The "Democracy" of The Congo

The Democratic People's Republic of The Congo or the DRC for short is a country located in Central Africa. During the first and second Congo civil conflicts, all participating sides and armies used children as part of their infantry. These children were labelled as what were called, "Kadogos", which is a Swahili term meaning, "little ones". For as long as most can remember child soldiers have been active in The Congo for years ever since the springing of civil conflict and war in the country. It's estimated that there were over 30,000 children in The Congo that had been a part or were currently a part of some sort of army or infantry squadron.

Children are cheap, children are expendable, children are clever and they are often as useful as they are small. Although the truth is unfortunate, the fact is that children have many uses and are used for much more than simple child labor or military conscription.

From the rifle to the blood diamond, children are "employed" all about the country in order to fulfill and collect debts - whether it be in the form of blood, cash or diamonds. They are forced to work in mines to repay debt otherwise, if not to sell to the west for extreme prices in order to sell for just as much in stores. Children are sent out into the open as scouts, testing for things like landmines and snipers. Children who are innocent in appearance and set in with backpacks full of improvised explosive devices, and they bomb crowded areas.

Yet another unacceptable case of children being unable to live a proper childhood - as they have no idea or concept of what a "proper childhood" could possibly even be.

There is no easy answer or solution to conscripted child soldiers. In fact there isn't much that can be done, especially when the children are rooted so deep in the teachings and brainwashing that they may even be unaware of the malice they are in fact causing.

There must be a method to teach the children. To get the message to them, and it must be done without the use of foreign aid or military action form other countries, as the soldiers there are not very keen on either.

Children must be given the message to rise up. They must be inspired- taught to take back what is rightfully theirs: their childhood. Unless this is possible, more and more children will continue to be exploited, and more and more children will lose what could have been their childhood.

SOURCE
APA MLA Chicago LeMoyne, R. (2004). Gold, Guns and Germs: the Effects of The Congo. Retrieved June 09, 2017, from http://www.alexiafoundation.org/stories/gold-guns-and-germs-the-effects-of-conflict-in-the-dr-congo

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