Did you know that there are wars taking place in our world right now that force children, who probably had nothing to do with starting the war, to fight in them?

Today, 300,000 children are soldiers.  They are either being prepared to fight in wars or are actually fighting wars in about 30 different countries around the world. How do children end up fighting in wars? Some children are kidnapped and forced to be soldiers. Other children go because of horrible threats against them or their families. A lot of child soldiers are very poor. Sometimes children want to go to war. They may believe that by working as a soldier they will be provided with food and other supplies. Some street children go to war because they have nowhere else to go. Some soldiers are as young as 5 years old. And girls as well as boys fight in wars.

Now you know why they go to war, but why would a country use children for soldiers? The children are powerless and fearful. They are easily controlled and will mostly do what they are told. Sometimes they give children drugs to make them overcome their fears to fight in the war. The children don't run away because they are told they will be killed if they do. And most of the child soldiers are too ashamed of the things they've done in the war to go home and face their families.

Children do many different things in war. They may carry supplies. Sometimes they are used as messengers or lookouts or even spies. They are useful because no one suspects little children can be dangerous. Weapons are easier for children to use today. Because of technology the guns are lighter and easier to use. Sometimes children in war are used as human mine detectors. Mines are bombs that are buried in the ground so that they blow up when someone steps there. They send in the children first so they'll blow up instead of the adult soldiers. Children have even been used as suicide bombers. This is when you put a bomb on yourself and blow up your enemy as well as killing yourself.

War is a horrible thing for everyone. But children should never have to fight wars that grown-ups started. They should be safe and happy at home and the adults should fight their own wars without using innocent children.

Citations

Websites

Global Movement for Children. "Global Movement for Children" 2002-2003  (February, 2002). <http://www.gmfc.org/index.html> (December, 2003).

Amnesty International. "War: A Child's Game?" <http://web.amnesty.org/pages/childsoldiers-index-eng> (February, 2004).

Magazines

Kowalski, Kathiann. "The Littlest Soldiers." Faces. September 2003: pp. 30-33.

Images

Images of house, pills, and globe from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag=1> 
Images free for non-profit and personal use. (October-February, 2003-2004). 

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