x Taylor Kent For years the use of child soldiers being put in the front line of battle is very evident. Children are slaughtered, raped, maimed, and exploited as soldiers. Children are forced by commanders through false promises, being drugged and brainwashed to kill innocent people, children, and even their own families. All throughout the world child soldiers has been frowned upon, as unacceptable and inhumane by the non extremist. Despite this, in the last 10 years over 2 million have been killed, over 1 million have been orphaned, over 6 million have been seriously injured, and more than half of child soldiers have been diagnosed with severe trauma. But, people still wonder if child soldiers should be responsible for their war crimes. I believe that child soldiers are victims of war because they are abducted, drugged and brainwashed, and put into a scenario that no child should have to go through. A significant reason why child soldiers are victims of war is because they are abducted from their homes. Norman Okello tells his experiences of being a child soldier to “The Telegraph”. In his interview he states, “The abduction took place as my father and I were sneaking back from the family rice field. Five soldiers surrounded us, wearing stolen Ugandan army uniforms, their telltale dreadlocks betraying their true identity.” He then was asked by the soldiers if this man was his father and quickly said no. He knew if he owned up to their question they would make him kill his father. His father was then brutally forced back to his home while Norman Okello was beaten with sticks and then taken away to start the very emotional and physical draining process of war. When children are kidnapped they are given the choice to kill or to be killed, “Mirror” states, “Abducted by the savage Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda he had a simple choice: kill or be killed” There are many approaches to becoming a child soldier as reported by CNN “Some children are kidnapped from their school or their beds, some are recruited after seeing their parents slaughtered, some may even choose to join the militias as their best hope for survival in war-torn countries.” It is not common to see a kid that free willingly hand themselves over to the militias. This shows that a child does not get to pick whether or not they want to go off to war, they are kidnapped from their what seems perfect lives to join the reality of war. The Main reason why child soldiers are victims is because they are drugged and brainwashed into doing things they would never think of. Ishmael Beah was one of the many thousand child soldiers, in his interview he tells SFGATE , “Brainwashed by his commanders, force-fed a mixture of cocaine and gunpowder called "brown brown," Beah was transformed into a killing machine.” Brown Brown is a form of cocaine mixed with smokeless gunpowder. Smokeless powder often contains nitroglycerin, a drug prescribed for heart conditions, which most likely causes vasodilation, permitting the cocaine to move more freely through the body. When they were abducted they were quickly full of fear at the idea of escaping the militia. In an article by The Guardian recounting the story of Edward, a boy that was taken at 13 years old got across that, “ abducted children were repeatedly forced to kill other children who attempted to escape, and were warned they would face the same fate if they tried.” The children are beyond scared they will do anything to stay alive which makes them very vulnerable to the commanders. Edward, a former long term abductee recalls, “They used to tell us that if we fought and overthrew the government than we shall get wealth and even the young soldiers would get high ranks in the army.” This evidence points to how the commanders bribe them with false promises to brainwash them. Not only were child soldiers false promised but they also were abducted from their homes against their will, and this is why they are considered victims. Another remarkable account why child soldiers are considered victims is because they are put in situations that no child should go through. On the page made by “Child Soldiers in DRC” tells the story of Kalami, “...to kill family, to cut up their bodies and eat them...Female soldiers were used as sexual slaves by the commanders.”This shows that the boys and girls were put into inhumane situations that they did not choose to be put in. CNN states, “... threatened to shoot a 13 year old girl unless she tied the testicals of a prisoner with wire. She complies and the captive died.” Child soldiers are victims of war and should not be considered perpetrators. The questions still remain, why are child soldiers being punished for the crimes they have committed during war, when they were drugged,brainwashed and in a bad state with no one to help them. They are hopeless. Regardless of how children are recruited and their roles, child soldiers are victims who participate in conflict that are draining for their physical and emotional well being. They are commonly subject to abuse and most of them witness killing, death, and sexual violence. Child soldiers are being put through vindictive scenarios and are losing their childhood forever to become soldiers of war. They should be full of joy because they get to play with their siblings instead of being tolerant to killing. I believe that child soldiers are victims of war because they are kidnapped from their town, drugged and brainwashed and put into situations no child should go through
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