From Kindergarten to the battlefield, the fate of many children…

A blog entry by Morgan Khuon 23.03.2023

“It means a great deal to those who are oppressed to know that they are not alone. Never let anyone tell you that what you are doing is insignificant.”, a powerful statement by the South African civil rights activist Desmond Tutu. And indeed, everyone needs to know that they are not alone and that someone out there is fighting for their freedom and safety. Especially child soldiers who have to fight a war that is not theirs. From back to the 70s when children had to fight in the Khmer rouge regime, executing their own parents and decapitating other children. To this day, child soldiers still do exist around the world.

Over 357 million children live in war and conflict zones and thousands of them even fight as suicide bombers, spies, and simple soldiers. Not to mention the terrible environment and influence these young individuals have to live in, where they get turned into fighting machines. They are beaten and raped and even executed for denying fighting. One of the most known terror organizations in Nigeria, Boko Haram is commonly using child soldiers for their terrorist acts. Young children are easy to brainwash and manipulate making recruitment even easier.

Despite many of these children not willing to fight, they often do not have a single chance but to join these armed forces just to simply survive. Leaving them into the gruesome hands of warlords and generals forcing those poor souls to kill each other, burn people alive and rape women. It is impossible for me to imagine living in such a violent environment. Yet it is a normal thing in 3rd world countries like Nigeria Sri Lanka and even Columbia.

Many of those child soldiers just want to go back to their families and be free. It is nearly impossible for those children to flee and desert, due to them being shot on sight only by thinking about it. Those who have been able to flee from the vicious circle are traumatized and scarred for the rest of their lives, leaving them with permanent injuries and mental problems.

I am so grateful to grow up in a well-developed country like Germany, where simple human rights aren’t even a thing that needs to be discussed. Not a single child should be living in an environment where military and weapons are normal like schools and books are for us. And this is why we should all raise our voices and fight for the children who are living in a never-ending nightmare by supporting UNICEF and other aid organizations. If you want to know more about this topic you should visit https://www.unicef.org/protection/children-recruited-by-armed-forces.