Introduction
Luis: The issue of child soldiers is not a new problem/continues/remains a threat to/is an example of. Lewis D. Eigen (year) discusses how child soldiers are unfortunately nothing new. This suggests that child recruitment into war situations is something that has been a problem for years and needs to be addressed. This applies to the issue of economics through/by (in what way) where children are recruited in poorer countries. For example, (provide an example from one of the journal articles or books, something that
someone says or happens that illustrates your point) ”Children are considered an economically efficient alternative to adult combatants. They are easily indoctrinated and are efficient fighters because they have not yet developed a concept of death (childandarmedconflict.un.org). The illustration shows how economics and age affect the recruitment of child soldiers. The child soldier did not make it’s way into international humanization discourse until 1977(Child Soldiers in Africa: A singular phenomenon? On the necessity of a historical perspective. By: Jean-Herve Jezequel). Child soldiers
wasn’t such an important issue internationally until the 1980s. “The rebels told me to join them, but I said no. Then they killed my smaller brother. I changed my mind,” -L, age 7 (The new faces of war PDF. By: P.W. Singer). The quote clearly shows how these
children were forced to join and if they didn’t, then their family members would pay the price by either killing or torturing them. “197 country entries document military recruitment legislation and practice, and child soldier use in hostilities by governments
and armed groups across the globe,” (Child-soldiers.org).
Most people think these child soldier issues only happen within a few countries, butthere are over 100 countries that practice this and are greatly affecting these children across the globe. “ It is estimated that some 300,000 children- boys and girls under the
age of 18- are today involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide,” as said by, Fact sheet:Child soldiers UNICEF, an organization that is against the use of child soldiers and protection of children/adolescents to these unfair conditions to war or childhood of a child. According to the article of America’s Child Soldiers, By: Ann Jones and Tompis Patch,“JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) captures youthful idealism and ambition, twists it, trains it, arms it and sets it on the path to war and is a rainbow coalition,” meaning that this program is scheme for the adolescents to join and get
recruited to the army, also this program is filled mostly with African-Americans and Hispanics, which is why the quote stated, “rainbow coalition” (Truthdig.com) meaning that JROTC is mainly located in lower conditioned neighborhoods where adolescents
are mostly to join and fall into this manipulation mindset of training for war/army. These issues are also happening locally in Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune reporter, Geoff Ziezulewicz, in his article (2nd Person Charged in attack a teen who refused to join a gang) said in his article,“Hussien was beaten and stabbed multiple
times in the neck and kidnapped with blindfolds only to be forced to join Ramirez’s gang, but Hussein refused even after the torture, after the horrific experience he was then tossed near a dumpster, however he was still alive and recovered in SINAI hospital.”
There are children younger than 16 or 15 being forced to join gangs and go to war in their own neighborhoods depending the different side or street these children live in. Another article by, Valeria Stratten Guerra(Child Soldiers, Gang Members) said, “While
America’s goodwill efforts have significantly impacted the health and safety of children across international borders, America’s own children have been suffering.” Meaning that even though America has been putting laws and rights for protecting it’s children, America is still having drastic tragedies with the violence the youth is being put into in specific places they live in. Who.INT (Healing Child Soldiers) said, Over 200,00 women and children have been raped since the onset of the conflicts,” not only are these children facing war, but also sexual abuse at such a young age, which no child should face ever. Elisabeth Schauer and Thomas Elbert are also part of an organization against child soldiers and in the website (Usip.org) they say,”Child soldiers are more often killed or injured than adult soldiers on the front line, are less costly and require few resources to equip with because of their small size.” Young children are viewed as less costly to their armies because of their cheap or innocence and are treated anyway they can be treated, because, “child soldiers are one of the most complex traumatized populations of children and adolescents,(Psych.nyu.edu: Ugandan child soldiers)” meaning the youth is the most affected in war or when in extreme conditions of violence within their country that is in conflict. These aren’t just the only issues a child soldier faces, according to Elisabeth Schauer, PhD director, said ”More than 2.5 million children have been orphaned or separated from their families because of war in the past decade.” Children being torn apart from their families and obligated to go to war and kill, fight and destroy. There are so many organizations fighting these harsh practices of child soldiers and recruitments at such a young age, but there is already one resolution that caught my attention and is the Child Soldiers: Preventing, Demobilizing and Reintegrating. This organization has helped Angola’s demobilizing exercise , which lasted from 1955 to 1977, was one of the most extensive in the history of the united nations. It was perhaps the 1st time that children were specific included in a peace process, meaning there was a change , but wasn’t as strong as before and it’s only up to us as the people of this world to actually take action to make a difference to save our children and make the world for the better for the upcoming generations, because if we don’t, then next day we are going to have wars, but instead of 14 through 17 year olds; we are going to have babies grabbing machine guns going to war!
someone says or happens that illustrates your point) ”Children are considered an economically efficient alternative to adult combatants. They are easily indoctrinated and are efficient fighters because they have not yet developed a concept of death (childandarmedconflict.un.org). The illustration shows how economics and age affect the recruitment of child soldiers. The child soldier did not make it’s way into international humanization discourse until 1977(Child Soldiers in Africa: A singular phenomenon? On the necessity of a historical perspective. By: Jean-Herve Jezequel). Child soldiers
wasn’t such an important issue internationally until the 1980s. “The rebels told me to join them, but I said no. Then they killed my smaller brother. I changed my mind,” -L, age 7 (The new faces of war PDF. By: P.W. Singer). The quote clearly shows how these
children were forced to join and if they didn’t, then their family members would pay the price by either killing or torturing them. “197 country entries document military recruitment legislation and practice, and child soldier use in hostilities by governments
and armed groups across the globe,” (Child-soldiers.org).
Most people think these child soldier issues only happen within a few countries, butthere are over 100 countries that practice this and are greatly affecting these children across the globe. “ It is estimated that some 300,000 children- boys and girls under the
age of 18- are today involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide,” as said by, Fact sheet:Child soldiers UNICEF, an organization that is against the use of child soldiers and protection of children/adolescents to these unfair conditions to war or childhood of a child. According to the article of America’s Child Soldiers, By: Ann Jones and Tompis Patch,“JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps) captures youthful idealism and ambition, twists it, trains it, arms it and sets it on the path to war and is a rainbow coalition,” meaning that this program is scheme for the adolescents to join and get
recruited to the army, also this program is filled mostly with African-Americans and Hispanics, which is why the quote stated, “rainbow coalition” (Truthdig.com) meaning that JROTC is mainly located in lower conditioned neighborhoods where adolescents
are mostly to join and fall into this manipulation mindset of training for war/army. These issues are also happening locally in Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune reporter, Geoff Ziezulewicz, in his article (2nd Person Charged in attack a teen who refused to join a gang) said in his article,“Hussien was beaten and stabbed multiple
times in the neck and kidnapped with blindfolds only to be forced to join Ramirez’s gang, but Hussein refused even after the torture, after the horrific experience he was then tossed near a dumpster, however he was still alive and recovered in SINAI hospital.”
There are children younger than 16 or 15 being forced to join gangs and go to war in their own neighborhoods depending the different side or street these children live in. Another article by, Valeria Stratten Guerra(Child Soldiers, Gang Members) said, “While
America’s goodwill efforts have significantly impacted the health and safety of children across international borders, America’s own children have been suffering.” Meaning that even though America has been putting laws and rights for protecting it’s children, America is still having drastic tragedies with the violence the youth is being put into in specific places they live in. Who.INT (Healing Child Soldiers) said, Over 200,00 women and children have been raped since the onset of the conflicts,” not only are these children facing war, but also sexual abuse at such a young age, which no child should face ever. Elisabeth Schauer and Thomas Elbert are also part of an organization against child soldiers and in the website (Usip.org) they say,”Child soldiers are more often killed or injured than adult soldiers on the front line, are less costly and require few resources to equip with because of their small size.” Young children are viewed as less costly to their armies because of their cheap or innocence and are treated anyway they can be treated, because, “child soldiers are one of the most complex traumatized populations of children and adolescents,(Psych.nyu.edu: Ugandan child soldiers)” meaning the youth is the most affected in war or when in extreme conditions of violence within their country that is in conflict. These aren’t just the only issues a child soldier faces, according to Elisabeth Schauer, PhD director, said ”More than 2.5 million children have been orphaned or separated from their families because of war in the past decade.” Children being torn apart from their families and obligated to go to war and kill, fight and destroy. There are so many organizations fighting these harsh practices of child soldiers and recruitments at such a young age, but there is already one resolution that caught my attention and is the Child Soldiers: Preventing, Demobilizing and Reintegrating. This organization has helped Angola’s demobilizing exercise , which lasted from 1955 to 1977, was one of the most extensive in the history of the united nations. It was perhaps the 1st time that children were specific included in a peace process, meaning there was a change , but wasn’t as strong as before and it’s only up to us as the people of this world to actually take action to make a difference to save our children and make the world for the better for the upcoming generations, because if we don’t, then next day we are going to have wars, but instead of 14 through 17 year olds; we are going to have babies grabbing machine guns going to war!
Denise: The issue of child soldiers is a problem that continues to affect us as a society rather than individually. Child soldiers are defined as children that are under the age of 18 who serve an armed force group that are being used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies, or sexual purposes. My reason for choosing this topic was because this issue isn’t talked about much and awareness is needed. I am passionate about this issue because children are the next generation who will decide how the future will be. If children have their innocence killed, they can then develop many psychological defects. If children develop brain disorders and/or die faster due to the violent exposure they will be creative a non-moral/uncivilized society and future. Because of theses violent exposures many children are dying because they are being exposed in violent situations or they develop a psychological problem that can make them commit suicide.
This issue affects society in general and people don’t have awareness even if it happens in their own communities. I would like to inform people about this issue because I feel like people don’t know or don’t pay attention to this issue even if it happens in front of their own eyes. I feel like people know this is happening in front of their own eyes and instead of helping these children, society judges them without knowing the background story of why they are doing what they're doing. The reason of why I believe that this topic should be addressed is because it's affecting me but mostly my significant others. I have family members that are constantly being pressured to become child soldiers for the cartels in Mexico. This issue has a critical importance to other people in the world who are different than me. This is an issue that happens for the most part everywhere in the world. Child soldiers don’t necessarily mean joining a legal armed force sometimes is joining illegal armed forces like cartels/gangs. Child soldiers are a serious problem that needs to solve, but first it needs to be addressed to many people, so children won't have the need to expose themselves in dangerous situations like child soldiers have gone through.
This issue affects society in general and people don’t have awareness even if it happens in their own communities. I would like to inform people about this issue because I feel like people don’t know or don’t pay attention to this issue even if it happens in front of their own eyes. I feel like people know this is happening in front of their own eyes and instead of helping these children, society judges them without knowing the background story of why they are doing what they're doing. The reason of why I believe that this topic should be addressed is because it's affecting me but mostly my significant others. I have family members that are constantly being pressured to become child soldiers for the cartels in Mexico. This issue has a critical importance to other people in the world who are different than me. This is an issue that happens for the most part everywhere in the world. Child soldiers don’t necessarily mean joining a legal armed force sometimes is joining illegal armed forces like cartels/gangs. Child soldiers are a serious problem that needs to solve, but first it needs to be addressed to many people, so children won't have the need to expose themselves in dangerous situations like child soldiers have gone through.