"I will cut them.” Says Tanzi
Bakenzi, 16. He is referring to the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel uprising
that terrorizes civilians, burning houses and smashing skulls. Tanzi is what is
known as a child soldier. Child soldiers are armed servicemen who are under 18,
and are a widespread problem across the world. Found on every continent accept
for Antarctica, child soldiers are boys and girls, their ages average at just
under 13 with the youngest on record being a 5 year old boy. One of the many ethical
dilemmas on the issue of child soldiers is: are child soldiers victims or
perpetrators (a victim being a person
harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or
action and a perpetrator being someone who willfully carries out a harmful action)?
While some people may argue that child soldiers are perpetrators because they
kill people and many choose to stay in fighting after a certain war ends, child
soldiers are victims because they are manipulated into service and exploited while
serving, as well as sustaining trauma that lasts for years.
Many say that child
soldiers are perpetrators of violence, but most of them never would have been involved
in armies if not for the deceit and forcefulness of others. A large number of child
soldiers were forcibly abducted or tricked into service, not by their own
choice. In the article “Children at War” by P.W. Singer, a sixteen-year-old
child soldier proves this point by saying, “the rebels came and attacked us.
They killed my mother and father in front of my eyes. I was 10 years old and
they took me with them.” The soldier did not have good judgment, as he had just
seen his parents get murdered, and was not even asked to use it. Instead he was
abducted. Ishmael Beah, although not abducted was tricked into joining up,
according his video interview. Beah’s parents had died due to the war and he
was on the run with a band of boys in the same situation. As he says “Naturally
we thought if we went to a military base we would be protected… that was not
the case.” Instead the militants told them they had to go into service. If Beah
and the anonymous soldier had not been deceived or forced to enlist,
they would not have fought in their respective wars, proving they were victims.
After child soldiers have been
forced into the army, the manipulation does not end. Child soldiers are victims
because while in service they are exploited and brainwashed to be killers. Ishmael
Beah attests to this in his video interview with Katy Couric when he says, “You
have to do it {kill} to survive.” In order to be a perpetrator Beah would have
had to kill others of his own free will, instead his life was threatened by his
superiors unless he slaughtered others for them. Beah was a soldier in South
America, but the manipulation of child soldiers who have nowhere to go and have
to comply with their commander’s wishes exists across the world. In the article
“Armed and Underage” by Jeffery Gettleman, in Iran “12-16 year old boys {were
given} plastic ‘keys to heaven’ to hang around their necks as they cleaned
battle fields.” This proves that child soldiers were victims as the army knew
the children could and probably would die, and tricked them into thinking they
would go to heaven if they fought for the Iranian army. Child soldiers were
used in armies around the world, tricked and manipulated by forces above them, showing
they were victims.
Child soldiers are exploited
and deceived during their service, but their suffering does not end after they
have left the army. Instead, underage soldiers are traumatized and battered by
their deeds and experiences. A fact that supports this is stated in “Children
at War” by PW Singer, “For the child soldiers, the impact of being plunged into
war creates problems long after the end of actual combat. Many suffer long term
trauma….” Singer, who wrote a book of the same title, is an expert on this
topic. He states that due to his research, these children have been victimized
and they are perhaps permanently scarred by their service. Also in “Children at War,” Singer states “girl
soldiers are often singled out for sexual abuse, even by their commanders and
have a harder time integrating back into society.” These female soldiers are
definitely victims of sexual abuse, but as soldiers they are also victims
because they retain trauma and often have a hard time fitting back into
society. Ishmael Beah says that it took him eight months recover from his time
in the army and that it may take some soldiers even more time. There is no way
these children were perpetrators as they have been so hurt by their service.
To conclude, child soldiers are not
perpetrators, but victims of a terrible experience. They are deceived and
forced into service in the first place, once in the army they are exploited and
threatened to do deeds that some say they perpetrate, and they sustain long
lasting trauma after the fighting is over. These children did not bring such a
life upon themselves; they were victims of their countries’ crimes. And although
Ishmael Beah and other soldiers have been rescued from the endless cycle of
killing, drugs and madness, many remain. Unawares of the public, these children
are still being victimized. So I challenge you
to raise awareness and hold the real perpetrators accountable for the
exploitation of these kids.
