Children Soldiers in Samolia

      War has become a way of life for the population of Somalia in recent years. The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab has been battling the government of Somalia for some time now. This article, found from CNN’s world news page, talks about how children as young as 10 years old are being used in military combat. As the article explains this is nothing new in Somalia. The federal government recruits children to join the military as well.

    

      Children are being kidnapped all over Somalia from schools, off the streets, or even from their homes. What’s the most striking to me is that when these children are abducted, they are taken and used many times as human shields on the battle field. If this isn’t disturbing enough, what is the federal government doing about it? Nothing is the answer because the federal government uses children soldiers in their armed forces as well. “For children of Somalia, nowhere is safe,” Zama Coursen-Neff, Human Rights Watch deputy children’s rights director, told CNN reporters. It’s true though. How can a government fix a serious problem if they are committing the same crime?

      It may be hard to relate to this because something this absurd would never happen in the country we live in.  It just goes to show the world is not such a happy place as many American citizens assume. However, it is settling to know that organizations such as the United Nations, who are meeting this week to talk about this issue, are taking steps to prevent such absurdity from happening.

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Tate DeMeulenaere