Should Child Soldiers Be Given Amnesty Essay

Did you know that there are around 300,000 children that become child soldiers a year? Child soldiers commit crimes that if an adult did they would be put in prison. Some people would say that the young warriors should be given amnesty and others would disagree. These youngsters are going out and blowing up buildings and killing people. Some might say that since they are only children and they don't know what they are doing that the juveniles should be given amnesty. Others would say that the young combatants need to learn that the crimes they are commiting are not right and they should not be given amnesty no matter what their age is. I think child soldiers should be given amnesty. They don't live normal lives, some children get bullet wounds …show more content…
In a video interview with Ishmael Beah on the show called The Hour, Ishmael Beah says,” They are also given drugs to help brainwash you.” Ishmael Beah was a child soldier himself so if this is coming from his mouth there is a high chance that this is true. These biters probably don't know that what they are doing is wrong so they listen to their commander and do these abhorrent activities since they are brainwashed into thinking these actions are ok. The way Ishmael talked in the interview was very serious, he didn't really talk like he was messing around so that shows how serious this statement is. In the article “Armed and Underage” By Jeffrey Gettleman, it states,”These youngsters can be so easily brainwashed,” Ali says. “They don’t even have to be paid.” Commanders are probably taking advantage of this and making these striplings his army. If anyone gets thrown in jail it should be the commander. These child soldiers are brainwashed so their actions are not that much of their fault but it is more of their commanders. The way how the author used live quotes from another person shows that this is no joking matter. These children don't have any choice either in what they