Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Child Soldiers (2002)

A video which normally appears on this page did not load because the Flash plug-in was not found on your computer. You can download and install the free Flash plug-in then view the video. Or you can view the same video as a downloadable MP4 file without installing the Flash plug-in.

clip Children as ruthless killers

This clip chosen to be M

Clip description

Three children are asked to talk about their experiences of killing and maiming people. Olara Otunna, Special Representative Children and Armed Conflict, United Nations, comments on the recruitment of children to armed action and how easily they are trained to kill.

Curator’s notes

It is horrifying to hear these children recount their experiences. And while the consequences of their actions are made clear to the audience by intercutting their interviews with shots of maimed victims, it is disturbing that this context is absent from the children’s interviews.