You are a 10 year old boy walking home from school, not knowing that you would be abducted less than 5 minutes later, which will change your whole life. You would never see your family again and you will do things that you would never have thought of doing just to stay alive. You are almost home, the closest you will ever be to home again in your lifetime and then out of nowhere a bag is thrown over your head. You wake up in a camp and there are kids everywhere and this is where you will spend the rest of your life.
Child soldiers are being used daily to fight country's wars. The use of child soldiers is debatable, but whether they are the perpetrators or not is the real question.The use of child Soldiers is something that has been looked down upon in the past, but countries still use them because they want to get as many people as possible to fight for them. Governments are sending 13 year olds into the streets with AKs and sending them into battle to fight their problems. The kids are manipulated into joining the army, they are drugged, kidnapped, threatened to join the army, but some children actually join the army out of free will, but that is because they are lied to and they do not know what they are getting into. They are told that they will make money, eat, and have a good shelter but none of that is true. Child Soldiers are the victims because they are drugged to become a soldier, threatened, and they have lack of knowledge when joining on free will.
At first, when a child first joins the camp or army, they are drugged with cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and gunpowder(http://reliefweb.int/report/liberia/liberiasierra-leone-warlords-reap-childrens-war).They are “brainwashed” because of the amounts of drugs they are given and after a while they start to have to rely on their commander to provide them with their basic needs. The children are given drugs and alcohol so that they are more compliant and to enable them to commit acts that they would not normally commit. Like killing a whole village, or going into battle. The children are so vulnerable that it is easy to just give them drugs and turn them into killers. They are not thinking straight while on the drugs which makes them vulnerable to take commands from their commander that include going into battle which makes them the victims. This is how child soldiers are drugged to do the things that they do.
More importantly, they are considered victims is because they're being threatened to do so. For example, child soldiers are typically forced into fighting and have little choice on either they enlist or not. This creates a forceful attitude and the reason why child soldiers should be considered victims. For example child soldiers should be considered victims because, “Many child soldiers are compelled to follow these orders under threat of severe punishment or death,” (https://www.hrw.org/topic/childrens-rights/child-soldiers). This shows that child soldiers are often forced and beat if they do not comply with the recruiters. Child soldiers, within countries that are in need, are also shown to follow commands more. This is also because they are forced to yield, and the reason child soldiers should be considered victims.
In addition, child soldiers should be considered victims because they are manipulated, or uninformed from a young age. Usually their families have been murdered, and they have hit rock bottom. They are then recruited, or even threatened,or compelled into becoming child soldiers, where they then are manipulated by their leader and persuaded that they are safe. In many cases they see their leader as a father figure and do what he says as a son or daughter would do. They do this because it is all that they have left. In many cases the children are proud to have been served in armed groups, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty “Restoy says some children are actually proud to have served in armed groups that combated forces occupying their country”(http://www.rferl.org/a/islamic-state-child-fighters/26666558.html). Over two million children have been killed in battle and the number is still rising. That number is rising by the second because there are over 300,000 more child soldiers in battle at the moment.All in all the children are not responsible for their actions in most instances because they are manipulated and controlled.
To summarize the topic that child soldiers are the victims, the children who are forced and recruited into becoming child soldiers are manipulated, drugged, threatened, and uninformed. There is hope in the near future for child soldiers. There are many organizations that are trying to stop the usage of child soldiers. There are places that they can go to and recover from all of their hardships that they faced while being under the control of their commander. Although they did kill innocent people and fight in wars, there is still hope to bring the children back. The children may have committed the crimes, but they were under the influence of drugs and their commander. In their case it was kill or be killed, so they preferred to take a life to save their life due to the commander’s rule over them. They are the victims of war and should not be charged as perpetrators. They should not be charged for war crimes because they are underage, they are manipulated by their commanders, and most of all, they aren’t old enough to know what they are getting into. Child soldiers are the victims because they are drugged to become a soldier, threatened, and they have lack of knowledge when joining on free will.
Child soldiers are being used daily to fight country's wars. The use of child soldiers is debatable, but whether they are the perpetrators or not is the real question.The use of child Soldiers is something that has been looked down upon in the past, but countries still use them because they want to get as many people as possible to fight for them. Governments are sending 13 year olds into the streets with AKs and sending them into battle to fight their problems. The kids are manipulated into joining the army, they are drugged, kidnapped, threatened to join the army, but some children actually join the army out of free will, but that is because they are lied to and they do not know what they are getting into. They are told that they will make money, eat, and have a good shelter but none of that is true. Child Soldiers are the victims because they are drugged to become a soldier, threatened, and they have lack of knowledge when joining on free will.
At first, when a child first joins the camp or army, they are drugged with cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and gunpowder(http://reliefweb.int/report/liberia/liberiasierra-leone-warlords-reap-childrens-war).They are “brainwashed” because of the amounts of drugs they are given and after a while they start to have to rely on their commander to provide them with their basic needs. The children are given drugs and alcohol so that they are more compliant and to enable them to commit acts that they would not normally commit. Like killing a whole village, or going into battle. The children are so vulnerable that it is easy to just give them drugs and turn them into killers. They are not thinking straight while on the drugs which makes them vulnerable to take commands from their commander that include going into battle which makes them the victims. This is how child soldiers are drugged to do the things that they do.
More importantly, they are considered victims is because they're being threatened to do so. For example, child soldiers are typically forced into fighting and have little choice on either they enlist or not. This creates a forceful attitude and the reason why child soldiers should be considered victims. For example child soldiers should be considered victims because, “Many child soldiers are compelled to follow these orders under threat of severe punishment or death,” (https://www.hrw.org/topic/childrens-rights/child-soldiers). This shows that child soldiers are often forced and beat if they do not comply with the recruiters. Child soldiers, within countries that are in need, are also shown to follow commands more. This is also because they are forced to yield, and the reason child soldiers should be considered victims.
In addition, child soldiers should be considered victims because they are manipulated, or uninformed from a young age. Usually their families have been murdered, and they have hit rock bottom. They are then recruited, or even threatened,or compelled into becoming child soldiers, where they then are manipulated by their leader and persuaded that they are safe. In many cases they see their leader as a father figure and do what he says as a son or daughter would do. They do this because it is all that they have left. In many cases the children are proud to have been served in armed groups, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty “Restoy says some children are actually proud to have served in armed groups that combated forces occupying their country”(http://www.rferl.org/a/islamic-state-child-fighters/26666558.html). Over two million children have been killed in battle and the number is still rising. That number is rising by the second because there are over 300,000 more child soldiers in battle at the moment.All in all the children are not responsible for their actions in most instances because they are manipulated and controlled.
To summarize the topic that child soldiers are the victims, the children who are forced and recruited into becoming child soldiers are manipulated, drugged, threatened, and uninformed. There is hope in the near future for child soldiers. There are many organizations that are trying to stop the usage of child soldiers. There are places that they can go to and recover from all of their hardships that they faced while being under the control of their commander. Although they did kill innocent people and fight in wars, there is still hope to bring the children back. The children may have committed the crimes, but they were under the influence of drugs and their commander. In their case it was kill or be killed, so they preferred to take a life to save their life due to the commander’s rule over them. They are the victims of war and should not be charged as perpetrators. They should not be charged for war crimes because they are underage, they are manipulated by their commanders, and most of all, they aren’t old enough to know what they are getting into. Child soldiers are the victims because they are drugged to become a soldier, threatened, and they have lack of knowledge when joining on free will.