Evil Genius

Warlords are forcing children in conflicts around the world to become killing machines -- nothing more than what one child advocate calls "cannon fodder."

Some children are kidnapped from their schools or their beds, some are recruited after seeing their parents slaughtered, some may even choose to join the militias as their best hope for survival in war-torn countries from Colombia, and across Africa and the Middle East, to south Asia.

Once recruited, many are brainwashed, trained, given drugs and then sent into battle with orders to kill.

There is no escape for what the United Nations and human rights groups estimate are 250,000 child soldiers today. These children, some as young as 8, become fighters, sex slaves, spies and even human shields.

Sometimes their guns are taller than they are. But the child soldiers can be frighteningly cold and effective, according to CNN Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange. (Audio Slide Show: Koinange describes coming face to face with gun-wielding children)

He said they take macho noms de guerre like "Col. Rambo" and "Brig. Chop Them Up."

"The saddest part is we, as adults, had to address them as such," he added. "Otherwise you just never knew what would happen." (Read: Koinange recalls how child soldiers killed his friend)

The children's very vulnerability makes them attractive to the men leading militias, according to Jo Becker, who has interviewed former child soldiers in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Uganda and Myanmar for Human Rights Watch.

They are easy to manipulate and will do the unspeakable without question or protest, partly because their morals and value systems are not yet fully formed, she said. In some cultures, child soldiers -- 40 percent of whom can be girls -- are considered expendable "cannon fodder," she said.

Who are these children?

The usual image is of young homeless people who live and work on the streets. But it is better to think of street children in terms of their relationship to the street. Some come from street families. Others live mainly on the street but may go back to the family home in the evenings or make sporadic visits. Yet others sleep in night shelters. A proportion endure periods in jail or institutions or spend their days working in open air markets. Most are working children.

All are individuals first with their own unique, complex lives.

How many are there?

Nobody knows for sure. Estimates differ widely--anywhere from 30 to 170 million. Their mobility and the fact that they move in and out of street living make them difficult to count. They are not included in surveys and censuses. There are no global statistics and the most reliable national ones come from agencies on the ground.

Particular circumstances such as warfare, deteriorating economies and natural disasters can increase their numbers. Thus, prior to the 1991 Gulf War there were no reported street children in Iraq; with the ongoing conflict, UNICEF is alarmed by the growing numbers of orphans on the streets. (1)

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Family ties (4)

* Only a minority have no contact with their family. In Brazil about 90% have either a home life or occasional contact with their family.

* Poverty and social vulnerability put pressure on families and drive children on to the streets. In Kingston, Jamaica, over 90% of street children came from single mother families.

* Family dysfunction, often fuelled by poverty, also pushes children out. In the United States poverty is not the main factor--a majority of the estimated 750,000 to 1 million street children have fled physical or sexual abuse.