By definition, a child soldier is a child associated with an armed force or armed group refers to any person below 18 years of age who is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, spies or for sexual purposes. Across the globe, the largest direct effect that war has on a child, is their actual involvement in it, and hundreds of thousands of children are currently being used as soldiers in conflicts of war today. Although the International Humanitarian Law prohibits the use of children under the age of 15 as child soldiers, the lack of enforcement in third world nations where the issue of child soldiers is most prevalent, has resulted in there being little to no effect of the law. Many wonder why children are so frequently taken captive to become soldiers, and one of the main reasons is, for lack of a better term, their vulnerability. The innocence of a child and the fear that they carry throughout their childhood results in them being an easy target for militants seeking for more numbers and in result of their relatively easy capturing, comes with additional benefits for the war force. Once in war, children are frequently used by armies for tasks that full grown men would struggle doing, including acting as spies, lookouts, and messengers. Because of the small size of children, they are at an extreme advantage in terms of hiding from the enemy, which is why positions such as spies and lookouts are generally filled by children. While most people tend to think of a child soldier as usually being a young boy, girls are also used as child soldiers as well, but in different ways. Generally female child soldiers serve as cooks, but more severely as sexual slaves for the adult male soldiers. Another common misconception about child soldiers is that they are all abducted and by militants to join the war force, as some willingly join to escape starvation, to seek revenge for the death of their family members, to protect their communities, or to simply have a better chance of staying alive by joining an army. The Netflix original movie, "Beasts of No Nation," follows the life of a young African boy by the name of Agu, from his separation from his family to his capturing by guerrilla soldiers and his development from fearful boy to ruthless soldier. This film exemplifies the tactics used to recruit child soldiers; targeting the fearful, needy, and the children displaced from their families due to the war, and granting them life by offering up a position to be a soldier for their army. Although at first scared beyond belief of his commander, the gun placed in his hand, and the war itself, Agu undergoes a development and hardening into a "man" afraid of nothing. Similarly, in Ishmael Beah's novel, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael takes his readers through his experiences throughout the civil war in his home nation of Sierra Leone. From seeing his family one day to being separated the next, Ishmael's story is similar to that of Agu's in "Beasts of No Nation." Ishmael wonders aimlessly through the jungle of Sierra Leone from village to village in attempt to escape the war and to find his family. After many close calls, and being only seconds away from seeing his family once again, but failing to do so, Ishmael finally finds a village that will take him in, instead of turning him away. But upon rebel attacks, all the boys were required to join the army if they wanted to remain in the village and continue to be given food rations. Although a hard decision for Ishmael and his friends, they decided to join the army. Although at first, sent into a state of trembling when a gun was placed in their small hands, with the use simulated training, drugs, reward, and constantly being told, "these people were the ones who killed your family, avenge their deaths" the youthful boys turned into ruthless, killing machines. Using these two pieces of media, it is clear how and why child soldiers are used and why some children make the decision to serve as soldiers... that is, in order to stay alive.
The Emergence of a New Use for Child Soldiers
Typically, when one thinks of a child soldier, they think of a boy serving on the front lines with a gun in hand, and a victim scoped in target. However, a new use of child soldiers has begun being used across the globe today, but particularly by Islamic Extremist groups... the use of child suicide bombers. Outlined in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's Ted Talk, "Inside a School of Suicide Bombers," is a five step process used by Islamic Extremists to produce child soldiers who are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice and become suicide bombers. In this tactic primarily used by the Taliban based in Afghanistan and Pakistan, step one is to “take” the children from poor, needy families by promising to provide shelter, food, and clothing for the children, and even monthly stipends in some cases to the families. Again, here appears the concept of targeting weak, needy children to join in the war force. Step two is to teach the children of the Koran, by using teachers who manipulate the meaning of the Koran and whom also censor their students from newspapers, radio, and any books that they do not prohibit them to read. The Taliban blackouts all other sources of information, and if a student is found disobeying these laws, they are severely reprimanded. In step three, the Taliban attempt to make the children hate the world they live in. They beat the children, feed them twice a day; dry bread and water, prohibit them from playing games, and force them to read the Koran for 8 hours straight. Step four is when the members of the Taliban, the fighters, start talking to the younger boys about the glory of death by suicide, and how there will be 72 virgins waiting for them, unlimited food, and how they will become heroes in their neighborhood. These leaders make them hate the world, and tell them that such a sacrifice as suicide bombing will get them to the great afterlife. By brainwashing these impressionable children, they have no problem killing themselves, and getting themselves out of their living Hells and into a life of glory and happiness. Finally, in step five, the Taliban utilize their effective means of propaganda, their main point being that the westerners do not care about civilian death. The suicide bombers are now ready to act as this is the only way they have been taught to glorify Islam. Through this process of brain washing, children are being corrupted of their childhoods and ultimately of their lives too. Such terror groups that are adopting these methods of brainwashing and using children as suicide bombers are cowardly sparing the lives of themselves, and instead having an innocent child do their dirty work for them. Regardless if children are serving as child soldiers on the battle field, or suicide bombers, children being directly involved in the war needs to be stopped. Children do not deserve their childhoods to be taken from them for the sake of war.