Has there been any point in your lifetime where you wish you were never born? Wish that you would have a new family because yours drives you insane? Many children actually have to go through the loss of their families from being recruited to join the war as child soldiers. Children as young as eight have been training to go to war with adult soldiers in military. Eight year old children are being taught to kill innocent people so they don’t get killed themselves. These kids are fighting for their own lives. Many of them are killing people because they have no other choice or else they will be terminated. Most kids don’t even realize what they are doing because they have been doing it from such a young age that they have not learned from right and wrong. Their whole life they have been trying to please their commanders, and trying to live a full life. These kids are victims and deserve to be heard and saved from recruitments.

According to update.unu, “The child soldiers are made to commit crimes in various places, where danger is constant.” That means that when children are recruited to be a child soldier, they are committing  the crimes, but they are in dangerous places where they can easily be killed. Not only are these poor children being taught dangerous things, they will be in deadly environments. Honestly, you would think the commanders who are recruiting the children would take them to places where they can train, but instead they are taking these young children and bringing them in environment that they can be dispatched for their families lives.

Since so many children are being recruited, that means more and more families are being split apart from each other. How would you feel if you were taken away from your parents? Would you be depressed and in a emotional state? Most of these kids are in emotional states and are committing crimes just because they want to go back to their families, want to celebrate national holidays with them. It would feel good if you were in their position. In the article “In Support of the ‘The Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2007’; Hearing in the US House Judiciary Subcommittee” by Tom Malinowski, “As communities break down during the wars, children are often separated from families, driven from their homes, and left with no opportunity to have an education.” Child soldiers are not even given an education. Since some of the kids are so young, they don’t even know how or what to do when they have been chosen to fight. Most of them don’t even understand the meaning of what it is to fight someone in a battle. Is it really worth it and then leave your country’s fate in a little kid? Why don’t you spare their life? After all, there life is just as important as it is to yours.

Families all over the world have had a member of their family involved in the war. Some come home with serious trauma and nightmares for ages. Another piece of evidence that I have come acrossed is “More than 10 million have gotten psychological problems from being recruited.” You have seen your family member suffer from traumatic injuries and now children are going through the same thing because they have been at war, been rescued and now still have dreams and nightmares on what it was like to be involved with such danger and now that they have experienced the trauma, it will stick with them for a good amount of their life or even their whole life.

According to Amy Braunschweiger in her article “Witness: A Child Soldier’s Darfur Confession – ‘I shot her. She is dead.’” she explains “Three other defectors Sudanese government forces told Human Rights Watch that commanding officers ordered their units to carry out atrocities against civilians, including sexual violence.” This means that the commanders are forcing children to sexually hurt others. What if they don’t agree to do this kind of nonsense? They really have no other choice, and if they refuse, something bad can happen to them, they might even been beaten because they did not obey.

You also should remember that the children involved with the crimes don’t know any better. In the article “In Support of the "The Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2007"; Hearing in the US House Judiciary Subcommittee” Tom Malinowski said “There growth has been stunted by conflict induced famines, their psyches damaged by all the killings they have witnessed.” These children have been around danger and guns blazing throughout almost their whole life, they don't know any different. They think that what they are doing is good and they are doing a great thing to their commanders.

In conclusion, child soldiers are not criminals, they are clearly victims. These don't understand what they are doing, they just think that it is good. Being a child soldier is like being an adult, because they doing the same things just at a different age. These kids are victims, and they deserve to be heard!