Africa has been described as “the most silent crisis in the world”. They were labeled this way because Africans have been struggling with child soldiers for many years. Child soldiers are used throughout Africa. This includes Mozambique, Somalia, Congo and Uganda. The Central African Region (CAR) is the most well-known area that employs child soldiers due to the viral video released in 2012 by an organization called “The Invisible Children”. The focus of this video was on the infamous leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony. The video helped spread awareness about child soldiers, but there are many other places using child soldiers that aren't talked about. This has been a problem for almost 20 years. There are places in the world where children are kidnapped and forced to become fighters at an early age. Young adults should not only understand how this is happening, but also why and how to help. Children shouldn't have to worry about being kidnapped at night and having to kill their friends and family the next day. Children becoming soldiers in Africa has been a problem for too long and we need to stop it. While it may seem that African child soldiers invented child soldiers, this is not the case. When the Nazis became desperate during World War II, they conscripted teenagers. This was the inspiration for many other countries to do the same. In the early 1980s, a new war was discovered in Mozambique that would sweep across Africa and soon the rest of the world. The child soldiers were ordered by the rebels to cut off the villages, one by one. Rebel commanders learned that children were easily manipulated, intensely loyal, tremendously vulnerable, fearless, and, most importantly, that there was an endless supply of them. Manipulate…half of paper…see potential and current child soldiers. (Karwowski) Using children as pawns in fights and conflicts has been a problem for too long and is unforgivable. Students not only in Mamaroneck, but also across the country should care about this issue because we should be extremely grateful for the things we have and most of all grateful for our education and opportunities. Children in Africa have no hope and most don't care if they ever grow up. They grow up on the front lines and remain there for most of their lives. We are fortunate to have a great education that prepares us for many possibilities for our future. More importantly, students should reflect on this topic why it cannot continue as it has been before. A change needs to happen; children in Africa need to have a future again. Child soldiers cannot remain “the world's quietest crisis”. It's time to speak out.