Ancient times
Denise: The historical background about Child Soldiers was children were set to be fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies or sexual purposes from the beginning of time. The main reason that children were child soldiers from the beginning of time was for survival. A famous time when being a child soldier was popular was in the 5th century B.C. in ancient Greece. King Lycurgus created a society that was much militarized, even after he died his people followed the laws he created and enforced. Spartans did not want their citizens to be thinking of fun, comfort or any happiness because they believed that this would lead to corruption and downfall of the country.
Officials would put baby girls and boys through fitness test at birth and if it was decided that if the baby was too weak the baby would be sent to the mountains to die. Its people thought that these babies’ would be useless to Sparta. At age seven the boys would be taken away from their family and were being put in military camps in the mountains and began a thirteen years of training. They would sometimes kill each other in practice battles. They were also sent to kill helots, and/or slaves. The leaders wouldn’t give them food so they could purposely steal, they would then be punished for being caught not for stealing. At the age of 20 the boys officially become warriors, when they weren’t in battles they were supposed to teach the younger boys.
This historical event was influential to my topic since child soldier’s start from ancient history. We now have governments and violent groups that recruit children in a similar way.
Officials would put baby girls and boys through fitness test at birth and if it was decided that if the baby was too weak the baby would be sent to the mountains to die. Its people thought that these babies’ would be useless to Sparta. At age seven the boys would be taken away from their family and were being put in military camps in the mountains and began a thirteen years of training. They would sometimes kill each other in practice battles. They were also sent to kill helots, and/or slaves. The leaders wouldn’t give them food so they could purposely steal, they would then be punished for being caught not for stealing. At the age of 20 the boys officially become warriors, when they weren’t in battles they were supposed to teach the younger boys.
This historical event was influential to my topic since child soldier’s start from ancient history. We now have governments and violent groups that recruit children in a similar way.
More Recent HISTORY...
Luis: Civilians have always suffered in war, but the difference today is that, in many present-day conflicts, children are the primary target. In the Americas since 1990, child soldiers have fought in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico (in the Chiapas conflict), Nicaragua, Paraguay, Perú, also Europe, Africa, the middle East and central Asia. The world that we know today, from the states that we live in to the technology that we use daily, has been greatly shaped by violent struggle. In particular, the once unimaginable targeting of children has become a widespread tactic for war and further newly strategies. In the last decade of warfare, more than two million children have been killed, a rate of more than 500 a day,or one every three minutes, for a full 10 years. To be alive in these times of tragedy was just guns, gore, and war for a child. In particular being a child soldier was giving up your childhood, family, and innocence, but also becoming a killer, warrior, fighter, soldier. Many child soldiers are recruited so young that they do not even know how old they are. Influences that have caused for the recruitment of child soldiers begun since the very beginning of history: conflicts over food, territory, riches, and power, according to the article (The New Faces of War) by: P.W. Singer . A child soldier doesn’t choose his/her path. According to the article (The New Faces of War) by: P.W. Singer, a young soldier was asked why he became a soldier and his response was, “The rebels told me to join them, but I said no. Then they killed my smaller brother. I changed my mind.” So basically as a child soldier, your family would die or survive depending on your decision and also depend if you live or die as well.