Whats going on??

     Today there is an estimated 300,000 child soldiers under the age of 18 participating in 33 different conflicts around the world. Everyday, children are being abducted, taken from their parents, villages, and families, or are joining a rebel or government military system in order to achieve protection and the chance of survival. What happens after they are a part of the military? Well the most common answer to the question is that the children are usually used as spies, combatants, suicide bombers, for "sexual relief", ammo carriers, guards, messengers, or human mine detectors. At any given time, the child is vulnerable to being beat, raped, shot, and killed. The only way to diminish your chances of death in war is by increasing your chances of death at camp, by escape.
     There have been cases in which child soldiers have escaped, or attempted to escape. They escape when they go out to get water, at the middle of the night, or during combat; just about any chance that they get. Most of them end up shot and killed, but the ones who make it are still not done. After escaping camp, they can be spotted by the leaders of the camp, or can encounter wild animals or other rebel/government forces.
     But what happens after the kids are away from war? What happens next in their lives? In the Mozambican province of Gaza, there was two 23 year olds (2006) who were child soldiers but were lucky enough to escape with their lives. They were abducted from their village at a young age and forced to serve in the rebel force called Renamo. The two 23 year olds live very different lives. One of them is called Macamo, he has managed to have three young children of his own, by harvesting reeds on a riverbank. He is still poor but has a hut of his own and makes enough money to live with his family, extended family, and be able to buy plastic chairs for his dirt yard in order to welcome his guests.
     Quive, is the other escaped child soldier, now at the age of 23 (2006), he lives on his parents property with his mother. He takes the little hut on the property while his father's house is empty. Quive's father was expelled from the tribe for stealing a radio. Quive is an example of a child soldier who has never really recovered from his life during the war.  He has rotten teeth and no income; this has left him unmarried. During the war, Quive was working as a colonel's bodyguard, he saw some brutal events happen right in front of his eyes. He says he still has nightmares and flashbacks about working for the rebel force and has PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
     After a child is made into a soldier, his/her life will never be the same. They might end up escaping, but there is little hope for them to survive. If they survive, child soldiers will most likely be poor, loose a lot of education and an opportunity to be successful. 


Sources:
     Herbert, Wray. "The Children of War." U.S. News & World Report 20 Dec. 2004, Article #46 sec. Print.
     Becker, Jo. "Child Soldiers Changing a Culture of Violence." Human Rights Journal32.No. 1 (2005): 16-18. SIRS Human Relations. Print.