What are child soldiers? Where can you find child soldiers? What do child soldiers do? Child soldiers are children who are under the age of 18 who are put into war. Since these children are young and don't understand what is really going on they are taken from their families and put into camps where they are trained to go into war. If they are going to school or are walking home on the streets they are abducted and forced into government armed forces, paramilitaries, civil militia and a bunch of other armed groups. International laws state that children under the age of 18 are prohibited to participate in armed conflict. These children are not only injured and killed in war but are trained to be spies, messengers, porters, servants, or they must clear landmines. The girls are at risk of being raped and other sexual abuse. These children are not only forced to kill other children and even their families but they are robbed of their childhood and end up with severe physical and psychological issues. Countries that use or have used child soldiers include Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'lvoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Burma, Iran, Iraq, Kurdistan, Laos, Lebanon, Nepal, The Philippines, Sri Lanka, Israel, Palestine, Yemen, Chechnya, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Haiti. That is 32 countries that are involved in taking away these childrens childhood.
It is our job to help give these children a childhood of playing laughing and living. What solutions do you have? Let us know by writing about how you feel on the situation and waht action we can take?