Due to suffering, every child will have to fight against the desperate and tormenting consequences of the aftermath of war. Many countries, including Sierra Leone, Angola, Rwanda and Uganda, use child soldiers aged 13 to 18, but many groups also include children aged 12 and younger. In these cases, young children are deprived of their childhood and forced to become soldiers in war. Commanders kidnap children from their own homes, night or day, and take away everything they love, including their family, friends, loved ones, schools and communities. Once removed from their homes, these minors have no choice but to participate in these wars against other children their age. Younger children are used in combat because they are better at hiding, can't fight back, commanders don't care if they die and, most importantly, because they can be brainwashed much more easy. Commanders also abuse children, whether physically, mentally and/or emotionally. In the long term, these abuses change their lives enormously after the war. Former child soldiers suffer for a very long time from the after-effects of war, requiring several months of rehabilitation. Hernan Reyes believes the worst scars are in the mind, which constitutes psychological torture. Former child soldiers face mental instability after being at war. “Children spend several months before they can sleep at night without medication. It takes even longer to recall early childhood memories as they grapple with flashbacks of past war experiences” (Steel). During the process of removing children from their homes, they are forced to watch their families be killed. This makes it hard for kids to try to think back middle of paper...sometimes they don't want to talk about the experience because it makes them so emotional, so they never say anything about it. and keep it for themselves. The final example that proves the two examples above is: “Often these children have difficulty in community relationships after their release. They struggle with guilt and shame and never see their family again. They are labeled as different or untrustworthy, which, in a vicious cycle, depends on their feelings of isolation” (Helping Former Children). After realizing what they did to others throughout the war, they feel very guilty. This is why in most cases, including Ishmael's, the nurses repeatedly tell the children that it is not their fault. After a while of listening, some begin to believe it, thus becoming less ashamed and less guilty. Even emotional problems could be overcome through rehabilitation.