--- title: "12 Child Soldiers Quotes by 9 authors" description: "Browse 12 Child Soldiers quotes by 9 authors. Discover the best Child Soldiers sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/emmanuel-jal-12766_child_a-lot-of-child-soldiers-lose-their-minds_2287002.png" --- > [A lot of child soldiers lose their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/a-lot-of-child-soldiers-lose-their-minds/) [Emmanuel Jal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-jal/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/emmanuel-jal-12766_child_a-lot-of-child-soldiers-lose-their-minds_2287002.png) > [Compelled to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed, child soldiers are forced to give violent expression to the hatreds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olara-otunnu/compelled-to-become-instruments-of-war-to-kill-and-be-killed-child/) [Olara Otunnu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olara-otunnu/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/olara-otunnu-84409_adults_compelled-to-become-instruments-of-war-t_2926655.png) > [The saddest sight these days is the image of hundreds of thousands of children kidnapped and lured into being child soldiers from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-moore/the-saddest-sight-these-days-is-the-image-of-hundreds-of-thousands-of/) [Roger Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-moore/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/roger-moore-3059_age_the-saddest-sight-these-days-is-the-imag_3017955.png) > ['Beasts of No Nation' began when I read an article about child soldiers in Sierra Leone during my final year of high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzodinma-iweala/beasts-of-no-nation-began-when-i-read-an-article-about-child-soldiers/) [Uzodinma Iweala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzodinma-iweala/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/uzodinma-iweala-7990_animals_beasts-of-no-nation-began-when-i-read-an_125566.jpg) > [My calling was first of all to ensure there was peace in the country, because we could easily have gone back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/my-calling-was-first-of-all-to-ensure-there-was-peace-in-the-country/) [Ellen Johnson Sirleaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-13797_calling_my-calling-was-first-of-all-to-ensure-th_2791213.jpg) > [In my senior year of high school, I read an article in 'Newsweek' about child soldiers in Sierra Leone. I felt a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzodinma-iweala/in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-i-read-an-article-in-newsweek-about/) [Uzodinma Iweala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzodinma-iweala/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/uzodinma-iweala-7990_children_in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-i-read_2770490.jpg) > [It's somewhat disquieting that the same parents and educators who are horrified by the notion of child soldiers have bestowed upon 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-oppel/it-s-somewhat-disquieting-that-the-same-parents-and-educators-who-are/) [Kenneth Oppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-oppel/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/kenneth-oppel-9227_child-soldier_it-s-somewhat-disquieting-that-the-same_441530.jpg) > [More and more, we have been able to present the argument that recruitment of child soldiers is a social breakdown that leads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rom-o-dallaire/more-and-more-we-have-been-able-to-present-the-argument-that/) [Romeo Dallaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rom-o-dallaire/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/686/rom-o-dallaire-19132_able_more-and-more-we-have-been-able-to-prese_174945.jpg) > [For many child soldiers, war and violence are all they have ever known. If we don't take it upon ourselves to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/for-many-child-soldiers-war-and-violence-are-all-they-have-ever-known/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/forest-whitaker-3022_children_for-many-child-soldiers-war-and-violence_726429.jpg) > [Universal ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict will establish an international moral consensus that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/universal-ratification-of-the-optional-protocol-on-the-involvement-of/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/ban-ki-moon-1778_armed-conflict_universal-ratification-of-the-optional-p_2501718.png) > [It may seem unimaginable to you that child soldiers exist and yet the reality for many rebel and gang leaders, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rom-o-dallaire/it-may-seem-unimaginable-to-you-that-child-soldiers-exist-and-yet-the/) [Roméo Dallaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rom-o-dallaire/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rom-o-dallaire-19132_child-soldier_it-may-seem-unimaginable-to-you-that-chi_2297925.jpg) > [When we talk about the issue of child soldiers, it can be easy to focus just on ending recruitment and liberating those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/when-we-talk-about-the-issue-of-child-soldiers-it-can-be-easy-to/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/forest-whitaker-3022_children_when-we-talk-about-the-issue-of-child-so_2364502.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-soldiers/#itemlist", "name": "Child Soldiers Quotes", "numberOfItems": 12, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A lot of child soldiers lose their minds.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emmanuel Jal" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-jal/a-lot-of-child-soldiers-lose-their-minds/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/emmanuel-jal-12766_child_a-lot-of-child-soldiers-lose-their-minds_2287002.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/emmanuel-jal-12766_child_a-lot-of-child-soldiers-lose-their-minds_2287002.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/emmanuel-jal-12766_child_a-lot-of-child-soldiers-lose-their-minds_2287002.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A lot of child soldiers lose their minds.” — Emmanuel Jal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Compelled to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed, child soldiers are forced to give violent expression to the hatreds of adults", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Olara Otunnu" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olara-otunnu/compelled-to-become-instruments-of-war-to-kill-and-be-killed-child/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/olara-otunnu-84409_adults_compelled-to-become-instruments-of-war-t_2926655.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/olara-otunnu-84409_adults_compelled-to-become-instruments-of-war-t_2926655.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2e/olara-otunnu-84409_adults_compelled-to-become-instruments-of-war-t_2926655.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Compelled to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed, child soldiers are forced to give violent…” — Olara Otunnu", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The saddest sight these days is the image of hundreds of thousands of children kidnapped and lured into being child soldiers from the age of eight.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roger Moore" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-moore/the-saddest-sight-these-days-is-the-image-of-hundreds-of-thousands-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/roger-moore-3059_age_the-saddest-sight-these-days-is-the-imag_3017955.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/roger-moore-3059_age_the-saddest-sight-these-days-is-the-imag_3017955.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca1/roger-moore-3059_age_the-saddest-sight-these-days-is-the-imag_3017955.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The saddest sight these days is the image of hundreds of thousands of children kidnapped and lured into…” — Roger Moore", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'Beasts of No Nation' began when I read an article about child soldiers in Sierra Leone during my final year of high school.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Uzodinma Iweala" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzodinma-iweala/beasts-of-no-nation-began-when-i-read-an-article-about-child-soldiers/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/uzodinma-iweala-7990_animals_beasts-of-no-nation-began-when-i-read-an_125566.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/uzodinma-iweala-7990_animals_beasts-of-no-nation-began-when-i-read-an_125566.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18a/uzodinma-iweala-7990_animals_beasts-of-no-nation-began-when-i-read-an_125566.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'Beasts of No Nation' began when I read an article about child soldiers in Sierra Leone during my final year…” — Uzodinma Iweala", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My calling was first of all to ensure there was peace in the country, because we could easily have gone back to war. In the midst of the country, there were still warlords; there were many child soldiers who had never gone to school - they were part of the social setting - compromises had to be made.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-johnson-sirleaf/my-calling-was-first-of-all-to-ensure-there-was-peace-in-the-country/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-13797_calling_my-calling-was-first-of-all-to-ensure-th_2791213.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-13797_calling_my-calling-was-first-of-all-to-ensure-th_2791213.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-13797_calling_my-calling-was-first-of-all-to-ensure-th_2791213.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My calling was first of all to ensure there was peace in the country, because we could easily have gone back…” — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In my senior year of high school, I read an article in 'Newsweek' about child soldiers in Sierra Leone. I felt a sense of shock - this was happening in the region where I'm from, and people don't know about it. I wanted to understand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Uzodinma Iweala" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzodinma-iweala/in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-i-read-an-article-in-newsweek-about/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/uzodinma-iweala-7990_children_in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-i-read_2770490.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/uzodinma-iweala-7990_children_in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-i-read_2770490.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d40/uzodinma-iweala-7990_children_in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-i-read_2770490.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In my senior year of high school, I read an article in 'Newsweek' about child soldiers in Sierra Leone. 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If we don't take it upon ourselves to show them an alternative, then they're going to be soldiers forever, and they'll continue to be recruited and to participate in violence if another conflict starts five or 10 years down the road.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Forest Whitaker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/for-many-child-soldiers-war-and-violence-are-all-they-have-ever-known/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/forest-whitaker-3022_children_for-many-child-soldiers-war-and-violence_726429.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/forest-whitaker-3022_children_for-many-child-soldiers-war-and-violence_726429.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/192/forest-whitaker-3022_children_for-many-child-soldiers-war-and-violence_726429.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For many child soldiers, war and violence are all they have ever known. If we don't take it upon ourselves…” — Forest Whitaker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Universal ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict will establish an international moral consensus that no child should take part in hostilities or be involuntarily recruited and that former child soldiers should be assisted by their governments after a life of violence and distress.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ban Ki-moon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/universal-ratification-of-the-optional-protocol-on-the-involvement-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/ban-ki-moon-1778_armed-conflict_universal-ratification-of-the-optional-p_2501718.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/ban-ki-moon-1778_armed-conflict_universal-ratification-of-the-optional-p_2501718.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/ban-ki-moon-1778_armed-conflict_universal-ratification-of-the-optional-p_2501718.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Universal ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict will…” — Ban Ki-moon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It may seem unimaginable to you that child soldiers exist and yet the reality for many rebel and gang leaders, and even state governments, is that there is no more complete end-to-end weapon system in the inventory of war machines than the child soldierMan has created the ultimate cheap, expendable, yet sophisticated human weapon at the expense of humanity's own future: its children.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roméo Dallaire" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rom-o-dallaire/it-may-seem-unimaginable-to-you-that-child-soldiers-exist-and-yet-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rom-o-dallaire-19132_child-soldier_it-may-seem-unimaginable-to-you-that-chi_2297925.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rom-o-dallaire-19132_child-soldier_it-may-seem-unimaginable-to-you-that-chi_2297925.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fa/rom-o-dallaire-19132_child-soldier_it-may-seem-unimaginable-to-you-that-chi_2297925.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It may seem unimaginable to you that child soldiers exist and yet the reality for many rebel and gang…” — Roméo Dallaire", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we talk about the issue of child soldiers, it can be easy to focus just on ending recruitment and liberating those boys and girls who are currently being held in military camps. Obviously, both of these are incredibly important goals, but it's also essential that we not forget about former child soldiers once they are liberated.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Forest Whitaker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/when-we-talk-about-the-issue-of-child-soldiers-it-can-be-easy-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/forest-whitaker-3022_children_when-we-talk-about-the-issue-of-child-so_2364502.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/forest-whitaker-3022_children_when-we-talk-about-the-issue-of-child-so_2364502.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d7/forest-whitaker-3022_children_when-we-talk-about-the-issue-of-child-so_2364502.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we talk about the issue of child soldiers, it can be easy to focus just on ending recruitment and…” — Forest Whitaker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-soldiers/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-soldiers/", "name": "Child Soldiers Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-soldiers/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/emmanuel-jal-12766_child_a-lot-of-child-soldiers-lose-their-minds_2287002.png" }, "description": "Browse 12 Child Soldiers quotes by 9 authors. 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