Children In War

In the battle of Mogadishu every civilian that was loyal to General Aidid and his cause fought for him. Men, women, and even children were all a part of the Somali militia. No one would ever expect a women let alone a child to pick up a gun and fire back at them. Could you bring yourself to kill a child in this situation? In the movie Black Hawk Down, SGT. Urich travels through a family’s home and slips out the back window to avoid a mob. When he slipped out the window, he startled the little boy soldier and the boy shot his father by accident. SGT. Urich did not kill the child; he could not bring himself to do it. Should he have killed the child or did he make the right choice? Personally, I think that he should have shot the child.

It is my belief that no child should ever be exposed to wars and battles like those held in Mogadishu. Instead, they should be playing, laughing, having fun, and not fighting in a battle.  I think children are just entirely too young to be put in a battle. This was wrong for the militia to do but, I understand why it was done. These children followed their parents who supported General Aidid’s cause and so they fought alongside their parents. Did they know that the decision they were making was right? Maybe, maybe not, but they made the decision based off what they believed to be right. They did not know any better, and decided based off what they were taught.

As for me, if I came faced with a situation like this I would have to take the child’s life, although I would regret it for the rest of my life. However, as soon as that child picked up the weapon they became my enemy. I am not going to lie, I would have to wrestle with that decision for a moment but when push comes to shove, its either my life or theirs. I know it would be an extremely hard and long process to forgive yourself after committing such an act but you have to go on living. I interviewed my world history teacher Dawn Diver who is a former soldier. She stated that, “A child came to the base with a bomb strapped to himself. I chose to kill the child because it was either the child or everyone in the base.” To this day, she still thinks about that child and the choice she made.   

I know many people would not be able to pull the trigger in a situation like this. They just would not have it in them to take a child’s life no matter the circumstances. They couldn’t live with the guilt, regret, and pain of the aftermath.