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| Janese Johnson |
Fortunately in our country we do not have to worry whether a militia group will abduct our children in the middle of the night and teach them how to kill. But this serious human-rights violation is happening in at least 20 countries from around the world. There are hundreds of thousands of children, some as young as eight years old, that have been taken out of their homes in the middle of the night by militia groups. The children that join by their own desire do so because their life has become so dire that they feel that they have no other choice.
Often, these children are used to check for landmines; to go ahead on
the lookout; or as sex objects for the pleasure of the leaders. The
children suffer miserably and are beaten, drugged, raped or tortured in
order to make them so afraid that they will do whatever is requested of
them, even if it is to be a killing machine. It is unimaginable in the
world you and I live in, but this is happening to many children from
all over the world on a daily basis.†
The children that are rescued and brought back to a civilized life
have a very hard time adjusting, and some never do. The children that
havenít been abducted yet are so afraid of what they will happen to
them that many go outside of their homes and hide from the militia
every night. Can you imagine your child leaving home every night in
order to avoid getting abducted? It is quite sad.
Some people reading this might feel that there is nothing we can do to
help children so far away. Actually there are a few things that we can
do to help these precious children. In fact, since we live in a safer
part of the world where our children do not have to hide outside of our
home for their safety, it is up to us to offer help in this dire
situation.
Recently some legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate,
called The Child Soldier Prevention Act (S1175). The bill would
restrict U.S. military involvement in areas using child soldiers and it
would offer funding for former child soldiers to be reintroduced back
into society. Oftentimes the U.S. is helping fund governments that are
using children under the age of 18 years as soldiers.
This practice
goes against an international law that was set up in 1998. The U.S.
bill will further support this law and add greater clarity to what is
acceptable for U.S. support. It is hoped that this bill will motivate
governments to comply with whatís termed the ìdirect child soldiersí
protocol.î
By writing to our congress and urging them to cosponsor the Child
Soldiers Prevention Act of 2007, we can make a difference for these
children that are living in terror every day of their lives.
There are also a few good documentaries on this subject. The local
Amnesty International group will be showing 35 minutes of the
documentary called Invisible Children on July 10th at 7:00 pm.
Discussion and letter writing will follow the free showing. This will
be held at 227 Edgewood rd in Asheville. For more information you can
contact
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Since a few minutes of our time can make such a difference to an
innocent child, it seems that taking that time and writing congress is
well worth it for so many. Remember that since we can make a difference
by working together, we my as well do it and see the results instead of
just hoping and wondering.
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