Complete Letter Draft 1 - Language Arts

To: The United Nations

My name is Debra Effiong, and recently my class has been reading about child soldiers and the horrendous things they go through. We learned that sometimes the children are forcefully recruited to join militant groups. Because they are easily manipulated, loyal, fearless, and are always available, they are taken advantage of and used as soldiers, taught violent methods, threatened, and are mentally abused. They are sometimes found roaming the streets in search for shelter or their families. Since they are found in such dire situations they easily accept the chance to have shelter. We have been asked the question "What should happen to them after the war. Should they be given amnesty?" After a while of thinking, my answer was that children should be given proper treatment into becoming normal again and be pardoned. With that answer I spent time finding which organizations helped child soldiers with demobilization the most, and the answer I got was Unicef.

UNICEF has made way for many child soldiers to be demobilized. An example of a child soldier demobilized by UNICEF is Raul, a young Congolese boy,  who was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and forced to commit atrocious acts. After returning to his home his aunt reports,“He is thinking too much about the past.” Raul was constantly reminded of the acts he committed, and found it hard to sleep. When asked why he didn’t refuse to kill, he answered with, “I didn’t dare refuse, because a friend of mine who refused to kill was shot himself.” The things that young Raul had to see still haunt him. “If I don’t pray before going to bed, I dream of the LRA coming to kidnap me again,” he said.

Raul, just like many children, has faced a very traumatic experience. Their childhood consist of gunshots and killing. No kid should have to go through that. Unicef and a co-ed organization have provided assistance for 1,570 children who were previously in armed forces or groups. 585 girls and 764 boys were assisted from the LRA, including Raul. After they were demobilized they received medical and psycho-social therapy. To help them further they are quartered in Unicef sponsored families and give demobilization kits with shoes, hygiene articles and civilian clothes.  “I thank UNICEF for the care that my nephew received. I know that he is intelligent and can have a bright future,” says Raul’s aunt.

Children all around the world are often forcefully recruited into militant groups and used for war. Some children are lucky enough to be helped by an organization like UNICEF and given the opportunity to get an education, a home, and a chance to be free again. All of this can’t happen if a non profit organization like UNICEF doesn’t have any funding. Some logically argue that with the budget the UN has, child soldiers shouldn’t be a priority, but one of the main things the UN does is work to protect human rights. Children have just as many rights as adults and if those rights are being stripped away from them, shouldn’t there be something done to help protect them? That is why I believe that the UN should continue to fund UNICEF. The amount of child soldiers that UNICEF helped is unbelievable, and I don’t think they can continue to help those helpless children without some type of funding.

Sincerely,

Debra

Final Draft Child Soldiers - Language Arts

To: The Luxembourg Government

My name is Debra Effiong, and recently my class has been reading about child soldiers and the horrendous things they go through. We learned that sometimes the children are forcefully recruited to join militant groups. Because they are easily manipulated, loyal, fearless, and are always available, they are taken advantage of and used as soldiers, taught violent methods, threatened, and are mentally abused. They are sometimes found roaming the streets in search for shelter or their families. Since they are found in such dire situations they easily accept the chance to have shelter. There are currently 300,000 estimated child soldiers active in conflicts all around the world. Those children are involved in conflicts in over 36 different countries. We have been asked the question "What should happen to them after the war. Should they be given amnesty?" After a while of thinking, my answer was that children should be given proper treatment into becoming normal again, and should also be pardoned. With that answer I spent time finding which organizations helped child soldiers with demobilization the most. The answer I got was Unicef.

UNICEF has made way for many child soldiers to be demobilized. An example of a child soldier demobilized by UNICEF is Raul, a young Congolese boy,  who was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and forced to commit atrocious acts. After returning to his home his aunt reports,“He is thinking too much about the past.” Raul was constantly reminded of the acts he committed, and found it hard to sleep. When asked why he didn’t refuse to kill, he answered with, “I didn’t dare refuse, because a friend of mine who refused to kill was shot himself.” The things that young Raul had to see still haunt him. “If I don’t pray before going to bed, I dream of the LRA coming to kidnap me again,” he said.

Raul, just like many children, has faced a very traumatic experience. Their childhood consist of gunshots and killing. No kid should have to go through that. Unicef and a cooperating organization have provided assistance for 1,570 children who were previously in armed forces or groups. 585 girls and 764 boys were assisted from the LRA, including Raul. After they were demobilized they received medical and psycho-social therapy. To help them further they were quartered in Unicef sponsored families and give demobilization kits with shoes, hygiene articles and civilian clothes.  “I thank UNICEF for the care that my nephew received. I know that he is intelligent and can have a bright future,” says Raul’s aunt.

Children all around the world are often forcefully recruited into militant groups and used for war. Some children are lucky enough to be helped by an organization like UNICEF and given the opportunity to get an education, a home, and a chance to be free again. All of this can’t happen if a non profit organization like UNICEF doesn’t have any funding. I know that Luxembourg uses its money to make the universal health care better, but UNICEF has given the demobilized child soldiers access to health care as well. If UNICEF doesn’t have any funding, those child soldiers will not have the privilege of access to health care unlike the children in Luxembourg. Children have just as many rights as adults and if those rights are being stripped away from them, shouldn’t there be something done to help protect them? That is why I believe that the government should continue to, and increase, the funding of UNICEF. The amount of child soldiers that UNICEF helped is unbelievable, and I don’t think they can continue to help those helpless children without some type of funding.

Please take my plea into consideration as the government thinks about the fiscal budget of 2018.

Sincerely,

Debra Effiong

Draft 1 - Language Arts

Intro:

To: The United Nations

Recently, my class has been reading about child soldiers and the horrendous things they go through. We have been asked the question "What should happen to them after the war." After a while of thinking, my answer was that children should be given proper treatment into becoming normal again. With that answer I spent time finding which organizations helped child soldiers with education the most, and the answer I got was Unicef.

Supporting Idea:

Raul, a young Congolese boy, was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and forced to commit horrendous acts. After returning to his home his aunt reports,“He is thinking too much about the past.” Raul is constantly reminded of the acts he committed, and finds it hard to sleep. When asked why he didn’t refuse he answered with, “I didn’t dare refuse, because a friend of mine who refused to kill was shot himself.” The things that young Raul had to see still haunt him. “If I don’t pray before going to bed, I dream of the LRA coming to kidnap me again,” he said.

Raul, just like many children, has faced a very traumatic experience. Their childhoods consist of gunshots and killing. No kid should have to go through that. Unicef and a co-ed organization have provided assistance for 1,570 children who were previously in armed forces or groups. 585 girls and 764 boys were assisted from LRA, including Raul. After they were demobilized they received medical and psycho-social therapy. To help them further they are quartered in Unicef sponsored families and give demobilization kits with shoes, hygiene articles and civilian clothes.  “I thank UNICEF for the care that my nephew received. I know that he is intelligent and can have a bright future,” says Raul’s aunt.

Conclusion:

Children all around the world are sometimes forcefully taken into militant groups and used for war. Some children are lucky enough to be helped by an organization like UNICEF and given the opportunity to get an education, a home, and a chance to be free again. All of this can’t happen if a non profit organization like UNICEF doesn’t have any funding. That is why I believe that the UN should continue to fund UNICEF. The amount of child soldiers that UNICEF helped is unbelievable, and I don’t think they can continue to help those helpless children without some type of funding.