Child Soldiers

By Yueh-Ting Tsai

What is a Child Soldier

A Child Soldier is anyone one under
the age of 18 that is involved with
the armed forces.
They are used as mine detectors, sex
slaves, cooks, suicide bombers, front
line of defense, and Etc.

Global issue
Thailand

Afghanistan

Most third world are too poor to

afford a military as a result they use
children.
Congo

Iraq

Somalia
Sudan
Columbia

How they are recruited

Some Volunteer

Some Volunteer because they want to take revenge on the

people who have killed their family members.
Others are seeking refuge and they think that joining the army
would give them everything they need from shelter, food, water,
and protection.
In some parts of the country they join because it is a passageway
to honor their friends and families.

Others are forced

Some of the children have been kidnapped from their families by

the leader of the military.
They are then brainwashed and drugged to forget everything
from family to even their own name.
They are tortured at training camps for several weeks which
make them vulnerable.

How they are trained

These child soldiers are taken to
camp and are abused.
Their leader abuses them sexually,
emotionally, physically, and even use
chemicals on them.
They are also drugged with alcohol
amphetamines, marijuana, and
Brown Brown (cocaine with gun
powder)

Trained to Kill

Uganda

Palestine

Thailand

Liberia

Iraq

Why cant they leave

Too dependent on the drugs
These kids have been drugged so heavely that they are
depending on it and can only obtain it if they stay with
their commanders.
Intimidated by fear
Which include extreme punishments, death for
desertion , rejection upon return, and homeless.
Belief
Remember these are kids so that means that they dont
know a whole lot and what has happened to them can
really impact their beliefs. Some believe that killing is
good. Others think that what they are doing is for the
greater good.

How Can We Help

With rehabilitation centers. These are centers that help
child soldiers become more aware of what is right and
wrong also they teach the kids to do what normal kids do.
This is good because then they can live healthy. Also these
programs help with the brainwashing and drug addiction.
Two kinds of rehabilitation centers
There is the DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and
Reconciliation)
And the TTR (The Truth and Reconciliation Commissions)
Both or these rehabilitations have the same goal to help
children who have suffered and helping them live a healthy
and normal life. But they have different procedures.

Facts
recent United Nations estimation:
250,000 child soldiers worldwide
current Amnesty International count:
over 300,000 child soldiers
Both boys and girls are recruited
Get recruited at ages 7-18
More than 85 countries are involved
with this crisis