Fight Like Soldiers.
Die Like Children
Anthropological View
- Anthropologists would say that there are factors in the nature of society that make these children become child soldiers and that make the leaders kidnap these kids to become soldiers.
- The place where the child soldiers were born and raised, really affects how they react to the situation of becoming soldier. Where they live, people think it is normal and ordinary for a child to become a soldier and fight.
- Some of the child soldiers, when interviewed, said that they had nothing better to do. They couldn't really afford school anymore and didn't want to sit doing nothing all day, so they thought it'd be better to die in war than die uselessly.
- How have cultures changed to the point where they accept the fact that children are fighting their wars and are in combat?
Sociological View
- Society wants children to obey and work hard for their own needs. Children in Africa are known as being aggressive and are not innocent, but what factors in society make children lose their innocence and childhood?
- When families are poor and need money to survive, they'll voluntarily become a child soldiers so that they can support themselves and/or their family's economic state.
- The fact that there are not many people to help these children to avoid this option increases the rate of how many child soldiers there are. There are also barely any rescue teams that work to stop the use of child soldiers. For example, in Canada, something like this could never be carried out. There are people here that protect that children. In Africa, the kids do not have these services to access, therefore leaving them no choice but to join or be forced to join.
- In the documentary, it stated that children don't think they'll be safe in society, so they join the army to receive some sort of protection. But in truth, they are probably more in danger in the army because they are just children. They don't know how to survive at war.
- Why is it acceptable for children to have guns in their hands and fight?
Psychological View
- The children who survive some wars will be traumatized and could develop psychological problems.
- Children were forced to kill (even their own family) so that the kid is too ashamed to go back into society and the leader of the army becomes like a father figure to the child and puts his trust into him. It's cruel, but as said in the documentary, very effective. But even then, they children would be traumatized and probably blame themselves their whole life for this act.
- The army going against the one with the child soldiers will be confused. Do they fire at a child? Even though they might be firing at you or someone u need to protect, is it right to kill a child? Thoughts like this will interfere with a soldiers head, but in the end, he needs to defend himself and his team.
- How would the people that have to fight the children feel? Would they be honored to protect their team or ashamed for killing small children that were most likely forced to join?
- The kids are abused and tortured in a harsh environment when training to become a soldier. This will affect them later on in life and change their character completely.
- Some children feel proud about their new skills. Is this right for a child to think? Is it okay for him to feel proud about killing someone? Won't this affect how they act towards everyone else? Is it dangerous?
- In the documentary, they said that the children are mature when they are young because they've been through so much before (separation from parents, abusive relationships, violent events, etc.).
- Leaders of the groups know that the kids will obey and sooner or later trust the leader since they are easily tricked
- What happened in their past life that makes a child want to be a soldier?
Which of the Social Sciences Best Explains the Events in the Documentary?
A psychological view would best explain the events in the documentary. Being a child soldier will traumatize the kids and the amount of training will mentally and physically exhaust them. The children have realized that there is almost no one to help them in this situation (government, police, etc.). They've accepted the fact that i have to do this or i die, and obviously they will want to live. The know that there's no way out of this, and even if there was, they wouldn't have anywhere to go. Most of the children have been separated from their families or ordered to kill them. They wouldn't have anywhere else to go and society won't accept them because they are considered murderers. So they think they are safe under the command of their leader, they are not alone. They've been abused and tortured but they have people with them. Some of them even might consider the other children their family. They might have had a harsh past with their families as in no money, no education, no fun, etc. So they could see becoming a soldier a better option, where they at least have something to do. Other kids might feel empowered by this job. They want to hold a gun and fire because they have control over something. They are kids, they don't know any better and want to be in control so this is how they can have that power. The leader of the these child soldier groups kidnap and enroll children because they know that they are gullible, they know about their situations and their desire to get out of it and they know that they will obey. This way they can get anything done without being asked questions. Most of the child soldiers don't know what they are doing. Children deserve to have a nice childhood where they can be happy and free, not forced and abused. The psychological view shows us why the children and leaders work this way.