Guns for Toys

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here are quickly stripped of their innocence. “ (Paulat). What is upsetting about this, just like the Philippines and Africa is that it is a societal norm. It is also encouraged by family members for these children to fight for their country. “Girls are used for sexual slavery as well as slave labor; meanwhile boys are quickly forced into murder, torture and mutilation, to strip them of any semblance of mercy.” (Paulat). The worst part about this for children soldiers is that they are forced into this lifestyle without any choice. The girls are stripped of their dignity and their respect through being slaves of sex, and the boys are taught that murdering others that don’t agree with them is okay. The children soldiers are taught to believe that this lifestyle is okay and they are stripped of their childhoods and innocence. Except, more important they aren’t aware of what compassion is.

With these different countries, they all have similar things in common. That is the children being forced into it, whether it is because their family requires it or it is because the child was abandoned. “Many abandoned children joined regiments, while the youngest child in large families was often also entrusted to them. They became so-called “lost children”, who often served in the front ranks and the most exposed positions. In this way, they “paid their debt” to society.” (Vautravers). All children that were recruited weren’t really cared about, except abandoned children had the worst jobs. They were put onto fields on purpose to die. “Today, a majority of child soldiers are found not in regular national armies, but rather in armed groups, guerrillas, paramilitary or military forces organized by dissident or secessionist movements, by terrorist organizations or organized crime.” (Vautravers). This statement is very important because it is not the government who is forcing the children soldiers into this horrible childhood, it is the black market type armies, and the more gang related type armies with war. “In any case, the difficulty of tracing these children once they have been recruited, reuniting them with their families and reintegrating them in their community poses extraordinary demands on humanitarian organizations. (Vautravers). Even though the children are usually stripped of their compassion, innocence, and stripped from their childhood, there is always hope that these children are reunited with their families, except it is very hard given that it is difficult to trace where the children came from.

In conclusion, the tactic that has been going across nations is children soldiers. Being a child soldier is never something that a kid wants to live up to, unless it becomes a societal norm like listed with - Africa, Philippines, and Colombia. What is the most crucial point that needs to be taken accounted for is that these children are stripped from their childhood, innocence, and their compassion. When you think of one’s childhood, the first thing that comes to your mind is your innocence and your compassion towards everyone and anyone. If a child is taken away from their childhood, then they will have psychological problems for the rest of their life. Therefore, these children soldiers go through the toughest obstacles without even knowing what they’re doing.

Bibliography

Paulat, Lizabeth. "Five Countries Where Child Soldiers Still Exist." Truthout. N.p., 29 June 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

"10 Shocking Facts about Child Soldiers in Africa." Answers Africa. N.p., 18 June 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

"Children as Soldiers." Children as Soldiers. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

"CHILD SOLDIERS: THE INNOCENT VICTIMS OF ARMED CONFLICTS. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.