Effects of war on children

Imagine a life where you are accustomed to seeing tragedy at any moment of the day. Children who are exposed to war are becoming desensitized to massacres and deaths. This lack of emotion makes the children more vulnerable to being influenced into carrying out the goals of the rebel armies. Many times children are forced to commit violence on their own countrymen or families. Thus, children become stigmatized to witnessing and committing violence. When children are abducted or forced into serving the rebel armies they are often made to act as spies, serve in the front lines, partake in suicide attacks, or hold equipment. Many armies are even obtaining lighter tools so they are easier for children to carry. In Uganda, a third or more of the child soldiers are young girls. Girls are not only forced to fight in the army but they are also raped, forced to become sex slaves and the wives of the military commanders. The impact that war has on children is life altering and will remain with them forever. Aside from the fact that these children are extremely young, they are ultimately denied a childhood. During war, societies decline and weaken, thus children are left with no schooling, sometimes no families and therefore their only source of mentors or an education is through the army. The only lessons they learn concern mass murders of their families and friends and the neccessity of killing others in order to save themselves from their own deaths. War does not only have an emotional impact on children but it also affects their health and wellbeing. Exposured to the army and the poor living conditions leads to severe wounds, physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and drug addictions. The most crucial recommendations to help children recover from the effects of the war and violence are education, health care, rehabilitation, and government interference.

http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/wvususfo.nsf/stable/globalissues_childprotection_conflict?open&lid=childsoldiers&lpos=day:txt:soldiers_feature_title