After reading your comments, I thought I should follow up. Many of you found it shocking how the government used children as pawns in the revolution. In class, let's discuss and research the use of children in civil wars. When has it happened in the past? Why does it happen? What effect does it have on the children and society as a whole? How can we stop it?
In the comments, share any articles you can find on this topic, as well as your thoughts and insights. Try to find sources that other students haven't looked at yet.
To start you out, you can take a look at this article: Beyond Kony 2012, Children are used in most civil wars
http://www.child-soldiers.org/home
ReplyDeleteChild soldiers only happen in really bad countries that are in need of a bigger army, and they have actually been around for a very long time, not just since kony
DeleteThe Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) systemically recruits children as young as 7 according to the CSUCS. They have reported that the PKK even formed a battalion specially for this purpose, called Tabura Zaroken Sehit Agit. They counted the number of child soldiers at 3,000 in 1998.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children#Asia_and_Oceania
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children
ReplyDeleteLook, guys, us in North America aren't innocent angels too....
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children#North_America
An estimated 13 percent of the 10,000 soldiers in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are children.
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia about the Phillipines.
The military use of children takes three distinct forms: children can take direct part in hostilities (child soldiers), or they can be used in support roles such as porters, spies, messengers, look outs, and sexual slaves; or they can be used for political advantage either as human shields or in propaganda.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children#Caribbean
ReplyDeletewiki article
5% of all soldiers in the american civil war were under 18.
ReplyDeletei looked on wikipedia and it said some kids have been used as human sheilds to stop enemies from attacking targets.- mongols also took crowds of people, sometimes kids, that had surrendered and used
Another aspect of military activities around the world which often goes unmentioned, is the use of children in the military and the effects military conflicts have. The easily available small arms make it easier for children to use weapons. In some countries, children as young as 10 have been recruited into a conflict. In many places children grow up knowing only violence as their parents inflict their anger from conflicts onto their children.
ReplyDeleteAccording to UNICEF: Recent developments in warfare have significantly heightened the dangers for children. During the last decade, it is estimated (and these figures, while specific, are necessarily orders of magnitude) that child victims have included:
2 million killed;
4-5 million disabled;
12 million left homeless;
more than 1 million orphaned or separated from their parents;
some 10 million psychologically traumatized.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/82/children-conflicts-and-the-military
It's really gross and stupid that children are forced to go through this. All children deserve a good childhood where they can get an education. Below is a link to stop child soldiers.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.child-soldiers.org/home
Throughout history and in many cultures, children have been extensively involved in military campaigns even when such practices were supposedly against cultural morals. Since the 1970s, a number of international conventions have come into effect that try to limit the participation of children in armed conflicts, nevertheless the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers reports that the use of children in military forces, and the active participation of children in armed conflicts is widespread.
ReplyDeleteFrom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_use_of_children
War affects every aspect of a child's development. Children affected by armed conflict can be injured or killed, uprooted from their homes and communities, internally displaced or refugees, orphaned or separated from their parents and families, subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation, victims of trauma as a result of being exposed to violence, deprived of education and recreation, at risk of becoming child soldiers. It is highly probable that children living in conflict areas will be deprived of basic needs such as shelter, food and medical attention. In addition, relief for children tends to be the last priority in war, resulting in insufficient or no protection for minors. Besides, children are, due to their physical constitution and growth, most vulnerable to being deprived of food, medical assistance and education, which has a severe and lasting impact on their development.
Since 1998 there have been armed conflicts involving child soldiers in at least 36 countries. However, the traumatic scars left on children are just one of a vast aftermath of post war problems: refugees, food shortages and mourning for lost relatives. Former Child Soldiers may at best have their needs forgotten and at worst be blamed by their communities for what happened.
From: http://www.child-soldier.org/
I'd rather have you guys read all of this article so I'll just post the URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/opinion/12iht-edbecker.1.16101114.html
http://kabiza.com/Childsoldiers.htm
ReplyDeleted soldiers have existed throughout history, from the beginning of time. Here are just a few examples. Spartans used boy soldiers as young as seven to bolster their small army for combat. The Ottoman Turks kidnapped Christian boys and turned them into warriors. The English Navy recruited boys as young as seven who were used to prepare gunpowder of cannons and other tasks in combat at sea. George Washington's Army had child soldiers during the revolutionary war. The Civil War in the USA had many child soldiers on both sides as combatants.
This is how long there have been child soldiers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/childrenofconflict/soldier.shtml
ReplyDeleteThis website has actual descriptions from their military experiences. On the website most of the kids are from Africa and were forced to kill and be in wars. This happens because the armies need as many people as they can get. The children become very sad because they are away from their families. The generals or people that have more power than the children give them no mercy. You can help it by supporting organizations that are trying to stop it.
"Over the last ten years, two million children have been killed in conflict. Over one million have been orphaned, over six million have been seriously injured or permanently disabled and over ten million have been left with serious psychological trauma."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.child-soldier.org/children-in-conflict-child-soldiers-in-uganda
is a website that talks about children of Uganda.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/learning_history/children_civilwar/child_soldiers.cfm
"William Black, the youngest wounded soldier, was twelve when his left hand and arm were shattered by an exploding shell. An unknown number of soldiers—probably around five percent—were under eighteen, and some were as young as ten. Other boys and girls served as scouts or nurses for the wounded. Yet even those who did not participate in the war itself saw their lives altered by the conflict. During wartime, young people had to grow up quickly, assuming the responsibilities of absent relatives."
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There are an estimated 120000 child soldiers in Africa. This is nearly half the total of 300000 around the world.
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DeleteStop Children War
ReplyDeleteThe psychological trauma that affects children because of war leaves them scarred for life. Children often witness horrendous acts of violence, including the death of a parent or the rape of a mother or sister.
Psychological trauma in children manifests in many ways, including children who are withdrawn, children who can no longer speak, children who can’t trust adults or authority, or children who develop illusions of revenge for their family. War can indoctrinate an entire generation with war and violence, making it difficult to break the cycle.
1. Implement international humanitarian law regarding the protection of children in war. The Geneva Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of the Child deal with protection of war-affected children with regard to food, clothing, medicine, education, and family reunion. In addition, they are intended to protect children from ethnic cleansing and recruitment into armed forces. However, compliance with these instruments is poor, especially when recruiting children to armed forces is concerned.
ReplyDelete2. Ensure that general economic sanctions against a country are never used again, as they were used in Iraq as a substitute for war. Children and poor adults are those who suffer most from economic sanctions. Use of economic sanctions should be considered a war crime, just as is laying siege to a city to starve its population.
3. Ensure special consideration for children who are in flight from war zones and who live in camps for refugees and internally displaced people, especially children who are unaccompanied by adults. Special considerations need to be given for family reunion, systems of distribution of resources (sometimes to women rather than to men), internal layout of camps (to prevent attacks on girls), the provision of facilities for education and play, and special help for child-headed families.
4. Institute measures to reduce sexual exploitation and gender-based violence against women and girls in war. These measures include training of soldiers, including peacekeeping forces; inclusion of relevant interventions in humanitarian responses to population emergencies in war; reporting and support systems for victims of rape in camps for refugees and internally displaced persons; the prosecution of rape as a war crime; and making organized rape a crime against humanity.
5. Parties to a conflict must facilitate humanitarian assistance to ensure that the health infrastructure of children’s lives is not destroyed. Perpetrators should be prosecuted for such actions as destroying clinics, schools, and hospitals – all of which are protected by international law. Where access to health services, such as immunization, is hindered by the violent conflict, there should be humanitarian ceasefires to enable access.
6. Include children’s interests in peace agreements. Since 1999, several peace agreements have specifically referred to children in the post-violence arrangements for disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (6). Children are recognized as victims and perpetrators of violence in several truth-and-reconciliation commissions, but children have played little role in these systems.
that's how to help children
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