We have all seen the horrifying images of children with vacant stares and machine guns slung across their necks like violent accessories. These are the child soldiers who live in the poorest and most desperate countries like Sudan, Nepal, Sierra Leone or Sri Lanka. They cannot tell the world about the atrocities that they face every day.
Luckily, human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International give these children a voice by educating others about their situation.
Human Rights Watch estimates that there are about 300,000 child soldiers worldwide in over 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Most children, who are enlisted as soldiers, are between the ages of 14-18, although some have been reported to be as young as 8 years old. The light, easily maneuvered weapons are easy for youth to operate. Child soldiers can be forced to serve as front line combatants, spies, mine workers and are sometimes even sent on suicide missions.
Although there are some programs in place to help rehabilitate child soldiers, there are still places in the world where programs do not exist. Without this support, children must find a way to deal with extremely traumatic memories of violence, murder and abuse on their own.
The following video depicts efforts to demobilize child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It includes testimonies from former child soldiers and some footage of training camps for child soldiers.
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