CHILD SOLDIERS Christine Van Oyen A Long Way

CHILD SOLDIERS Christine Van Oyen

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah § Memoirs of Ishmael § He lived in Sierra Leone § this is where Sierra Leone is located: ISHMAEL BEAH

CONFLICT IN SIERRA LEONE At the time there was a civil war in Sierra Leone Lasted from 1991 -2002 Between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Sierra Leone Army § The RUF was a rebel army

Ishmael’s Background § Grew up in a small village § Rebels invaded his village, brutally killing many people § People fled everywhere and he was separated from his family § In a small group of boys, he traveled from one village to the next tying to distance themselves from the danger § Many villages saw them as a threat § After about a year of wandering in the group, they were forced at gunpoint to become soldiers

LIFE OF A CHILD SOLDIER § § § Average was 13 Long hard hours of training Required to eat in one minute Hardly big enough to carry their AK-47 s Given drugs § Marijuana § Cocaine § Brown brown, which is a mixture of cocaine and smokeless gun powder § Mysterious white capsules

LIFE OF A CHILD SOLDIER Sometime the child soldiers were forced to kill their own family so that they had nothing to run away to Taught to kill and eventually it became a simple, everyday task Raided and burned villages for supplies, killing many people in the process Traveled long distances on feet. Sometimes two or three days straight

HARDSHIPS FOR CHILD SOLDIERS § Don’t have family § Not in school § On drugs § Scarring war memories § Corrupts their minds and makes them violent § Forced to kill, bomb, and torture people

There are currently child soldiers in § Afghanistan § Central African Republic § Chad § Democratic Republic of Congo § India § Syria § Sudan § Thailand § Yemen

Thailand § Child soldiers are mainly on border patrol § Used as spies, cooks, and for other help § In Thailand the child soldiers do not experience as much violence § Some actually enjoy what they do because they feel they are doing their part by protecting their country and family

India § India has child soldiers in the northern part of their country § Not many of them § Recruited by bribery or even abduction § small amounts recruited each year § Numbers are continuing to rise

CALL TO ACTION The Child Soldier Prevention Act has been in place since 2008 § against the use of child soldiers and intends to not trade military equipment with the counties that use them. The United States still provides military aid to ten countries that use child soldiers. President is capable of waiving the act. If the United States did not waiver the act it would leave those countries without America’s help, and hopefully convince the countries at fault to abandon their unhuman ways. If other countries also agreed not to provide aid to countries that use child soldiers, there would hopefully be a stronger push to end the use of child soldiers.

Works Cited Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. Print. Frew, Holly, and Shawna Templeton. "More Countries Using Child Soldiers. " World Vision. N. p. , 20 June 2013. Web. 9 Jan. 2016. "Numbers down, but child soldiers remain global shame. " America 12 Mar. 2012. General One. File. Web. 7 Jan. 2016. Sen, Arijit. "There Are at Least 500 Child Soldiers Fighting in Northeast India, and the World Hasn't Noticed. " Time, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 09 Jan. 2016. Win, Patrick. "Thailand's Hidden Child Soldiers. " Global. Post. N. p. , 18 Nov. 2011. Web. 09 Jan. 2016.