to as, 'little bees', as they sting the enemy before they know they are under attack, and also, 'little carts' as children can sneak weapons through check points. According to the American Federation of Teachers it has been reported that FARC have released a training video showing boys as young as 11 working with missiles. Columbia along with Zimbabwe had been reported as having had governments who back up opposition groups that use children as soldiers.
The optional protocol on the Convention of the Rights of the Child introduced by the UN General Assembly sets 18 to be the minimum age limit for recruitment and at the age of 16 children can volunteer but must deposit a binding declaration outlining safeguards. Using any child under the age of 15 as a solder is considered to be a war crime. Children are not always saved from the hands of rebels, and those who are fortunate enough to be rescued never fully recover. Many times they are ostracized within their own communities as 'being raised by murderers' these children are feared as a danger to society. Their own family may fear them.
Its not just third world countries that have child soldiers, we in the hegemonic states have another sort, child street soldiers. Guns which are made legal in the US have always been a big problem; they are sold on the streets and the black markets and eventually end up in the hands of the wrong people. In the UK gun crime is relatively low and guns are illegal, yet in recent months reports of child shootings have concerned youths as young as 15. As governments draw up action plans to tackle gun crime they are busy touring schools looking to recruit 16/17 year olds to join their army. Although these children are not old enough to vote they are old enough to fight, a contradiction in itself.
In parts of the Middle East children are asked to ride their bikes over minefields while wearing a key around their ankle so that if they were to be killed the gates of heaven would be open for them as they have the key. Using children in war can be traced back to ancient times - in ancient Greece man and boy couples were believed to be a more effective fighting force. Organizations such as Hitler Youth which were active during Hitler's rule in Germany, was perceived as being important to a child in the same way school is. However instead of learning about the world, they were taught lessons in grenade throwing and map reading.
In February 2007, 60 governments from around the world met in France and drafted the Paris Principles, a set of goals designed help end the use of child soldiers. Mr M. Philippe Douste Blazy, Foreign Minister of France opened the 'Let us free the children of war' conference saying, "Today its our common interest to break this vicious circle which continues to fuel the dragging on and spread the conflicts and profoundly handicaps any prospect of sustainable development."
Only time will prove if this statement is added to the collection of false promises made by governments, or whether MP's have finally realized even Hollywood blockbuster movies such as Blood Diamond are shamefully exposing this issue to the people more than they are.
Innocent minds which have not fully developed are easily manipulated. Ironically a child's mind is similar to an active landmine waiting to be triggered, and when it is the damage and impact can be immense.
To learn more see: http://www.un.org/children/conflict/english/childsoldiers21.html