External Media
This is a list of external media we have compiled that show first-hand experiences with child soldiers and other gruesome occurrences. Our hope is that by viewing these videos and pictures, you can learn the true barbarity of the world of child soldiers.
Videos
- Invisible Children - Invisible Children is a very powerful documentary made by young Americans who travel to Uganda. This film documents the true tragedies of young soldiers and how a 20 year war has devastated the entire country. Watching Invisible Children is truly a well presented experience that anyone can be interested in and that everyone should watch. A version of the film provided by the creators is available for free on Google Video. We highly recommend this film and encourage everyone to see it.
- A Duty to Protect is a short documentary highlighting the child soldier situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a very powerful documentary that will surely move anyone who watches it. Included are real footage of villages with child soldiers, interviews with former child soldiers, and even footage of current child soldiers in action.
- "Children of War" - This is an eyewitness slide show with audio from CNN that shows how children in Iraq are dealing with the war in their country. (full story)
- "Child Soldiers in Africa" - This is another eyewitness slide show with audio from CNN that serves as a great overview of the child soldier situation in the world as well as being a presentation of great impact on the viewer.
- Jon Stewart's Interview with Ishmael Beah - On February 14, 2007, Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone, appeared on The Daily Show discussing his memoir and his past as a child soldier in Sierra Leone.
Books
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah - A Long Way Gone is Ishmael Beah's personal story about being a child soldier. Beah has been in the news frequently in recent months and it is this book that is generating much-needed media attention to the topic of child soldiers.
- Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight by Rachel Brett and Irma Specht - Young Soldiers is about why children and young people choose to fight and leave their normal life behind. Included in the book are interviews of children and stories of being a soldier.