Soon after a group of rebels formed a group called the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). The rebels decided they had had enough of president Taylor's constantly ignoring the needs of his people and began terrorizing the streets and attacking the national army. As a result, a long civil war ensued. Charles Taylor chose to ignore pleas for peace and was responsible for the destruction of the lives of the people in Liberia. He brought about nothing but violence, starvation, and mass killings. He became the perfect depiction of conflict, struggle, and fight that caused distress to the people of Liberia. .
Reasons Children Participate in War.
There are several factors to explain the participation of children in war. The answer to this varies and is very complex. Generally, children may choose to participate in wars because of the respect associated with the military forces. Marten (2004) writes, "Becoming a soldier is a sign of manhood" (p. 776). Children may want to continue to carry out their family legacy or perhaps join the military out of patriotism and even to experience something new. Usually, those who voluntarily participate in war come out feeling like they've matured into a well-rounded individual. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for child soldiers. Child soldiers is a term used to describe children under the age of 18 who are forced against their will to participate in war as fighters, spies, and even suicide bombers. The psychological consequences for these children, especially throughout various parts of Africa have been significantly negative.
Effects of War on Children.
In wars such as the Liberian civil war and the Angolan civil war children were subjected to many unlawful activities. Most of them unwillingly took part in the war because their lives and the lives of people they cared about were threatened. In the Angolan civil war a total of 8,500 children were registered for combat.
