The Causes

Children are used as soldiers for many different reasons. Here are some of these reasons:

Cheap– Children don’t need to be paid. Children also don’t need as much food as adults.

Easy to manipulate – Children are so easy to manipulate because they often aren’t old enough to make their own decisions, so they look to authority figures to make important decisions for them. In some countries children are told that if they join the army they will gain a magical power that protects them from bullets.

Easy to train – On average it only takes 45 minutes for a child to learn how to use an AK-47.

Light weapons – AK-47s and Uzis are very easy for children to use.

Orphaned– Before the outbreak of AIDS only 2% of children in developing countries were orphaned, but after the breakout of AIDS, 7% of children in developing countries were orphaned. When kids become orphaned they are especially vulnerable and are easy targets for recruiters.

Money– When a family doesn’t have enough money their children often don’t get the chance to go to school. That child then ends up on the streets, where he or she is more likely to be recruited by the army.

Confuses other armies – Adult soldiers often don’t want to shoot a child, and they don’t know what to do, and this gives the army with the children an advantage. A slight advantage can often mean life or death.

Many uses of children – Children can serve many different purposes in an army. They can be soldiers, porters, sex slaves, shields, and even minesweepers.

Many children in conflict areas – In many conflict areas such as Uganda, there are many vulnerable children.

War– Without war there wouldn’t be the need for soldiers. War not only destroys soldier’s lives, it destroys civilian’s lives. It creates a violent atmosphere for children that ends up destroying their lives.

Intimidation – Children are often forced to beat and even kill family members and friends. Some are told that if they refuse they will also be beaten. “The general give me an order, and I would do it without question…[I saw] them doing things and knew they could do it to me. So I had to protect myself. So I had to do the same things so they knew [that I was loyal]…If you are ordered to give your mother and father a thousand lashes, you’ll give them one thousand lashes.”

Picture from Project AK-47
Facts from young blood children of war, project AK-47, transcurrent.com, cfr.org, rferl.org, independent.co.uk