Child soldiers
Aim:
To consider the plight of child soldiers.
You will need:
A group of people, paper and pens.
Duration:
45 minutes
In some countries children are recruited by armed groups, to fight as soldiers. Army chiefs like to recruit children because they are small, easy to intimidate, require less food than adult soldiers and are less likely to rebel. Many children have no choice about becoming a soldier, because they are rounded up and forced to fight, or even abducted from school or home. Others join because they are so poor, and this seems the only way to get food and to survive. Some join because they think the group is fighting for something they believe in - like the freedom of their country.
Imagine you have been abducted by an armed group to fight as a child soldier. Consider the feelings you would be experiencing - about your family and friends you have left behind, and what the future holds for you. Talk about your possible feelings as a group, then individually write a poem expressing these feelings. Try to really concentrate and focus your mind. When you are ready, share your poems with the rest of the group.
Extra option:
Fortunately many child soldiers are rescued, and helped to establish a new life. Child soldiers have often witnessed or been forced to do violent things to other people, so that they become hardened to violence. They may be very frightened and damaged by their experiences. They will have missed out on school, so it is likely that they will be unable to read or write, or have skills to use in a job. They have been separated from their families, and may be too frightened to return because of the things that they have done.
As a group do a brainstorm of all the different needs you think a child would have, after being rescued from fighting as a soldier. What do you think could be done to support them?