AndrewMerfeld

Ms.Robillard

LA8Hr.7
March12,2015
ChildSoldiersAreVictims
Estimatessuggestthatasmanyas300,000childsoldiersareactiveinconflictsaround
theworld(Chatterjee).Childsoldiersarechildrenthatfightforanarmy.Thesechildrenare
eitherknownasathreatoravictim.Ibelievethatthesesoldiersarevictimsforcedtodothe
biddingoftheirmasters.
Firstofallsomemightsaythatthechildrenchosetokill,butmostdonot.Theycanbe
druggedtofeelnopainwhentheykillandgivennootherchoicebuttokill.Itisnotalwaystheir
choice.
Anotherthingpeoplemightthinkis,childsoldiersthatarerescuedshouldnotbe
forgiven.Itistruethatsomekidschosetobeapartofamilitarybutmostareforced.The
childrenthatwereforcedtokillshouldbeforgiveandnursedbackintoacalmandsave
environment.
childsoldiersaremadetodothethingstheydoinmultipledifferentways.Oneishaving
thepeopletheyknowandlovedieleavingthemstrandedwithnootheroptions.IshmaelBeah
wasoneofthemanychildrenforcedintofighting.Hewasalsooneofthemwhosufferedaharsh
lossataveryyoungage.Whilehewasrunningforhislifehediscoveredthathisparentsandtwo
brothershadbeenkilled.NothavinganyotherchoicehewasforcedtojointheSierraLeonecivil
war(Beah).Thisisanextremeandhorrificlossinhislife.Withouthavinghisparentstoteach

andraisehiminacorrectwayhewasnowundercontrolofthewicked.
Butsadlythatwasn'ttheonlylossIshmaelsuffered.Hisbestfriendhemadewhile
fightingJosiahwaskilledbyanRPGthattossedhistinybodyoffthegroundandhehadlanded
onatreestumpwherehedied.EventhepeoplehemetwhilefightinglikeJosiahdied,leaving
himalone(Beah)Thesedeathsareoneofthethingsthatnumbthesekids.
Butthepaindidn'tonlyhappentoISHMAEL,hewasforcedtobringituponothers.
Retreat!Ageneralcalledouttohismen,andthegrenadesblastgotonlyafewrebels,whose
splitbodiesflewintheair.Theexplosionwasfollowedbyanexchangeofgunfirefromboth
sideslikesomekindofhorriblefireworkshow.Thepeoplethechildrenwereforcedtokillmade
animpactonotherslivesjustlikeIshmaels(Beah).ThisViciouscyclehaschildagentschild
withmanyliveslost.
Thechildrenarebeingtakenadvantageofbybeingtrickedtodothebiddingoftheir
leaders.Beingdruggedisonereasonthechildrenweretricked.Ishmaelsaystheywerethesame
capsulesthatwedallbeengivenbeforewehadgoneintobattle,andtothisday,Idonotknow
whattheycontained.Istayedupallnightandcouldntsleepfordays.Wewentouttwomore
timesthatweek,andIhadnoproblemshootingmygun(Beah).Thechildrenweregiventhese
drugstobemanipulatedbytheircommandersandmadethemabletodothehorribletasksthey
forced.Thesechildrenweremadetodothedirtyworkoftheircommanderslikepondsintheir
evilgame.Theywerealsomadetowatchmoviesthatmadethemthinkdifferentlylike
brainwashing.Theywatchedwarmoviesatnight,RamboFirstBlood,Rambo,FirstBlood,
PartII,Commandoandsoon,withtheaidofageneratororacarbattery.Theywantedtobe
likeRamboandcouldntwaittoimplementtheirtechniques(Beah).Itshowshowtheywere

trickedtomakeitlooklikedoingthewrongthingisgoodandhavingsomecharactertofollow
eventhoughitwastodowrong.
Throughallthefighting,theyweremadetodothesoldierswerelikezombies.
Theideaofdeathdidntcrosstheirminds,andkillinghadbecomeaseasyasdrinkingwater.
Afterthatfirstkilling,Ishmaelsmindhadstoppedmakingremorsefulrecords(Beah).Thisis
howeasykillingcametothem.Somethingaseasyasjustdrinkingwaterisequaltokilling
anotherhumanbeing.
Asyoungchildren,theyweretaughtthingsnochildshouldeverbetaught.Thechildren
wereexposedtodangerousthings.IshmaelsaysWesmokedmarijuanaandsniffedbrown
brown,cocainemixedwithgunpowder,whichwasalwaysspreadoutonatablenearthe
ammunitionhut,andofcourseItookmoreofthewhitecapsules,asIhadbecomeaddictedto
them.ThefirsttimeItookallthesedrugsatthesametime(Beah).
ThisshowsthedrugsIshmaelwasexposedtoandwhateffectithadonhim.Thesedrugsare
dangeroustothechildrenandarepracticallyhandedtothem.
Thechildrenwerealsodruggedtothinkdifferentlythantheynormallydo.Ishmaelsaid
afterhewasgivensomedrugsIwentouttwomoretimesthatweek,andIhadnoproblem
shootingmygun.Theonceinnocentmindsofthechildrenwerenowpoisoned(Beah).These
kidswerenumbedatayoungage.

Lastlytheywerealsorewardedfortheirhorribleactions.OneofthegeneralssaidWe
aremovingoutinfiveminutestokillsomerebelsandtaketheirsupplies,whichreallybelongto
us.Heoftenmadespeechesabouthowweweredefendingourcountry,howtokillsomerebels

andtaketheirsupplies,whichreallybelongtous.Heoftenmadespeechesabouthowwewere
defendingourcountry,howIwasnotrunningfromanyoneanymore(Beah).Almostlike
givingatreattoadogthesekidsweretaughtthatdoingthewrongthinggavethemrewardsand
wasagoodthingtodo.Thechildrenbeingsoyounggrewupthinkingthatwasagoodthingto
doandrewardedforit.
Inconclusion,childsoldiersarevictims.Theyareforcedtodothethingstheydobythe
deathoftheirlovedones,beingtricked,andtaughtthewrongthing.Thesechildrenarekilled
eventhoughtheyarenottoblameSobeforeanotherchildiskilled,justknowthesekidsarenot
threats,theyarevictims.Thesesoldiersarevictimsforcedtodothebiddingoftheirmasters.

WorkCited

Beah,Ishmael."TheMaking,andUnmaking,ofaChildSoldier."
TheNewYorkTimes
.The
NewYorkTimes,13Jan.2007.Web.09Mar.2015.
Chatterjee,Siddharth."ForChildSoldiers,EveryDayIsALivingNightmare."
Forbes
.Forbes
Magazine,n.d.Web.09Mar.2015.