One of the darkest worst kept secrets in the world today is the widespread use of young people as soldiers in violent warfare. Though the problem appears all over the world., African nations like Sierra Leone are notorious for using child soldiers in brutal internal conflict. Often drawn to national liberation movements, child soldiers present a problem that the tanworld has tried to restrict through international cooperation. But the issue cannot be truly resolved until we understand why children join these fighting forces.
Recruitment of Child Soldiers
Much like the Ottomans kidnapped Byzantine Christian boys and turned them into elite Janissaries, insurgent groups like the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone resort to abductions as well.(1) Raiding parties often kidnap children from vanquished villages and force them to join the ranks of the insurgent group. At times Western corporations have supported this environment by propping up regimes during the diamond wars that use child armies or provoke forces that do.
When not victims of kidnapping and conquest, children are also prone to peer pressure which is brought to bear by friends, respected leaders, or even parents. In places like Uganda this peer pressure forces children to take up arms and protect their families or villages against attack. In many African societies children have no place and are ignored or outright neglected. Children who lack any attention or respect in their society are lured to join an army with the promise of new power and respect gained by the barrel of an AK-47.
Even in the United States, children can be pressured into joining the military. Author Frank Faulkner accused the U.S. of fostering violent youth by marketing G.I. Joes to young boys.(2) The popularity of army toys and military movies indicates a strong interest among the youth of America in the armed forces, though America does not use child soldiers in the traditional sense. Though they can be recruited at a younger age, they seldom join the military before 18 and are never allowed near combat zones until they reach that age.
Why Target Children?
Why are children so sought after? Over 50% of Africa is under 18 years old, creating a large and attractive pool to draw soldiers from.(3) When taken from their homes, children make fierce and able soldiers with little appreciation for life and are extremely loyal because they substitute their squad commanders and peers for family members. During the Iraq-Iran War in the 1980s, Iraqi soldiers feared Iranian child units because they “had no fear.”(4) These children are exploited and put on the front lines, never learning the value of life and all the while having their impressionable minds filled with propaganda.
In the U.S. recruitment starts early because the military has to compete with other industries that recruit high school students. America opposes the use of child soldiers, and so keeps young members of the military in non-combat or training units. Some encourage the recruitment of high schoolers, arguing that allowing 16 or 17 year olds to enter the military gives opportunities for improving the lives of the underprivileged.
Future Solutions for the Child Soldier Problem
In short, it has become too easily for a young child to become a well-trained killing machine. The portability of modern weapons like the AK-47, the patrimonial society that neglects and ostracizes children and drives them to violence as a means of empowerment, and even outside pressure such as the European support for bloody diamond wars in Africa all play roles in creating an environment ripe for the creation of child soldiers. While some progress has been made in reducing this problem, nothing substantial can be accomplished until the root causes are attacked: poverty, starvation, and social instability.
Footnotes
(1) Peters, Krijn and Paul Richards. 1998. "'Why We Fight': Voices of Youth Combatants in Sierra Leone." Journal of the International African Institute Vol 68 No 2: 184
(2) Faulkner, Frank. 2001. "Kindergarten killers: morality, murder and the child soldier problem." Third World Quarterly Vol 22 No 4: 491
(3) Peters: 184
(4) van Bueren, Geraldine. 1994. "The International Legal Protection of Children in Armed Conflicts." International and Comparative Law Quarterly Vol 43 No 4: 813
