Child Soldiers Research Paper

Words: 2023
Pages: 9

Child Soldiers: Criminals or Victims?

Victim. What do you think when someone says this powerful word? Someone who has suffered? Someone who’s been tricked? Someone who’s been tortured? The definition of “victim” as stated by Dictionary.com is, “a person who is decieved or cheated, as by his or her own emotions or ignorance, by the dishonesty of others, or by some impersonal angency.” Child soldiers. What do those words mean to you? Are they underage army recruits? Are they kids that were forced into fighting in life threatening battles for a cause they may or may not support? Are they “victims”? The answer to all these questions is yes; child soldiers are victims. The largest army of child soldiers is found in northern Uganda, the Lord's Resistance
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The cult like rebel military he runs, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has kidnapped a countless number of Ugandan children from their homes and families, stealing these children away from not only from their loved ones but their youth. To quote www.childsoldiers.org, “It is estimated that over the last 15 years, about 10,000 children have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) around Gulu in northern Uganda, alone.” This text reveals that thousands of children have been taken from their homes and thrown into dangerous combat. As explained in “Uganda’s LRA War Criminals Speak About Horrors of the War”, a documentary uploaded by Journeyman Pictures, “...children strong enough to carry an Ak-47, but young enough to be manipulated are kidnapped for Kony’s war.” The video also explained that adults have been abducted as well, but the LRA prefers children because they are more susceptible to believing lies Kony tells them. It appears that Kony wanted to abuse children's vulnerability by scaring them into following him. The Lord's Resistance Army kidnaps and deceives many young children and holds them captive in his army, a prison only the lucky few can