Child Soldiers: An Issue Taking the World  

A World of Child Soldiers

            When people think of soldiers, what usually comes to mind is military personnel fighting in a war. However, there are a growing number of children that are becoming soldiers in developing countries, especially throughout the African continent. The organization Invisible Children first brought this issue to widespread attention in 2012, revealing the living conditions of children that are afraid of being abducted and the harsh reality of the child soldier problem in northern Uganda (KONY 2012, 2012).

Child soldiers, in large part, can be attributed to the regime of Joseph Kony. Joseph Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army that was formed in Uganda in 1987 but reigns across Africa (Joseph Kony, 2012, para. 1). Under Kony, an estimated 20,000 children have been kidnapped by the LRA and are used as either soldiers or sex slaves (Joseph Kony, 2012, para. 2).

Other contributing factors include the vulnerability of neglected children and the displacement of children that lead to them being recruited as child soldiers by the LRA. The use of child soldiers has allowed for Joseph Kony to gain power across Africa, the rise of the LRA to kidnap children during the night from their families, and upwards of 70,000 civilians killed, 40,000 children kidnapped, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in four countries (Johnson, 2012, para. 4). The child soldier issue has led to an entire generation of children suffering from loss of a childhood, psychological trauma, and destroyed families and communities. Despite all of the negative effects, the one positive element has been the increased global awareness of the injustice and the founding of organizations dedicated to the fight to free the child soldiers.

Child Soldiers Then and Now

The use of child soldiers is not a new phenomenon. Child soldiers have been used in wars to fight battles for centuries across the world. One well known example would be the Hitler Youth program during World War II.

Adolf Hitler’s program, Hitler Youth, was a branch from Hitler’s belief that children were the future of Germany and Hitler said in regards to the children of Germany, “The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain. A young German must be as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp’s steel” (Hitler Youth Movement, n.d., para. 1).

Even though here have not been many large scale wars like World War II, there has been conflicts that have implemented child soldiers.  According to an article by Scott Johnson, former Bureau Chief of Newsweek, in a global study of 109 civil wars from 1987-2007, it was revealed that child soldiers were used in 81% of those conflicts (Johnson, 2012, para. 5). Currently, there are child soldiers present in Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and South America (Chatteriee, 2012, para. 4). There were people that knew that the problem was occurring, but it did have the attention on a global level until the 21^st century.

Rise of Joseph Kony and the LRA

            In 1986, there was a rebellion against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and many militia groups were seeking to obtain power to overthrow the government. Many of those that were in northern Uganda supported the rebellion (Johnson, 2012, para. 3). One of the popular rebels among the northern Ugandans was Alice Lakwena, and when she was sent to exile by Museveni, Joseph Kony stepped in. By 1987, the number of his followers greatly increased, allowing him to control surrounding areas (Johnson, 2012, para. 6). The LRA were not able to overthrow the government, but almost three decades later, Kony and the LRA are still a powerful force.

            The LRA has been able to spread to other countries. According to an article by CNN, during a three month period March 2012, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported 13 LRA attacks in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (U.N. Refugee Agency, 2012, para. 3). There have also been attacks in Central African Republic and South Sudan in 2011 (U.N. Refugee Agency, 2012, para. 7-8).

            Joseph Kony’s dominance affected families across the continent. One was 8-year-old Foster Mizeredi, who was a former child soldier in Congo. He told the story of when he, along with other abducted children, had to beat a man to death with a club, “All of us participated. I also had to beat him” (Johnson, 2012, para. 7). So many more stories beside this one are out there due to Joseph Kony and the LRA.

Child Neglect Leads to Vulnerability

            Children that do not have a strong family support system can have a higher risk of being abducted. According to SOS Children’s Villages, an organization to help abandoned children across the world, children in Africa that are orphaned or abandoned due to AIDS, violence or neglect are the most vulnerable to being abducted as child soldiers (Child Soldiers, n.d., para. 3). According to Child Soldiers: An Affront to Humanity, children that come from impoverished backgrounds or are neglected from their families are most like to become soldiers (Child Soldiers: An Affront to Humanity, n.d., para. 5). Children that are ultimately neglected by their family, for whatever reason, are an easier target for kidnappers because of their vulnerability.

Displacement of Children

            Displacement is different from neglect. Child neglect is when the family purposefully abandons the child. Child displacement is when a child is taken away from their family. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, there are at least 13.5 million internally displaced children in the world who then become some of the most vulnerable children for kidnappers (Internally Displaced Children, n.d., para. 1). Internal displacement is when a child is displaced but still stays in the same region of their home. Since these children are directly taken from their families, they would have no other choice but to conform to their captors’ demands.

            One child that was displaced was Ishmael Beah. He was separated from his family when his town was attacked when he was 12 years old (Barnett, 2012, para. 2). In an article by Errol Barnett, a CNN journalist, Beah tells his story of being a child soldier and escaping. He ended up escaping when after his town was attacked, but his family was killed, leaving him displaced in Sierra Leone (Barnett, 2012, para. 3). Being alone allowed for him to be easily accessible by the militias and soon became a child soldier.     

Power Corrupts: Joseph Kony, the LRA, and the Army of Lose Innocence

            Joseph Kony and his LRA army have grown in powers and numbers. Joseph Kony formed the LRA in an attempt to overthrow the government of Uganda, which was ultimately unsuccessful (African Union, 2012, para. 8). However, he still is gaining power and soldiers for the LRA. Under him, the LRA has increased from 200 to 700 soldiers, according to Abou Moussa, a special U.N. envoy for central Africa (African Union, 2012, para. 9). Moussa said, “They [the LRA] still constitute a danger to the environment. So they continue to attack, they continue to create havoc” (African Union, 2012, para. 10). The havoc the LRA have created stretches across Africa. In 2011, attacks in South Sudan killed 18 people, wounded nine, 49 people were abducted and another 7,382 were displaced (U.N. Refugee Agency, 2012, para. 7-8).

            Joseph Kony has been in immovable force in Africa. With the LRA, 30,000 children have been taken. According to the International Criminal Court’s World’s Worst Criminals List for 2012, Joseph Kony was listed as the number one person. The United States government was alerted of the problem, but they said they cannot step in a conflict where national security or financial interests are not at stake (KONY 2012, 2012). Since the governments of powerful countries like the United States are not stepping in, Joseph Kony has been able to gain power and control facing little to no opposition.

Kidnapping, Brainwashing, and Training

            Children are not immune to world conflicts. According to the U.N., around 300,000 children are involved in conflicts around the world (Barnett, 2012, para. 19). The number includes those Joseph Kony and the LRA have abducted and have turned into child soldiers.

The way they obtain these child soldiers is through kidnapping, brainwashing and training. Children are kidnapped while at home sleeping or are taken while out with no one with them (Johnson, 2012, para. 6). Then those that are taken are stripped of their emotions. Ishmael Beah said, “Emotions weren’t allowed. For example a nine-year-old boy cried because they missed their mother and they were shot” (Barnett, 2012, para. 13). Those who are brainwashed are given a gun or another weapon and are trained to kill, torture or do other acts. This is a new life for them that they have to conform to in order to survive. Beah said about his time as a child soldier, “Somebody being shot in front of your, or you yourself shooting somebody became just like drinking a glass of water. Children who refused to fight, kill or showed any weakness were ruthlessly dealt with (Barnett, 2012 para. 12). The kidnapping, brainwashing and training of these children makes them do things children should never have to witness.

           

Personal Effects Facing Child Soldiers

            Being a soldier can change a person, especially a child. Military personnel that return home after serving a tour of duty can face Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, PTSD (formerly known as “shell shock”) is a condition that follows a dramatic event; people have persistent thoughts or memories that make them feel emotionally numb (What is PTSD, n.d., para. 1).

However, a child thrown into a war to kill people would have a different experience with PTSD because their minds were altered at a young age so they believe what they are doing is right. During a two-year study in Sierra Leone from 2002-2004, many youth were either witnesses or perpetrators of violence including executions, torture, detention, rape, bombings, destruction of homes, and massacres of relatives (Betancourt, Borisova, et. al., 2010, para. 2). Also, the rebel groups attempted to “destroy relations between young abductees and their families and communities” (Betancourt, Borisova, et. al., 2010, para. 3). Children witnessing and acting such violent acts as well as making them feel they have no family left breaks children down so all they do is fight to survive. Hostility and anxiety levels rise in these children, and like PTSD, this can be hard to recover from even when removed from the lifestyle (Betancourt, et. al., 2010, para. 1).

           

            This photo shows four child soldiers holding guns strapped around their necks. The emotionless expressions on their face are indicative of how groups like the LRA strip children of their innocence and childhood and use them to fight a war not meant for them. These children, in particular, were abducted from their homes, taken directly from their families (Invisible Children, n.d.). The LRA remove their emotional ties to the children’s families and friends, making it difficult for the children to rebuild those ties when, and if, they are able to get out of the lifestyle.

Families and Communities Torn Apart

            Children that are abducted lose their families; families lose their children. In many situations, children are not just taken from their families, their families are killed. Jacob Acaye, the former child soldier featured in “KONY 2012,” said in an interview with CNN that the LRA raided his home and they took 40 children in one night (McKenzie, 2012, para. 13). That night, Acaye witnessed his brother’s capture and execution after he tried to escape the LRA (McKenzie, 2012, para. 14). Acaye said to CNN, “whenever a brother is in a problem, whenever anybody is in a problem, it should get the attention of everyone in the world” (McKenzie, 2012, para 8). Jacob Acaye lost his brother because of the LRA.

            Ishmael Beah was also taken as a child soldier, which tore his family apart. He stated his family was killed (Barnett, 2012, para 4) and he was left to wander the countryside with other children who lost their families (Barnett, 2012, para 6). When Beah became a child soldier, he experienced what happened to his community because of the influx of the militias. He recalls, “I saw a man carrying his son that had been shot dead, but he was trying to run with him to the hospital” (Barnett, 2012, para 8), and

(There was also) this woman had been running and she had a baby that was tied on her back. She'd been running away from the fighting and the bullet had struck the baby and the baby had been killed but she didn't know (Barnett, 2012, para 9).

The militias that Joseph Kony created not only changed the lives of children, they destroyed the families and communities those children belonged to.

Global Awareness

            Several different organizations have made their support known to stop the child soldier problem. One of these organizations is the African Union. The African Union is similar to the U.N., but for Africa alone. According to CNN reports, the African Union plans on sending 5,000 troops to hunt down Joseph Kony (African Union, 2012, para 1). This is considered global awareness because the mission is backed by the United States and several other countries. Countries across the globe are sending military power to Africa to end the reign of Joseph Kony, the LRA and free the child soldiers.

            Invisible Children has been active in their pursuit for justice for the child soldiers. According to the organizations website, the mission of Invisible Children is to “bring a permanent end to LRA atrocities” (Invisible Children, 2013). The organization has raised money and divided the proceeds among different initiatives. These initiatives include community work, promotion, technology and medicine (Critiques, 2012).

Along with the campaigning, the organization created “KONY 2012”, a celebrity-backed video that went viral and has over 84 million views on YouTube (Barnett, 2012, para 6). The video and the work of Invisible Children increased global awareness of child soldiers in Africa.

The Continuing Fight Against Child Soldiers

            The issue of child soldiers is still prevalent in society today. Organizations such as the LRA and people like Joseph Kony allow for the issue to grow. Thousands of children have been kidnapped and thousands more have been killed because of the ruthless power of Joseph Kony and other power-hungry leaders. No one can know for certain what will happen in regards to child soldiers, but several have speculated about how to resolve the issue. A group of researchers that traveled to Sierra Leone proposed a three-step plan: disarmament of the children, demobilizing the armed groups and releasing the children, reintegrating the children back into their former lives (Betancourt, et. al., 2010, para. 4). The Invisible Children organization has done and will continue to send money to the affected areas as well as send technology like radios so neighboring villages and towns can communicate if an attack was coming (Invisible Children, 2013). There are other people and organizations that are fighting to end the child soldier issue across the world, not just in Africa. The question is that will they succeed and how long it will take. No one can know the answers, just people can hope.

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