A Deeply Disturbing Social Issue: The World of Child Soldiers
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If war itself isn't enough of a shame to humanity, the use of child soldiers should surely mortify our race. According to Human Rights organizations, somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 children worldwide are currently involved in armed conflicts. While it is often assumed that rebel groups are the most prevalent conscriptors, various government entities have also been guilty of using children in their armies.
This deeply disturbing social issue is not only a problem affecting boys. In some parts of the world, as many as a third of those who have been abducted or coerced into military conflict are girls. Some are as young as eight when they are taught to kill, or are sent out ahead of adult troops as human "mine-detectors."
Forced to witness unspeakably violent acts, and sometimes to perpetrate them on their own families to ensure their loyalty to the army and inability to be rehabilitated into their former communities, these children soon find it easy to kill.
Ishmael Beah was 12 years old when Sierra Leone's brutal, decade-long civil war reached his village in January 1993, resulting in his enslavement to the government army. Fourteen years later, he has recorded his story in A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. This moving story of a young man who lost his childhood but gained wisdom and understanding beyond his years is reviewed by Vision writer, Michelle Steel, in Repercussions of Revenge.
"Ishmael gives a human face to the child soldiers currently involved in conflicts around the world," says Steel. "While an increasing volume of literature is available on the subject, his accessible firsthand account enables the reader to empathize in a way that is rare in academic studies." She adds, "Though each experience is unique, Ishmael's easy writing style provides a tangible window into the world of child soldiers."
Author, Kristin Gabriel, writes articles on current issues in society and culture for Vision Media. More information about these and other topics can be found at http://www.vision.org.
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