OUR CHILDREN

OUR CHILDREN

Why are children so implicated in wars today?

      Why are children, the future of our community, if not the world itself, being

singled out in today's wars?

      Paradoxically, it is precisely because they are so precious to us. To

destroy what is of highest value to someone is clearly an effective form of

terrorism: to kill and injure children is to rob a family or an entire group of its

future.

        And today, more than ever, children themselves are bearing weapons in

armed conflicts. Often, the young recruits undergo heavy indoctrination

mixing religious fervor with national pride to intensify the call of duty; school

and media reinforce the message. Handicapped children were used as

human mine detectors to explode mines in the path of advancing tanks.

         The lack of food and protection has turned, any a child into a soldier.

"I have a gun, food, and place to sleep," one nine-year-old Ugandan recently

told a member of the UNHCR,"that is more than I had in my village. If I'd

stayed there, I'd probably be dead by now."

Who should watch over children's rights?

       Despite all the past tragedies, there is still no viable structure, no

Amnesty International for children so to speak, to safeguard their basic

rights. No one can expect any of these organizations _the International

Committee of the Red Cross, the UNHCR _   to shoulder the burden alone.

The evidence must be much broader: the USA. As people and parents, as

members of professional and religious groups, and as citizens of nations and

the world, the obligation to ensure that children's rights are recognized and

protected is our own.