If a child cries, rebels tell them they are crying because they miss home or family and are considered weak. They will be beaten severely or even killed. The people of the Congo have been trying to protect the youth because they are the most important thing they have and they are their future. The government has been trying everything they can to protect the children, but they can not keep them from being taken
The rebels kidnap girls as well and the girls have been subject to sexual slavery and exploitation. A lot of the time they are forced to ‘marry’ combatants. Between July 2009 and February 2012 268 girls and 323 boys were kidnapped. The kids are being used as cooks, porters, guards, spies or directly in hostilities as combatants, or human shields. Some kids have been forced to kill their friends or other children. To keep the boys fighting, the rebels give them ‘magical potions’ and were told it would boost their strength and fighting skills. The magical potion is made up of gunpowder and cocain. The children become addicted to the drug and a lot of the end up dying from withdrawal when they are older. A lot of children grow up and experience PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and have horrible nightmares of all the killing. These young kids are being traumatized by all the death and killings. Most of the kids in Africa won’t get to experience a happy childhood that isn’t interrupted by civil war. All the kids in Africa are scared to go to sleep and live in fear of being kidnapped or killed.
By Cameron Chase
Cick for picture for Infographic
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