Child soldiers are being used unfairly every single day. “Omar Khadr has been detained here for 8 years”(in guantanamo bay)(Andrea Prasow). This is just one of the many child soldiers being treated unfairly for actions they did not choose to do. Some of these innocent children are being treated as horrible criminals and being detained for actions they did against their will. The children are not perpetrators of the law, the are simply victims that should be sent into rehab and treated nicely. These children are not responsible for their actions because they are drugged and brainwashed, forced, and had impaired judgement at the time. The children has no consent of their actions. Even if they know what they are doing, they don’t have a choice. One reason why the children are victims is because they are drugged and brainwashed. If many of these children had full control of their brain they would not be doing these actions. Vision.org states “amphetamines, crack cocaine, palm wine, brown-brown (cocaine mixed with gunpowder), marijuana and tranquilizers”, these are all the different type of drugs that are being given to young children against their will(Michelle Steel). Many of the drugs given such as cocaine, brown-brown, and marijuana are all illegal in the united states, but for children in countries affected by the epidemic, they are all too familiar with the drugs… and they aren’t fans. The children are hurt and abused if they don’t take it. The drug is harmfully forced into the child and often times it is painful. These are some of the strongest substances in the world and they are harmfully inserted into the children. These drugs have extreme effects, especially to these young kids. Most drugs have major effects in the brain, and a common one is that they send large amounts of dopamine into the pleasure circuit in the brain. When all the dopamine is sent through the brain the children no longer feel pleasure which brainwashes them in a sense. Also the drug makes the children do just about Anything so the captains force them to do unthinkable tasks… including kill. Another significant reason why child soldiers are victims is because they didn’t have a choice whether they fought or not. When a child joins his militia or military he is abused and threatened. The captains of the children will kill any child that shows any resistance. Whenever a child denies a command, tries to rebel, or shows any sign of emotion they are automatically shot. The captains are in control of countless soldiers so they do not worry about running out of children. According to CNN “A 9 year old boy cried about his mom while he was in the army or being taken to their base he was shot”(Robyn Kriel and Briana Duggan). This statement shows how they have one decision, that is either listen to their captain and do and ldo what they are told, or be killed by a gunshot. Also many times children do not voluntarily join the military. Three of the the most common circumstances is when they are either sold, deceived, or even kidnapped. Sometimes if a family is extremely poor, the parents will sell their children to the military. This is one case when they do not have a choice. Orphaned or abandoned children can be deceived because they are promised food, shelter, and a better lifestyle if they join the military. These children are usually starving on the streets and join because it is their only option to live. The last reason why they join is when the military comes storming into their town and kidnaps them and then they force the children to fight with drugs and threats. Another child was walking home from school when men in a truck that were in the LRA, stopped and kidnapped him. His parents never had a clue about where he went and he did not know where he was going. This caused him stress, along with his friends and family. The LRA victimized him by kidnapping him which caused him and his family despair. The last reason why the children are victims is because their judgement is impaired. The children go through so much during their life leading up to their fighting and during their fighting. A study done by Harvard has revealed that many child soldiers have PTSD. The study was done on 102 former child soldiers and 89 of them have reportedly had experienced ten or more war-related traumatic psychological events. 55% of them have full-blown PTSD, 82% had depression, the children were a mix of boys and girls with ages ranging from 6-18. Lots of them also had suicidal thoughts. This basically means that children that have had experience with child soldiers have many mental illnesses.This has occurred because children are abused by the captains, and in battle they go through extremely gruesome sights scarring them for life. Many US soldiers that come back from war have PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). PTSD is a mental illness that happens when someone went to war and saw and/or experienced things that can scar them. If a trained adult in the US military can get PTSD there is a strong chance that many of these kids will get it aswell. Also, these children were taken away from everything they love, and they learn to hold onto the one thing that's always with them… their military. Often times the children see their captain as a father figure because the capt. Is the only adult they know. These 2 factors combine to change how the child thinks. This is why many children that are in rehab say they loved the military, it is because the military is the only thing they ever knew and also they probably have ptsd. Once a child gets proper rehab and find people who care for him/her, the prior soldier starts to act normal and become a functioning part of society. In conclusion these children are simply victims. They are struggling everyday, 24/7 without any help and when they are finally ‘saved’ they are then prosecuted and sent to horrible fates. The children are drugged, forced into fighting, and they have impaired judgement. The children should not be persecuted because if they had been raised in a better environment and if they had freedom, they would not do what they did. Their actions usually hurt them more than it does others. Their mental illness and physical state of their body is almost depressing to think about what these children have been through. These children have been through enough, they don’t deserve to be punished anymore. So stop the violence, they did not mean to harm anyone. They were drugged… forced…. And they have even developed mental illnesses from the stress and despair of their lives. They have learned to work hard and be loyal. These children can become normal kids and grow up into prospering adults. This dream can come true if we just stop the persecution of child soldiers and get them help!
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It was tournament day! My whole family is came to Kentucky to take my brother to the golf tournament. It was the biggest one that my brother played in all year. In the morning everything seems fine for everyone, except my dad. He complained of a stomach ache in the morning. But we all just thought of it as a normal cramp and went to dinner. My brothers tee time was very early, at around 7:30.. So we went to the buffet in the hotel and we were on our way. My dad was driving and kept talking about his stomach pains. We were almost late so there was nothing we could do. During the whole tournament he was groaning and moaning, and that’s when we started to think there was something wrong. My brother played pretty good golf, apparently when a parent is harming the child plays well. Funny isn’t it. So since the tournament is 4 days my dad couldn’t wait to get home to see his doctor. We took him to the E.R. and signed him up. They called his name
“Paul!” They called. We follow him into the room and the do a simple inspection. The doctor walks out of the room to analyze the results. He comes back into the room a few minutes later. They ask to do a CT scan. My Dad denies it due to the fact that radiation is bad for you and can cause cancer. So they do a prostate exam. They think he has prostate cancer. This really rattles the family but my dad denies it. We continue to play the rest of the tournament. My mom drives home as my dad is in pain and it's a long quiet car ride. We don't go home but instead we goto the doctors office. The doctor walks into the room and goes through the same procedure as the ER. But this time my dad agrees to the CT scan. After countless hours the results are in. My dads appendix has to be removed. He spends more and more time in the hospital and I visit him everyday. He dosen’t seem too bad but sometimes he is in pain. Finally surgery day comes. It happens when I'm in school. It is an out-patient surgery which means that he gets to leave the hospital immediately after. I get home and he is passed out on the couch, my mom on the chair beside him. She puts her finger to her lips signaling me to not be loud. “I don’t want to wake him” she whispers. I slowly back up into the kitchen and open the pantry for an afternoon snack. I grab some fruit snacks and sit at the kitchen table. After a good 5 minutes I goto my room to start my homework but I don’t get any done. I can’t wait to talk to my dad. Then I start to think what if the surgery didn't go well. There is a chance that it didn’t “What if he isn’t waking up?” “What if his appendix is still there?” “What if more operations have to be done?” “Ok. There is a slim chance the surgery failed, the doctor was very qualified for the job”. All these thoughts run through my mind. I finally go downstairs to find my dad eating a pudding cup. He looked at me and said hi. I said hello but then my mom told me let him eat his pudding he is drugged from pain killers. I go and talk to my mom. Finally all the stress is gone, the surgery is a success! The next day we have a party and celebrate the surgery, and my dad feels better. This whole experience really helped me figure out how to handle situations like this in my future, I never know one day I might get my appendix removed. MALCOM X VS MLK Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were both major contributor to African american lives and the change of segregation and rights. They protested, gave speeches, and won the hearts of thousands of african americans and whites. Wale malcolm X and Martin luther king did many thing differently but tried to obtain the same goal. As they protested far from each other they were able to get the attention of thousands and win their goal of rights and freedom. Malcolm X point of view was he would do anything to get his way for the africans and was ok with segregation but wanted to have his own ruler of each race. Malcolm X stated in a protest “there are 22 million african americans who are ready to fight for independence right here.” this meant if he and his people needed to go to war he would act and take the white race in war with no hesitation. He talks about his war readiness and the way he would take action in another statement saying “ if the black man doesn't get the ballet then you are going to be faced with another man.” this states that the men are ready and when needed will show. Also the quote talks about how if the black man does not get the right to vote, and other rights, they african americans will start attacking and start a war. In summary malcolm X was a more violent protester and was ready at all times to go to war no matter the cost that was his point of view and his actions. Martin luther king had a different picture to get the rights they seek. He thought of a more peaceful approach as in a speech he spoke to thousands he states “in the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds.” he is referring to if they went to war or hurt/steal from others it will not be a satisfying or will not full as good when obtain their goal. MLK thought that all men should be equal as he presents the words “ we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. To finish MLK up he was a man of many words and freedom he want out to seek equal rights of whites and africans. He wanted to go a more peaceful route and did just thought for his years. Both of these activists were trying to do the same thing. They wanted to get more rights for the african americans. They wanted to live with easier things and did not wanted to make things fair. The two activists both had the same motivation but they just had different ways of accomplishing their goals. MLK and Malcolm X both had their opinions on what was happening. The attitude of most of the African Americans was grim and depressing. MLK wanted to change that by a peaceful force and he wanted to unite the country, compared to Malcolm wanted to use force and war to separate and get revenge. In conclusion malcolm X was a black man out to seeks more rights for the african race and would do anything that was needed to do this even war. Whale Martin Luther King wanted equal rights but did not want war but peaceful solutions and happiness between the races. These two activist change the world as we know it today. |
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