As a teenager in war-ravaged Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah was brainwashed, drugged and forced to kill.
'We went from children who were afraid of gunshots to now children who were gunshots," say Ishmael Beah who became separated from his family at just 12 years of age when his town was attacked. (From African Voices, 2012)
Child soldiers are often recruited by force. They could have been forced at gunpoint, threatened with death or abducted from their schools, homes or in the street. However not all children join by force some are sold to the rebels by their family due to poverty and starvation. Some join for a sense of responsibility, some feel like there are no other options, some do it for revenge over the other rebel groups that have torn their families and villages apart and some are promised food and a bed to sleep in.
The boys are taken to a training camp where they will learn how to fight and operate different machinery, they are taught to be fearless. They are drugged using a mixture of cocaine and gunpowder, then they are brainwashed and beaten. Once the rebels feel that their new recruitments are obedient and can be trusted they take them to the missionary base camp. At the base camp they are assigned jobs, the girls mostly cook and clean, whereas the boys usually rampage neighbouring villagers, they burn peoples houses down, mutilate innocent villagers and take their possessions. If the boys aren't fighting they are off recruiting new boys to join the rebel forces.
The shift back to civilian life is not easy. The move from a world of hierarchy, cruelty and inhumanity back to one based on humanity and caring can be extremely difficult for the children that have been taught to kill. Some of the lucky kids are taken to rehab, although this is a very difficult thing at first, eventually some of the kids can lead a normal, civil life and take opportunities to do something great.
'We went from children who were afraid of gunshots to now children who were gunshots," say Ishmael Beah who became separated from his family at just 12 years of age when his town was attacked. (From African Voices, 2012)
Child soldiers are often recruited by force. They could have been forced at gunpoint, threatened with death or abducted from their schools, homes or in the street. However not all children join by force some are sold to the rebels by their family due to poverty and starvation. Some join for a sense of responsibility, some feel like there are no other options, some do it for revenge over the other rebel groups that have torn their families and villages apart and some are promised food and a bed to sleep in.
The boys are taken to a training camp where they will learn how to fight and operate different machinery, they are taught to be fearless. They are drugged using a mixture of cocaine and gunpowder, then they are brainwashed and beaten. Once the rebels feel that their new recruitments are obedient and can be trusted they take them to the missionary base camp. At the base camp they are assigned jobs, the girls mostly cook and clean, whereas the boys usually rampage neighbouring villagers, they burn peoples houses down, mutilate innocent villagers and take their possessions. If the boys aren't fighting they are off recruiting new boys to join the rebel forces.
The shift back to civilian life is not easy. The move from a world of hierarchy, cruelty and inhumanity back to one based on humanity and caring can be extremely difficult for the children that have been taught to kill. Some of the lucky kids are taken to rehab, although this is a very difficult thing at first, eventually some of the kids can lead a normal, civil life and take opportunities to do something great.