Fear of separation:
Children often fear losing a parent due to conflicts and wars. Fathers or brothers may go off to war, never to return. Some children live in fear of losing these family members or never even get the chance to know their family members. In Rwanda, 300,000 children grew up without moms or dads because their parents were killed in the civil war of 1993. (source) Some children suffer from nightmares about waking up to find their fathers or brothers gone.
Fear of bodily harm:
Some conflicts leave behind landmines, resulting in unannounced detonations and the loss of limbs. In Angola alone, 70,000 people lost arms or legs.
Fear of being recruited and forced to fight:
Child soldiers as young as 7 years old have been found fighting in some of the conflicts throughout Africa. Sometimes children are forced to fight, other times they join on their own. Many times, they have no idea what they are fighting for or against. Sometimes they are forced to fight to protect their own family members. More than 11,000 kids (1/3 of them girls) have been forced to fight in conflicts in Uganda. (source) According to the United Nations there remains an estimated 300,000 children involved in conflicts around the world today. Listen to what one former child soldier had to say about his life:
Beah (age 12) was taken in, given shelter and eventually trained to kill. "Somebody being shot in front of you, or you yourself shooting somebody became just like drinking a glass of water. Children who refused to fight, kill or showed any weakness were ruthlessly dealt with."
"Emotions weren't allowed," he continued. "For example if a nine-year-old boy cried because they missed their mother, they were shot." (source)
