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Many, despite the numerous sacrifices, are unable to survive and those who do are often seriously injured and forced to live without some limbs or with respiratory or skin diseases.          This is the case, for example, of little Mustafa and his father Munzir, both mutilated by the war, who just a few weeks ago arrived in Italy from Syria. In fact, Mustafa was born without legs or arms due to a malformation caused by the medicines taken by his mother who was struck by nerve gas, Munzir lost a leg to a bomb. Now the protagonists of the Syrian drama will start a new life in Siena where they can be treated in a prosthesis center.

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Munzir e il piccolo Mustafà - Porta a Porta 18/11/2021

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In the world, however, we must not forget all the children who live in situations of war. In fact, at the moment there are about 142 million children living in areas of war and famine. Many of them are often forced to abandon their parents, to abandon their bombed-out homes or to flee for miles and miles to try to survive by being orphans. Without adult protection, they are easy victims of violence and abuse. Many orphans, especially girls, have to take responsibility for their siblings and thus give up going to school.

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A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER 

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A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER 

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A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (2007) is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah, an author from Sierra Leone. The book is a firsthand account of Beah's time as a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone (1990s). Beah was 12 years old when he fled his village after it was attacked by rebels, and he wandered the war-filled country until brainwashed by an army unit that forced him to use guns and drugs. By 13, he had perpetrated and witnessed numerous acts of violence. Three years later, UNICEF rescued him from the unit and put him into a rehabilitation program that helped him find his uncle, who would eventually adopt him. After his return to civilian life he began traveling the United States recounting his story.

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Understand Goal 16: Peace and Justice (Secondary)

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The 16th goal of the 2030 agenda requests peace, justice and strong institutions. The war generates the suffering of kids, who are forced to go fight and are abandoned by their parents who can’t take care of them anymore. Strong institutions are also a must to avoid wars and to make people's lives better.

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On Red Hand Day or the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, February 12 each year since 2002, pleas are made to political leaders and events are staged around the world to draw attention to child soldiers: children under the age of 18 who participate in military organizations of all kinds. The aim of Red Hand Day is to call for action to stop this practice, and a support for children affected by it.

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-Helping families and caregivers to be the first protection and care for children by family support systems.

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-Partnering with communities to address the root causes of violence against children, including inequality, inadequate social protection systems, lack of economic opportunity, conflict and instability.

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-Educating and empowering girls and boys, by promoting peace and social cohesion.

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It is also very important to  address the root causes of violence against children by strengthening the protective environment around children and building their capacity to protect themselves. Through many programs, government agencies and other NGOs work together to create a protective environment that cares all children through a variety of approaches, including:

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Children are recruited all over the world by state armed forces and armed groups outside government control. Non-state armed groups are more likely than states to use children in armed conflict. This makes the problem more difficult to tackle as these groups are less visible and harder to negotiate with.
Because of this breaking the cycle of violence against children is complicated, and to escape on your own is very dangerous.

The only hope of child soldiers are the international organisations trying to gain information and take action to free them. But not everyone has the same chance of being rescued: the majority of the girls escape on their own. UNICEF and other organisations doing this kind of work receive lists with names of soldiers under the age of 18, who needs to be rescued. The girls’ names are often not on those lists, because the commander or the soldiers view them as their wives or mistresses.

UNICEF has played a big role in helping children around the world by releasing children associated with armed forces and providing them with assistance to return home. The organization supports a variety of recovery services such as physical and mental health, education and skills training, medical care, counseling, vocational training and a safe place to live while they recover from the trauma they've experienced.

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Children become part of an armed force or group for various reasons. In most cases they are abducted, threatened, coerced or manipulated by armed actors. When there is some sort of "choice" their participation is caused by conditions of despair. In fact some are driven by poverty, compelled to generate income for their families. Others associate themselves for survival or to protect their communities.

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"Freedom only came when I was shot ... and left on the ground thinking I was dead."
These are the words of James, an ex child soldier from Sudan, when he told his story of him at Unicef. Kidnapped, imprisoned and forced to fight, so James spent 6 months of his childhood: between the fear of dying at one time or another and the terror of not being able to see his family again.
One day during one of the many shootings he was shot in the leg and left to die on the ground by those who had forced him to do all this. James thought he was dying there, without even being able to say goodbye to those who were dear to him, but he did not yet know that what was inflicted on him by the bullet was actually a stroke of luck.
In fact, James was found there on the ground after 2 days by the Unicef rescuers, who treated him and brought him back to his mother.

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Also in Yemen the situation is particularly critical. Here, after seven years of war, the rebels continue to violate the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations and to recruit children to fight; over 1,400 were killed in battle in 2020.

Some of them had been told that they would take cultural classes but were trained as soldiers. In other cases, families were threatened: if they had not agreed to hand over their children to become soldiers, they would no longer have received humanitarian aid.

The civil war in Yemen started in 2014. The war caused the deaths of thousands of thousands of civilians and combatants. The war also created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

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The child soldiers issue is particularly critical in Sudan, where a civil war lasting over 17 years has recently ended, causing over 400,000 deaths, two million displaced individuals and the forced recruitment of thousands of child soldiers. According to the data, there are currently about 19,000 child soldiers in Sudan who have been forced into armies to survive.
The armed group arrives in the village, rounding up the young men. Opposing children are forced to watch their parents die. Later, they are taken to training camps where they learn to shoot, to be aggressive and violent, to follow a military life 24 hours a day. The tasks they perform are manifold. The most trained boys are used in military operations, while those in the rear take care of the logistical aspects. The girls are transformed into the sex slaves of soldiers and their subordinates.

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WHERE HAS THE PHENOMENON MOST DEVELOPED?

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WHERE HAS THE PHENOMENON MOST DEVELOPED?

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There are 18 countries in which the use of child soldiers in armed conflicts has been documented: among these, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria. An estimated 250,000 children are involved in conflicts around the world, a number steadily increasing from 2012 to 2020. 40% of enrolled minors are girls, often victims of gender-based violence.

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Child soldiers are children under 18 years of age, who are abducted, recruited as fighters, messengers, human mine-detectors and sex slaves and educated to fight, kill, commit violence, and forced to live experiences a child should never have to suffer on their own skin.

Therefore, their life is constantly in danger and their childhood is often sacrificed in the name of grownups' wars; even when they survive this conflicts, these children experience very serious long-term trauma, not only physical (states of denutrition, skin diseases, respiratory or infectious diseases) but also psychological trauma.