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Child Soldiers

Child Soldiers. Issues in Global Literature—Intermediate. 1861 US Civil War. Historical Tradition. 1914 WWI. 1964 Vietnam War. 1846 Mexican American War. 1967 Cambodia. 1918 Russian Civil War. 1943 Hitler Youth in Nuremburg. Contemporary Crisis. recent United Nations estimation:

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Child Soldiers

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  1. Child Soldiers Issues in Global Literature—Intermediate

  2. 1861 US Civil War Historical Tradition 1914 WWI 1964 Vietnam War 1846 Mexican American War 1967 Cambodia 1918 Russian Civil War 1943 Hitler Youth in Nuremburg

  3. Contemporary Crisis • recent United Nations estimation: • 250,000 child soldiers worldwide • current Amnesty International count: • over 300,000 child soldiers • in more than 85 countries • both boys & girls • ages 8 to 18

  4. Afghanistan A Global Issue Sri Lanka Congo Chechnya Thailand Nepal Sudan Iraq Columbia Somalia Palestine

  5. “The Perfect Weapon” • adults can resist warlords; children can’t • available in great numbers • easily manipulated • intensely loyal • fearless • expendable

  6. Exploitation • Recruited • propaganda • poverty • Abducted • kidnapped from families • taken from orphanages • Forced to serve • Uganda: Lord’s Resistance Army teaches child soldiers to burn huts and beat infants to death • Iran: child soldiers used to clear mine fields in 1980s • Palestine: children from the West Bank & Gaza used as suicide bombers "No one is born violent. No child in Africa, Latin America, or Asia wants to be part of war.” — Ishmael Beah at a Paris conference, author of A Long Way Gone

  7. Some Volunteer • promise of safety • sense of community • motivated by poverty & hunger

  8. Trained to Kill Thailand Liberia Uganda Iraq Palestine

  9. Child soldiers being trained in Thailand

  10. Fighting Adult Causes(Sometimes not knowing why) • End of colonial rule • Freedom challenged • Lawlessness • Criminal drives by warlords • resources • greed • power "There might have been a little rhetoric at the beginning, but very quickly the ideology gets lost, and then it just becomes a bloodbath ... a war of madness.” — Ishmael Beah

  11. Bound by Belief • commanders conjure spirits • magic & superstition • oils & amulets "The commanders would wear certain pearls and said that guns wouldn't hurt us, and we believed it.'' —Beah In the Congo, leaders told boys that if they ate their victims they would grow stronger.

  12. Intimidated by Fear • extreme punishments • death for desertion • rejection upon return • orphaned, homeless • no where else to go "These are brutally thuggy people who don't want to rule politically and have no strategy for winning a war.'' —Professor Neil Boothby Columbia University

  13. Weakened by Deprivation • separated from families • denied educational opportunities • denied health care • denied a childhood

  14. Fueled by Drug Use • amphetamines • marijuana • “brown brown” (cocaine and gunpowder) “I shot at everything that moved.” —Beah Drawing by former child soldier Ishamel A. Kamara, age 18.

  15. Trapped in Abuse • mental & emotional • physical • sexual • chemical 15-year-old soldier with her infant in Liberia

  16. Amputation Rebels called the amputation of just four fingers “one love” after the rastafarian phrase “thumbs up.” There are more than 6,000 amputees in Sierra Leone as a result of civil war. Former Liberian leader, Charles Taylor, is accused of backing a rebel group that cut off limbs, mutilated and raped thousands of civilians in Sierra Leone.

  17. Human Rights Groups’ Efforts • restore children to their families when possible • return to former communities • enroll in schools • place in homes Children at a mission school in Africa “It's ridiculous to appeal to human rights with these groups because they are so far on the criminal end of the spectrum.” —Victoria Forbes Adam Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers

  18. United Nations Involvement • UN passed protocols: no combatants under age 18 • US, UK, and other countries have not signed UN agreement • US allows 17 (parental consent) • UK allows 16 • UN military personnel: peace keeping

  19. Rescue, Rehabilitation & Hope Above: Maxwell Fornah and Victor Musa, members of the Single Leg Amputee Sports Club of Sierra Leone, Freetown April 2006.

  20. Small Group Discussion • What examples in US culture could you compare to the experience of child soldiers abroad? • What similarities do you see between your examples and child soldiers? • What differences do you see?

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