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The Facts:
- Child soldiers are youth under the age of 18 who are serving
in government forces, armed rebel groups or paramilitary organisations.
- There are over 300,000 child soldiers in the world today.
- In countries such as Sierra Leone, Uganda, Liberia, Sri Lanka,
Colombia, Burma (Myanmar), Angola, Sudan and many others, children
have been recruited to fight in armed conflicts. Although the
majority of child soldiers are over 15 years old, it is not uncommon
to find child soldiers as young as eight years old on the frontlines.
- Children are extremely vulnerable to recruitment because of
their physical, mental and psychological immaturity. Orphans and
refugees are the most vulnerable.
- The majority of child soldiers have been kidnapped by armies,
while others have joined because they have lost their family and
are in need of food and shelter.
- Both boys and girls are used as child soldiers. In most cases,
boys are sent to fight on the frontlines and the girls are sexually
abused or are given to military commanders as “wives”.
- Child soldiers are often sent on suicide missions, such as
being sent ahead of the rest of the army, in heavily mined areas,
to “locate” landmines.
- Child soldiers are sometimes given drugs or alcohol to make
them fearless in battle.
- When child soldiers are released from armies, they have an
extremely difficult time reintegrating into society. They are
often not accepted in their villages because of the atrocities
that they have committed. Child soldiers endure enormous psychological
and emotional trauma.
- While progress has been made within the last ten years, there
are not enough programs to help reintegrate ex-child soldiers
into society.
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What Can You Do?
- Write a letter to a local newspaper or television
station stating your opinion about the continued use
of child soldiers throughout the world.
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