Preparing for exams is something every Hingham High student knows all too well. Two weeks ago in South Sudan, this is what over 90 innocent, young male students were doing before they were kidnapped by militants to serve as child soldiers in their country’s ongoing civil war. They were pulled from their families and community, and have yet to be found despite intense efforts by Unicef (The Independent).

“We fear they are going from the classroom to the front line,” said a worried Unicef representative in South Sudan. He believes that the children, ages 12 to about 18, were probably dispatched to fight rebels in Kaka, a city about an hour away from the boys’ community. They were seized from their school in Wau Shillik, near the capital of Malakal. The boys were affected financially and emotionally by the war, but it had not yet caused them personal destruction. They were as familiar with the war scene as any HHS student, though surely maintaining a higher level of fear since over 10,000 child soldiers were captured last year.

The forces of South Sudan are currently in a stalemate, and simply waiting a few weeks will not result in the release of the boys. The civil war has been going on since December of 2013, and will not end anytime soon. The main root of the war began with ethnic conflicts in Sudan, arguably dating back to when European men carved up Africa with little knowledge of its existing civilizations, containing conflict within Sudan.

Only in 2011 did South Sudan gain independence due to strong, strategic rebel leaders seeking peace. Unfortunately, the hatred barely had time to settle when conflict reemerged over disputes over oil possession and political power in South Sudan (BBC News). War began on the border, and expanded south.

With the help of the UN and peaceful conferences, the world looks on and hopes that the struggle will end soon, so that the young men can return home.