Child Soldiers: wrong or justifiable?
Ben Adkins
Mr. Steven Hahn
10th Grade Literature
10/18/2013
Child Soldiers: Morally sickening or justifiable? The stop of the practice of recruiting child soldiers would increase the standard of morals throughout the world. It is estimated that there are as many if not more than 300,000 child soldiers around the world. Since 2001 and as of 2008, child soldiers have participated in 21 on-going or recent armed conflicts in almost every region of the world. Ranging from ages of 8 to 15, child soldiers are raped, abused, and sometimes even sent on suicide missions if they haven't died from the hardship put on a child in the military. 40% of child soldiers are recruited by force and many times forced to kill their family so that they don't have anything to come back to if they escape from the military. Although many countries still practice the recruiting of children, I believe stopping this practice will cause benefits to society, child soldiers lives, and quality of the protection of the country that stops this practice. If a country stops the practice of enrolling children in their army, it will benefit their society. By stopping this practice, it will decrease the amount of acts of terror by child veterans.
Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz says, “involvement in acts of extreme violence and exposure to horrific situations may desensitize them (child soldiers) and make them more likely to commit violent acts and separate them from society”. I believe that governments of countries, that have just recently stopped the recruitment of children to their militaries, need to make rehabilitation programs available to child soldiers. Also, children of countries, who heavily participate in the recruitment of children, must live their lives in never-ending paranoia. Because of their paranoia, they are fearful of connecting with society. Some child veterans never get over this paranoia and are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Due to child soldiers
Mr. Steven Hahn
10th Grade Literature
10/18/2013
Child Soldiers: Morally sickening or justifiable? The stop of the practice of recruiting child soldiers would increase the standard of morals throughout the world. It is estimated that there are as many if not more than 300,000 child soldiers around the world. Since 2001 and as of 2008, child soldiers have participated in 21 on-going or recent armed conflicts in almost every region of the world. Ranging from ages of 8 to 15, child soldiers are raped, abused, and sometimes even sent on suicide missions if they haven't died from the hardship put on a child in the military. 40% of child soldiers are recruited by force and many times forced to kill their family so that they don't have anything to come back to if they escape from the military. Although many countries still practice the recruiting of children, I believe stopping this practice will cause benefits to society, child soldiers lives, and quality of the protection of the country that stops this practice. If a country stops the practice of enrolling children in their army, it will benefit their society. By stopping this practice, it will decrease the amount of acts of terror by child veterans.
Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz says, “involvement in acts of extreme violence and exposure to horrific situations may desensitize them (child soldiers) and make them more likely to commit violent acts and separate them from society”. I believe that governments of countries, that have just recently stopped the recruitment of children to their militaries, need to make rehabilitation programs available to child soldiers. Also, children of countries, who heavily participate in the recruitment of children, must live their lives in never-ending paranoia. Because of their paranoia, they are fearful of connecting with society. Some child veterans never get over this paranoia and are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Due to child soldiers