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Child Soldiers

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Submitted By linzygallon
Words 486
Pages 2
Linzy Gallon
March 15, 2013
Comp II
Analysis paper

All throughout history and in many cultures, children have been heavily involved in military campaigns. The fate of many children’s lives are tragically decided when they are lured and in most cases forced to participate in child militant. There are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers across the world today (Williams, 2013) . On March 5, 2012 a viral video project KONY launched pulling in over a million viewers in a matter of a few of weeks (Neylon, 2012) . Helping to raise awareness of child soldering, the KONY project targeted one individual Joseph Kony, a war criminal wanted for many crimes against humanity. In this analysis paper the struggle of child soldiers and how this world wide problem is being handled will be discussed. One question that is often asked is how could this be happening? How is it possible to create a child army? The essence of a child’s innocence can be disfigured into mindless brainwash. “Children affected by armed conflict can be injured or killed, uprooted from their homes and communities, internally displaced or refugees, orphaned or separated from their parents and families, subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation, victims of trauma as a result of being exposed to violence, deprived of education and recreation, at risk of becoming child soldiers.” (Mahcael, 2013) With children being so receptacle to influence due to development not yet reached, it is so much easier to control a child in development rather than an adult that has already achieved a level of independent thinking. Awareness of child soldiers and its effects are being brought to light by various organizations such as Invisible Children and WarChild.org. KONY 2012 which started out as an experiment rallied thousands to Washington DC to discuss what was being done to capture war criminal Joseph Kony and his rebel army. WarChild,org is also actively working with former child soldiers to help reintegrate children back into society by providing education, counseling, and health services targeted especially for girls who are seen too often as damaged goods.
In conclusion, Child militant is an issue that is being taken all too lightly. Wars have been going on since the beginning of time and too often children are forced to participate in battles they know nothing about. The lasting effects on these children involved with senseless wars are felt long after physical scars have healed. Non-profit organizations such as Invisible children and WarChild.org are a blessing in helping secure a more prosperous future for our youth taking on the problems of their forefathers.

Works Cited
Mahcael, G. (2013). Retrieved from child-soldier.org: http://www.child-soldier.org/
Neylon, S. (2012, 3 7). Retrieved from theyorker.co.uk: http://www.theyorker.co.uk/news/citynews/10807
Williams, R. (2013). Retrieved from warchild.org: http://www.warchild.org.uk/issues/child-soldiers (Army, 2012)
(UK, 2013)

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