Gun Toting Tots

Think about your child, now think about them armed and going to war. All over the world, children are forced to go to war and are physically abused. Forcing kids to go to war is against human rights and kids shouldn’t suffer the horror of war. Even if children want to go, they are not mentally mature and/or physically fit enough for combat.

Over 300,000 children are in the armed forces and are often recruited by rebellion armies. A lot of children are committing suicide, due to the intense circumstances out in the battle field. Their leaders also abuse them and force them to do horrible things like clearing landmines and kill their own family. In addition, kids are drugged with stuff like cocaine to make them more alert and feel less pain. They are taught to kill without mercy and have complete loyalty to their commander. Not only do they make them do atrocious things, but they treat them like paper; cheap and expendable. Most children who joined an army are often kidnapped and taken to training camps far away against their own will. If they resisted, they would be beaten. Some join willingly due to poverty, alienation, and/or discrimination.

A young tot in war is just wrong and kids should not experience the abuse of cruel leaders and bear the burden of war, whether they want to or not. There are many groups against child soldering, like “The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers” and you can support them or you can encourage your government to do something about it. Whether it’s the 100 year war or a short battle, kids are definitely not meant for armed conflict.

Jeff N.