The Sad Story About Children Soildrens

Recently, in 25 countries, thousands of children under the age of 16 have fought in wars.8 In 1988 alone, they numbered as many as 200,000. However, a child with an assault rifle, a Soviet-made AK-47 or an American M-16, is a fearsome match for anyone. These weapons are very simple to use. The AK-47 can be stripped and reassembled by a child of 10. The rifles have also become much cheaper and more widely available likehaving few moving parts they are extremely durable and have steadily accumulated in war zones.

Besides being able to use lethal weapons, children have other advantages as soldiers. They are easier to intimidate and they do as they are told. They are also less likely than adults to run away and they do not demand salaries.

Children's actual duties in warfare cover the whole range of military activities.

At relatively quiet times in camp this may be little more than cooking or carrying water. Being small and inconspicuous, children also have particular value as messengers or as spies. In Uganda in 1986, the National Resistance Army sent children into the capital to spot the government fortifications and when the shelling started, the children mingled with the fleeing crowds and threw hand-grenades at trucks full of government soldiers.