Child Soldiers: At The Burden Of Others
Child soldiers around the world are being heavily mistreated. They are taken from their families, forced to kill, and are required to do other atrocious tasks. Furthermore, they are put in deadly situations, feel small and useless in the world around them, and face real world troublesome issues. They experience cruelty, craziness, casualties, and begin a life in a world that begins to drastically change for them. These poor small children are treated as nothing, and never reach their full potential or able to fulfill their dreams of happiness For these reasons, child soldiers are victims. Nonetheless, not all people think this way. One side of the argument states that child soldiers are made to fight against their will and are victims. The other side of the argument states that child soldiers are guilty of the crimes they commit and are perpetrators. Alternatively, child soldiers are proven to be victims. As a matter of fact, they are not morally responsible for the actions they perform and should not be judged based on the decisions they make, they experience unfair treatment from others around them, and get brainwashed of what’s right and wrong in the world. What this results in children that live a life that they wish wasn’t true.
Some people say that child soldiers are perpetrators. They say that child soldiers are just like child criminals. “Child criminals are in the position of prosecution so why not child soldiers” (Johannesburg 2). What this evidence suggests and points to is that a child soldier is just like a child criminal. This heinous piece of evidence is to the contrary. Presently, many children that become child soldiers are not morally responsible for the actions they perform and do not have the same understanding of as adults do. A lot of the time, child soldiers are made to fight against their will and are forced to do things that are inhumane and scary for a child. “Child soldiers can be seen as nothing at a young age and over the last 10 years, 2 million children have been killed” (Gettleman 1). Children are mere victims, not perpetrators. In fact, they should not be treated as worthless human beings and should not be judged based on the decisions they make and what happens to them. “As for how child soldiers should be treated, rehabilitation should be the end goal, not punishment” (Johannesburg). Children should be given a chance to recover and become what they used to be, instead of immediately punished for things that might not have been all their fault. Not everything has to stay the same forever, as for child soldiers, they should be helped, not hurt. As for something so basic as to helping a child soldier become a better person can change their life, and sometimes, those around them. The absurdness of people’s struggle to help and save child soldiers has created a sense of the fact that there could be little to no hope left for child soldiers.
Omar Khadr, at the age of 15, had quite an experience as a child soldier. Khadr had killed a United States soldier, and was later taken on trial for killing the U.S. soldier. Consequently, Khadr was also seriously injured in the firefight. “He was half- blinded in one eye and had two bullet wounds to his chest” (Prasow). In other words, Khadr wasn’t the only one who was injured in the fight. Following the fight, Khadr was lied to during his interrogation and was not given fair treatment at all during his time as a child soldier. Child soldiers like Khadr go through a lot of troubles as well as grown adults, and shouldn't be treated as if they are perpetrators, but as children. An equally important child soldier, who went through a somewhat similar situation, Dominic Ongwen, faced many challenges as a child soldier like Khadar. Author Gregory Warner writes “When he was ten years old, he was abducted.” Warner also writes, “He had to follow the rules of the LRA and survive, or frankly, die.” These quotes show that many ordinary children can become child soldiers, and are forced to follow rules that are inhumane and cause the children to have and need “traumatized psychology” as well. All in all, these effects severely change the lives of child soldiers.
Throughout the process of being child soldiers, children are brainwashed and mistreated. They are pressured into doing drugs, sent on suicide missions, and are completely brainwashed of what’s right. “Child soldiers are manipulated from a young age” (Prasow). There are cases where child soldiers are not treated like normal children, rather as adults. In the contrary, this is not right way that child soldiers should be treated. “The drugs, often cocaine mixed with gunpowder, brainwash the children to the point where they would rather not escape from the horror unraveling around them” (Prasow). As stated earlier, the brainwashing and bad treatment they go through creates a corrupting and demoralizing effect that changes their life and the way they view the world. They are clearly not treated well at all and experience so many troubles as a child soldier.
In conclusion, child soldiers are definitely victims, not perpetrators. Child soldiers are forced to fight and are brainwashed of what’s right. Consequently, they become hurt or get killed in battle. They lose the way that their lives use to be. What happens on the battlefield changes them in more ways than one. Child soldiers have been defined by the way they act after years of being taught the wrong principles. They forget the meaning of love, laughter, and luxuries. These children get seriously hurt, have to follow strict orders, live an exhilarating life, and become killing machines. Despite this, there will always be some hope for a better, brighter, bigger future for child soldiers. And by doing so, child soldiers lives will be changed for the better. For now, it is up to us people to try and save the innocent lives of child soldiers and help them to grow and succeed as a normal person in a realistic, and normal world. But for now, this is not the case. Child soldiers are victims.
Some people say that child soldiers are perpetrators. They say that child soldiers are just like child criminals. “Child criminals are in the position of prosecution so why not child soldiers” (Johannesburg 2). What this evidence suggests and points to is that a child soldier is just like a child criminal. This heinous piece of evidence is to the contrary. Presently, many children that become child soldiers are not morally responsible for the actions they perform and do not have the same understanding of as adults do. A lot of the time, child soldiers are made to fight against their will and are forced to do things that are inhumane and scary for a child. “Child soldiers can be seen as nothing at a young age and over the last 10 years, 2 million children have been killed” (Gettleman 1). Children are mere victims, not perpetrators. In fact, they should not be treated as worthless human beings and should not be judged based on the decisions they make and what happens to them. “As for how child soldiers should be treated, rehabilitation should be the end goal, not punishment” (Johannesburg). Children should be given a chance to recover and become what they used to be, instead of immediately punished for things that might not have been all their fault. Not everything has to stay the same forever, as for child soldiers, they should be helped, not hurt. As for something so basic as to helping a child soldier become a better person can change their life, and sometimes, those around them. The absurdness of people’s struggle to help and save child soldiers has created a sense of the fact that there could be little to no hope left for child soldiers.
Omar Khadr, at the age of 15, had quite an experience as a child soldier. Khadr had killed a United States soldier, and was later taken on trial for killing the U.S. soldier. Consequently, Khadr was also seriously injured in the firefight. “He was half- blinded in one eye and had two bullet wounds to his chest” (Prasow). In other words, Khadr wasn’t the only one who was injured in the fight. Following the fight, Khadr was lied to during his interrogation and was not given fair treatment at all during his time as a child soldier. Child soldiers like Khadr go through a lot of troubles as well as grown adults, and shouldn't be treated as if they are perpetrators, but as children. An equally important child soldier, who went through a somewhat similar situation, Dominic Ongwen, faced many challenges as a child soldier like Khadar. Author Gregory Warner writes “When he was ten years old, he was abducted.” Warner also writes, “He had to follow the rules of the LRA and survive, or frankly, die.” These quotes show that many ordinary children can become child soldiers, and are forced to follow rules that are inhumane and cause the children to have and need “traumatized psychology” as well. All in all, these effects severely change the lives of child soldiers.
Throughout the process of being child soldiers, children are brainwashed and mistreated. They are pressured into doing drugs, sent on suicide missions, and are completely brainwashed of what’s right. “Child soldiers are manipulated from a young age” (Prasow). There are cases where child soldiers are not treated like normal children, rather as adults. In the contrary, this is not right way that child soldiers should be treated. “The drugs, often cocaine mixed with gunpowder, brainwash the children to the point where they would rather not escape from the horror unraveling around them” (Prasow). As stated earlier, the brainwashing and bad treatment they go through creates a corrupting and demoralizing effect that changes their life and the way they view the world. They are clearly not treated well at all and experience so many troubles as a child soldier.
In conclusion, child soldiers are definitely victims, not perpetrators. Child soldiers are forced to fight and are brainwashed of what’s right. Consequently, they become hurt or get killed in battle. They lose the way that their lives use to be. What happens on the battlefield changes them in more ways than one. Child soldiers have been defined by the way they act after years of being taught the wrong principles. They forget the meaning of love, laughter, and luxuries. These children get seriously hurt, have to follow strict orders, live an exhilarating life, and become killing machines. Despite this, there will always be some hope for a better, brighter, bigger future for child soldiers. And by doing so, child soldiers lives will be changed for the better. For now, it is up to us people to try and save the innocent lives of child soldiers and help them to grow and succeed as a normal person in a realistic, and normal world. But for now, this is not the case. Child soldiers are victims.