Brainwashing Child Soldiers

Child soldiers have been taken from around the world to kill unwillingly, are they at fault? Let’s take a look into a part of the life of a child soldier. Over the years, child soldiers (kids under the age of 18 who are forced into the military) have been forced into battle and brainwashed to obey orders. They are usually brainwashed with drugs or alcohol in order to do something they wouldn’t normally do. There is an advantage to brainwashing child soldiers for the commanders, the commanders can order the child to kill anyone even innocent civilians. Because of poverty these children thought that enlisting would lead to a better and safer life, unfortunately it did not. They did not have knowledge of what their life as a soldier would lead

While some may argue that these children should be responsible for the mass killings of innocent people, they forget that they are dependent on their commanders. Their commanders constantly supply them with food, money, and drugs, making them rely more and more on their commanders for these supplies. Although these children did kill many people, they were unaware of their actions when ordered to commit this crime therefore should not be held accountable. Certainly it could be said that children enlisted in the military want to avenge the death of loved ones; while this is a good point, it fails to account for how clueless these children were about soldier life. These child soldiers think that being enlisted will lead to a more secure life with shelter and food, unfortunately they do not realize what they have to do in order to receive that kind of life. While many children did lose their loved ones and wanted to avenge their deaths, it is not accounted for how clueless and how fast these children are at making decisions. Some people may say that child soldiers were completely aware of their actions, however many other children were still involuntarily brought into battle. According to the Guardian, over 90% of the children who live in countries troubled with conflict, and at times have to be sold into fighting. With the continuation of these conflicts and the decrease of families financial resources “‘many have no choice but to send their children to work or marry their daughters early’” (The Guardian). Due to the problems, such as lack of resources, in the troubled areas, parents couldn’t do anything to protect their children from the cruel environment. They had no choice but to sell their children into fighting as a child soldier. Although some child soldiers are mindful about what they are doing, most are not given a choice therefore children should be pardoned for their