Child Soldiers draft

My name is Afifah and I'm a student in 'The American International School Of Muscat.'  Lately we have been learning about child soldiers and from the beginning I knew that I was against it. The first time I heard the world solider in class all I could think about was war and blood and imagining a child, about my age or younger going through all of that doesn't sound right. it all seems wrong because here i am living a good life with a family and waking up, having everything there for me and these children have no choice but to fight for their family or fight because they need to be taken care of, they're fighting for another day. I can't imagines living in their shoes but if i do i would want it all to stop and i would live with the guilt of the people that i had hurt. And so here I am, a regular girl, writing a letter on my thoughts of child soldiers.

Child soldiers are soldiers under the age of 18. Thousands of children are recruited into an army, most of them don't have a choice but to join. Kids forced to join the army either by abduction or beaten until they agree to join, children are recruited for people's selfish needs of winning, they're a pawn in their little game. Some choose to join in order to escape poverty, to help their society, or they want revenge for something that had happened in their past. Both girls and boys are recruited in the army and are assigned to play different roles in the army.

Children usually fight in the war but sometimes they have different roles to play. Some kids act as lookouts, spies, messengers, cooks, etc. Most girls, who are vulnerable at such a young age are, unfortunately,  play the role of sex slaves, which is disgusting and a horrible thing to do. It’s disgusting that right of being a child is taken away from them. They’re a victim of abuse and most these kids witness death, and face sexual violence because they’re too young to protect themselves. Yet all little kids are handed AK-47’s with no experience and one word in their mind, survival, but most of them end up die in the war just because they couldn’t leave.

The kids serving the army are mostly forced into joining and can’t leave, they have no say in it. If one were to try to escape, he better of hoped he doesn’t get caught. I have read many stories about child soldiers  trying to escape but the one that stuck to me to was about a boy. This young boy had tried to escape but, sadly, he was caught. The rebels had tied his hands and they made the new recruits kill him with a stick. If no one tried to kill him then they would die along aside the boy. After the boy had died they had smeared his bloods on every hand of the new recruits. It’s sad that this boy did not get to die happily, he didn’t get to die being a child but instead he was tortured.

There is no childhood for child soldiers, there’s only endless chaos. But that can all change, there can be no more/less child soldiers if we spread awareness and so here I am, sending a message and hoping that you can help or at try your best. Please help take care of these kids.