Alannah Francis All across the world, hundreds of thousands of children are forced to become child soldiers. They are numbed by the loud noise of gunfire and splatters of blood. They commit crimes to stay alive. Most importantly, when they come back from war, they face a dilemma. Recently, the new book, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier, has drawn attention to the issue of child soldiers.
148), the movement staged many protests against prejudiced Indian rights leading up to the siege at Wounded Knee. Wounded Knee was a rebellion of the extension of the White government control, by the Indians. The Whites established a government and military quickly after the colonisation of America that pacified the Indians in order to gain control of resources. This is the natural order of colonisation and with this idea combined with the fact that these Indians were educated (as by decree of the very same government), this caused the uprising against their White oppressors by the Indians, (Bodley, 1999, p.60). It seemed a disaster waiting to happen.
The Underdogs Throughout history when the people of an established society are upset with the government there is always pattern of reform. This was the case for the Demetrio and his band of rebels during the Mexican Revolution which began as united movement against the three decades of authoritarian leaders such as Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero, and finally Victoriano Huerta. However, Demetrio and his band did not set out for reform because of the same reasons. Each member of the group had a different reason that they wanted change within the Mexican government. Nevertheless, the purpose of Demetrio and his band of rebels was to get rid of authoritarian rule and make Mexico more like democratic America, but instead they lose track of what
In addition to learning disabilities, war also results in collective trauma at the family and community levels. According to Professor Daya Somasundaram and Dr. Ruwan M. Jayatunge, there is a breakdown of family and community processes, support structures, moral values and much more. As it can be seen, the use of child soldiers is building up a generation that may not be able to run a productive and prosperous society. So what does the future hold for child soldiers? Will there always be child soldiers?
Child Slave Labor news tells us that, “the children start to become numb to the wrongs that… it becomes so natural, they don’t even recognize the atrocious crimes they are committing.” Most of these children don’t want to be a part of these wars, so the militias they are fighting for have to resort to despicable acts, like torturing the kids into believing their cause. Some of them probably won’t ever be able to forget the acts they commit, and that’s if they even get out of the conflict alive. All over the world children have been involved in wars and conflicts for hundreds of years, but that needs to change. Using drugs, having no choice and being brainwashed are just some of the factors that make child soldiers not morally responsible for their actions. The number of child soldiers is increasing every day; we can help to stop the violence by writing letters to our lawmakers, or by raising money so these children can be extracted from the violence.
Around the world, children are continuously being used as soldiers to fight the battles of many rebel forces and groups within a country. The Lord’s Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony throughout central Africa, is a militant group that uses the children of the area to go on killing rampages of the people of the Baganda people. It has been said that more than 30,000 children have been abducted from their homes and have been used to fight since the conflict between the Baganda and the Acholi people began over twenty years ago. (Provencher) The children are forced to raid villages and kill all things in sight, and are then rewarded for their actions in order to continue the cycle. The effects of this violation of human rights not only affects the children who are abducted, but also following generations.
Substantial sales and goodwill losses on global level gave IKEA a $6-$7 million loss. • Social issue – child labor A Swedish television documentary showed children in Pakistan working at weaving looms where they were working on IKEA products. IKEA added a clause to all their suppliers stating that if they employed children under legal working age, the contract would be cancelled. The company later appointed a third-party agent to monitor child labor practices at its suppliers in India and Pakistan. IKEA had a hard time finding a legitimate company but later hired a well-known
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier In the world there are some kids who never get to have a normal childhood because their nation is so war torn and poverty stricken. These kids often not only lose their childhood but their innocence as well. A Long Way Gone shows how children are forced to fight in a war they do not want to be a part of. Although some of these child soldiers are fighting to save their nation, most of them are either programmed or forced to fight in a war that dehumanizes them. Young boys are taken from their home and families and forced to fight for the rebel forces.
16.1 (January-February 2007): p.22. From Academic One File Nationwide the drug meth is harming children, and devastating families, the child welfare agencies and law enforcement have joined together to help stop some of the problem, this drug is so addictive it has made it hard for the welfare agencies to secure the government resources and community support. The article speaks of some of the ways that agencies are trying to slow the problem. It is with education, advertising and community action programs, these programs are addressing children ages twelve to seventeen years of age. The article also states that an estimated 20,000 children in foster homes care could leave the system if permanency option like federally supported guardianship were offered.
Everyday juveniles are being tried in adult criminal court. Between 1992 and 1997 forty-four states and the District of Colombia passed laws facilitating the transfer of juveniles to the adult system. Senators are steadily weighing tougher standards for juvenile offenders, partly because of massacres like Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The juvenile system, which started in England, was invented to re-teach values and morals to the young, rehabilitate them, and give them a second chance at a happy life (Glick 25). Juvenile offenders should not be tried as adults because they will suffer physical and psychological damage, endure societal alienation, and possibly reoffend the law.