Child Soldiers: Who Are They?

I’m hoping that by their name, it’s easy for you to get a basic understanding of who child soldiers are. However, there are so many facets to the world of child soldiers: why they become child soldiers, the circumstances surrounding them, the different capacities in which they serve, the countries or groups they’re in, etc. (all to be addressed in later posts).

Around the world, many children are vulnerable to being recruited into armed conflicts, whether illegal or legal. But these children aren’t being recruited by idealistic figures like Uncle Sam, but rather they are forcefully recruited. Because these children live in such unstable communities and countries, they have no escape from the brutal life of a soldier.

This isn’t the type of soldier that we would think of, especially one that I would think of as a military wife. These child soldiers aren’t getting a paycheck every two weeks from the government, let alone the benefits coming from being in the military. They’re not given a multitude of uniforms, both combat and dress uniforms. They don’t have part of the countries budget applied directly for them. It’s not an honorable thing to join armed conflict as a child. These children are soldiers because they have to be for the sake of their life and their families lives.

I don’t have an exact number to give because it is extremely difficult to obtain an exact number of child soldiers in the world. It’s almost impossible to go into an armed force or armed conflict and count the children and it’s just as difficult to do so worldwide. Many of these children are undocumented, thus making it harder to know whether they’re in existence or not. There are illegal armed forces and there are sovereign countries who recruit under the age of 18. However, there are estimates as to how many children worldwide are child soldiers. Over the past few years, they’ve estimated that nearly 300,000 children are currently child soldiers. 40% of the children recruited are girls. Nearly 40% of the countries making up this world use children in some way in their armed forces.

These are huge numbers!

If you want more of a concrete definition, the United Nations under the Paris Principles of 2007 define child soldiers as any child, boy or girl, under the age of 18 that are currently part of or have previously been in an armed force or armed group. Their capacities are not limited to fighters, but include cooks, spies, porters, or sex slaves.

These children endure more than any other child on earth. They witness killings, beatings, sexual violence, maiming, and other acts of violence. Not only do they witness such things, many are required to kill or take part in these acts of violence. If these children survive their time in the armed forces, they deal with years of psychological damage and fear. And these children don’t live in places where a therapist is readily available for them every other week. They don’t have access to medical care to help cope with the damage done from years of their life.

Though I have always struggled with children, I hate this injustice and I hate that children are being treated in these horrific ways. The term “gut-wrenching” fits perfectly here. And from the wrenching causes me to feel angry that people are so cruel to do this to little ones as young as 4 or 5.

What Can I Do?

At times it seems that most women thoroughly adore children; however, I know there are some women out there that are exactly like me. It takes extra work to have the same attitude as Christ does toward kids. I find it fascinating that God would place such a huge interest of this topic on my heart in spite of my inability to always enjoy being around children.  But I don’t want them to endure this torture. Instead, I want them to be loved and cared for, to be nourished.

I encourage you, especially those who are like me, to find ways to love and care for these children whether that’s sponsoring a Compassion child (link in the footer) or helping fund one of the many organizations that are currently fighting against the use of child soldiers or children in poverty. Research some of these organizations, see what they have done, and find out how you may be able to help, even if it’s just financially.

Remember, “She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy” (Proverbs 31:20).

Note: obtained information both from previous knowledge and from www.childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/