Speech On Child Soldiers

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In the United States of America, there are laws that state that a citizen must be 18 or older to own a rifle and 21 to own a handgun. Shockingly, there are children in certain parts of the world who own and operate military grade weapons by the age of 7. These are child soldiers. Some of the most brutal and sinister soldiers to ever live, and they are only children being forced to do the horrible deeds of their leaders. Approximately, there are 300,000 child soldiers in the world today. Recently, the case of child soldiers has drawn attention to Africa where the majority of them are located. Child soldiers have been forced into rebellion groups and government armies since World War 2. Throughout the years, captured child soldiers have brought…show more content…
Due to the children’s lack of mental ability and maturity it gives the leaders very easy ways to deceivingly manipulate children. "Child soldiers are ideal," says a commander from Chad. "They don't complain, they don't expect to be paid--and if you tell them to kill, they kill" (Gettlemen). The selfish and horrible leaders manipulate these children on a day to day basis, viciously ordering them to kill and forcefully giving them horrible food and drugs as payment. The leaders not only verbally manipulate them, they use drugs to brainwash and confuse them. Leaders verbally threaten child soldiers of great physical harm but to insure their compliance they give them drugs(Child Soldiers). Drugs are horribly dangerous and very manipulative when used forcefully and in the wrong way. The side effects can be mentally abusing. Marijuana is often combined with hallucinogens and other dangerous drugs. The combination heightens the side effects. One of the main side effects is “extreme hyperactivity and violence”(Heller). Leaders use these drugs to stimulate violence and brutal killing within child soldiers well also verbally threatening them. They even tend to mix drugs together making the children even more unaware and violent. This form of manipulation could even effect some adults. Manipulation is the greatest way of harming these children, the leaders are practically brainwashing…show more content…
These opponents tend to use strong language to evoke certain emotions. For example, Johannesburg from the IRIN in his article “Should child soldiers be prosecuted for their crimes?”states child soldiers “have nothing to gain from citizenship and nothing to lose from war.” His word choice suggests that after child soldiers have been rescued they will have nothing to do in the real world and eventually revert to the roots of being a child soldier. However, Johannesburg fails to recognize that people can change, especially children. Ishmael Beah is an example of one of many who have found a new life after being a child soldier. After Beah was rescued at age 15, being in combat for a total of two years, he went through rehabilitation. He is a “best-selling author and human rights spokesperson, was appointed UNICEF’s first Advocate for Children Affected by War on 20 November 2007”(UNICEF). Beah is the perfect example to prove Johannesburg wrong. Beah found a life even after all the trauma he was put through. Other child soldiers can too which is why amnesty should be
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