Killer Kids #8 - Public Service Announcement

An original video by the Killer Kids! Blog staff.

Super sad!

Killer Kids #7 - Colombian Drug Wars

A recent study at Cornell University states that by coercing children into militias, armies are inhibiting chances for peace. "The endless supply of adolescent soldiers is an unfortunate source of energy for warfare and, we think, a poorly understood obstacle to peace-making in many countries," said Charles Geisler, professor of development sociology at Cornell. Geisler finds that warfare displaces families, and displacement makes children vulnerable to military recruitment, which, in turn, feeds "a war machine that cannibalizes children." The continual supply of obedient, cheap and disposable child soldiers allows war to continue through a "morally repulsive" vicious cycle, the researchers say.

In Colombia alone, over 2,000 children under the age of 15 are guerilla combatants. For half a century Colombia has seen brutal civil war, between government troops and two rebel factions, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). A recent report found that in 2003 more people died in this conflict than in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.



Many young Colombians are leading a peace campaign, 'The Children's Movement for Peace' seeks to create an environment for children to grow up in free from violence. Three million Colombian youths voted for the movement's referendum to fight for their right to a peaceful future. Rad!

Members of the Children's Movement for Peace give a soldier a sticker that reads "soldier for peace" as part of their campaign.

Killer Kids #6 - Ch-Ch-Chechnya!

The Chechen/Russian conflict has been boiling for decades. Chechen forces actively recruit children by force, a recent report by Newsweek putting their numbers at 35,000 strong. That's a lot of kids. The Chechen army primarily uses children as suicide bombers, land mine detectors, spies and messengers. However, the Russian government too exploits children in warfare. A government program adopts Russian orphans to tag along with military brigades and go through training, learning about firearms and gas masks for instance. Military school provides these children with an education, but also subjects them to harsh practices and sometimes even war. The Russian government claims this program is justified because the orphans have no better alternative. Currently, there are no demobilization programs in either Chechnya or Russia.

"There have been occasions where the troops of Russia performed “cleansing” operations in parts of Chechnya where boys believed to be rebels were sent off to camps to be tortured or killed. It is believed that over 90 children have been killed in this manner. The official government line on this issue is that these children had to be eliminated because they collaborated and conspired with Chechen rebels." -Young Blood




"Russia has turned us into cattle. It is driving our youth into the arms of whoever comes along first and says 'Go with us'." Mother in Chechnya.

Killer Kids #5 - Beirut Boy Scouts

Vice magazine, as part of their video travel guide, traveled to Beirut and uncovered one of the heaviest stories being ignored by the press. The PLO Boy Scouts are displaced Palestinians living in Beirut. At a young age, these children are taught that the ultimate act of faith is martyrdom. These children are encouraged to become suicide bombers against Israel. Whoa. Seriously, watch this.

Killer Kids #4 - MISSION STATEMENT

The Killer Kids! Blog was founded to raise awareness on a largely ignored yet rapidly growing problem. Truly a crime against humanity, every day children in Africa, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East are abused physically, sexually and mentally. Brainwashed, drugged, kidnapped, forced to kill, these innocent children are victims of military conflicts they do not even understand. In countries such as Colombia, DR Congo and Burma there has been little to no change and thousands of children continue to be used regularly as soldiers. Our mission here at Killer Kids! is not to guilt trip or pander for money. We feel that people simply need to understand and know about the extent of the military use of children. It is up to our readers to decide for themselves if they wish to make a difference.

There is a wealth of information available online regarding child soldiers.

The Coalition to Stop Child Soldiers

Amnesty International

UNICEF

Any one of these non-profit organizations will provide extensive research and shocking statistics. For those interested in charity, these websites will offer numerous options to donate.


Before...


After!

"I would like you to give a message. Please do your best to tell the world what is happening to us, the children. So that other children don't have to pass through this violence." -a 15-year-old girl abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.

Killer Kids #3 - Firsthand Accounts

"They give you a gun and you have to kill the best friend you have. They do it to see if they can trust you. If you don't kill him, your friend will be ordered to kill you. I had to do it because otherwise I would have been killed. That's why I got out. I couldn't stand it any longer." 17-year-old boy, joined paramilitary group aged 7, when a street child.

Colombia.


"There was no one in charge of the dormitories and on a nightly basis we were raped. The men and youths would come into our dormitory in the dark, and they would just rape us - you would just have a man on top of you, and you could not even see who it was. If we cried afterwards, we were beaten with hosepipes. We were so scared that we did not report the rapes The youngest girl in our group was aged 11 and she was raped repeatedly in the base." 19-year-old girl describing her experience in the National Youth Service Training Program.

Zimbabwe.

"I joined the Mahdi army to fight the Americans. Last night I fired a rocket-propelled grenade against a tank" A 12 year-old boy in Najaf, 2004.

Iraq.

"When they came to my village, they asked my older brother whether he was ready to join the militia. He was just 17 and he said no; they shot him in the head. Then they asked me if I was ready to sign, so what could I do - I didn't want to die." A former child soldier taken when he was 13. (BBC report).

Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“They filled the forms and asked my age, and when I said 16, I was slapped and he said, ‘You are 18. Answer 18’ He asked me again and I said, ‘But that’s my true age’. The sergeant asked, ‘Then why did you enlist in the army?” I said, ‘Against my will. I was captured.’ He said, ‘Okay, keep your mouth shut then,’ and he filled in the form. I just wanted to go back home and I told them, but they refused. I said, ‘Then please just let me make one phone call’ but they refused that too.” Maung Zaw Oo, describing the second time he was forced into the Tatmadaw Kyi (army) in 2005.

Burma.

Illustrations by former child soldiers

"On the way to the battlefield."

"A shower of bullets."

"God is so good."

Killer Kids #2 - Africa Adido

Africa has the largest number of child soldiers. A 2004 estimate placed 100,000 child combatants involved with armed conflict.

Nearly a dozen African nations, including Uganda, Chad, Sudan and Rwanda among others, are home to rebel armies that forcibly recruit children. One of the most notorious African guerilla armies is the Lord's Resistance Army, operating primarily out of Uganda, but also in Sudan and DR Congo. Joseph Kony, the rebel leader, proclaimed himself a vessel of the Holy Spirit in 1987, founding one of Africa's longest running and most atrocious military conflicts. The LRA's method of recruitment? Invading small towns late at night, LRA troops break into homes, forcing children to kill their parents as a sort of "initiation." Those who refuse to comply are massacred. The captured children are brought to military camps where they are beaten and starved. Those who survive to see combat have slits cut into their temples, where psychoactive drugs are then inserted directly into their brains. Joseph Kony convinces these children that his powers prevent bullets from harming them and allow them to turn stones into grenades. Believing they are invincible, the children charge blindly into combat, usually resulting in total slaughter. Kidnapped girls are used as sex slaves for the boy soldiers, handed out as a sort of "prize" to loyal soldiers. INTERPOL has issued several warrants for the arrest of LRA leaders, yet fighting continues to this day.

Child soldiers in the LRA.


Former child soldier and unfortunate victim of LRA atrocities.

LRA leader and self-proclaimed Christ, Joseph Kony.



To learn more and get involved, visit Invisible Children.
At this website you can preview and order the excellent documentary on Ugandan child soldiers, "Invisible Children," which comes highly reccommended by the Killer Kids! Blog.