Armies of the young; child soldiers in war and terrorism.0813535689 Armies of the young; child soldiers in war and terrorism. Rosen, David M. Rutgers U. Press 2005 199 pages $22.95 Paperback The Rutgers series in childhood studies UB416 Look at the news long enough and you will see children in uniform toting rifles, children in camouflage camouflage (kăm`əfläzh), in warfare, the disguising of objects with artificial aids, especially for the purpose of making them blend into their surroundings or of deceiving the observer as to the location of strategic points. sniping at occupying troops, children in school uniforms vowing to serve as suicide bombers Noun 1. suicide bomber - a terrorist who blows himself up in order to kill or injure other people act of terrorism, terrorism, terrorist act - the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political . The startling star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. thing about these situations is that they date back throughout history. Rosen (anthropology anthropology, classification and analysis of humans and their society, descriptively, culturally, historically, and physically. Its unique contribution to studying the bonds of human social relations has been the distinctive concept of culture. and law, Fairleigh Dickenson U.) goes far beyond emotional reactions to seek the motivations of the child soldiers themselves in three case studies, namely the Jewish child soldiers of the Second World War and the children fighting in various capacities in the conflicts in Sierra Leone Sierra Leone (sēĕr`ə lēō`nē, lēōn`; sēr`ə lēōn), officially Republic of Sierra Leone, republic (2005 est. pop. 6,018,000), 27,699 sq mi (71,740 sq km), W Africa. and Palestine. He finds that children may not be victims but instead have reasoned that the only thing worse than fighting is not fighting, and that fighting also provides an element of control, self-determination, and in some cases, leads to survival. He urges policy-makers to also study the cultural and historical contexts of individual situations. ([c] 2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR) |
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