Somalian boy soldier

Enacted in 2008, the Child Soldier Protection Act refers to any one who takes part in a war under 18 years of age. It is illegal to recruit or use a child for active duty, or in a support role such as porter, cook. medic, guard or sex slave. Compulsory recruitment of children into an army happens in almost every country experiencing social unrest or out and out war.

It is hard enough for men and women who choose to participate in a war to go and fight. Fighting and killing other human beings is horrible, but for children ten years old or sixteen years old it can completely ruin them for a meaningful civilian life. Since most child soldiers are sold to armies, they may end up fighting wars for the rest of their lives. They will have no choice in the matter since they are slaves.

Child Soldiers are forced to fight–to kill or to die.

To really understand what this means, look at your children and try to imagine someone taking them away from you and forcing them into an army to fight and kill, or to be a sex slave  and to know that their humanity is never again taken into account. They are battlefield fodder.

The Coalition to protect children from being sold to armies and/or governments.

I would like to refer readers to two books on the subject of human trafficking. One is Globalization, Prostitution and Sex Trafficking  by Elina Penttinen and the other is To Live and Tell by Francis Duworko.

Traffickers use fronts or legitimate business such as salons, massage parlors, nail salons. They often use promises of jobs and a better life here in the USA. They arrive here and are coerced into servitude/slavery. If you meet someone who seems to be at risk, please call 1-888-3737-888. This is an important way to fight modern slavery for men, women or children.

Save the childhood of a precious little one. Call 1-888-3737-888 if you think a man, woman or child has been sold and held in slavery.

It is sad that these are things we have to discuss. They aren’t pleasant. They aren’t easily changed. They can be upsetting and depressing. But think about the twenty seven million slaves worldwide and what they are going through and what they feel. To never see family or friends again. To never draw a free breath again. To see a fellow slave murdered because they tried to get out. To be repeatedly raped because you are owned by a sick twisted human being. Please don’t just turn away. Know that we can change slavery in this world. We need to remember we all live here on this one planet, we share one life on this plane of existence, and we are loved by The One.

This little one is a child soldier. Young, yes. Willing, no.