Last updated at 21:45 ET
Increasing numbers of children in Syria are being recruited by armed groups on both sides of the conflict, Save the Children says in a report.
Children are being used as porters, guards, informers and fighters and, in some cases, as human shields, the charity said in Childhood Under Fire.
Some two million children are in need of assistance in Syria, Save the Children estimates. It says the two-year conflict has affected all aspect of their lives....
...Risk of disease
...Risk of disease
Researchers from Turkey found that three in every four Syrian children they interviewed had lost a loved one because of the fighting, the report says....
We know that GENERATIONAL WARS are some of the most entrenched reasons for centuries of violence. This is a reason for the children of Syria to go up hating others. It is the task of the global economy to stop this hideous wars, nearly before they start and to bring about peace and well being to children as soon as possible. Otherwise, the danger of a population entering into generational wars is very high.
...Lost generation
...Lost generation
The report said it had found a growing pattern of children under the age of 18 being used by armed groups on both sides in the conflict.
For many children and their families, it is seen as a source of pride, the report says, but some children are being forcibly recruited into military activities.
Source of pride is the beginnings of generational warfare. Pride of war and violence is not a reason for living in the year 2013.
In some cases, children as young as eight have been used as human shields, the report says.
One group affiliated to the opposition has documented the deaths of at least 17 children associated with armed groups since the start of the conflict; many others have been severely injured and in some cases permanently disabled, the report also says....
Save the Children is an authority. They are in Iraq doing the hard work and have monitored their circumstances. If they state the children in Syria are at high risk, then they are.
Challenges for Children (click here)
Although the violence that followed the invasion of Iraq by multi-national forces in 2003 has ebbed and flowed, Iraq remains within the top five humanitarian emergencies in the world. Children continue to suffer from the psychological trauma of war and conflict, and access to education and development opportunities has been severely constrained....
Ya, think? Oh, what the hell, let's do this again!This is the "Save the Children" report on Afghanistan's Children from a special session of September 19th thru 21st, 2001. The session occurred immediately after September 11, 2001. It occurred quite by chance at the same time of the attacks. It is a baseline understanding of the children of Afghanistan before the USA launched their war against al Qaeda.
"Afghanistan's Children Speak to the UN Special Session 19th - 21st, 2001" (click here)
The reason this special session was called is because the Afghan children were already faced with huge problems extending back 30 years. The Taliban came into control of Afghanistan after Russia pulled out in 1989. The reason the Taliban were ever viewed as a form of government in Afghanistan is because they provided structure. The Taliban are not ethnically based, it is a group of warlords, basically. But, having control by the Taliban provided some degree of predictability in Afghanistan after 1.5 million deaths during the decade long occupation by the Soviet Union and refugees into Iran and Pakistan. The problems before the USA invasion in 2001 were profound. The Taliban were some kind of an answer, but, they weren't a benevolent answer.
Can a peoples as shattered as the nation of Afghanistan ever achieve a peaceful sovereign state?
Buoy. That is a really difficult question. We are looking at a culture of uncertain stability today and for the next generation. Will that shattered peoples actually have the ability to return to their historical cultural origins? Not if the Taliban continue to deny them their heritage.
War of Pre-emption is not a possibility in a world seeking a stable peace. It causes more problems on a generational level than not. If Americans want to have peace for their children and grandchildren it has to stop warring throughout the world.
The air attacks and the no fly zones of former President Clinton was a way of protecting USA National Security with minimal damage to the peoples of a country. ie: The Kurds of northern Iraq flourished under the no fly zone. That is a fact. Minimalist wars with superior air capability works.
The learned ability by terrorist networks 'can be handled' with early detection of problems and countries able to stop the growth of the presence of these networks. ie: Mali and Algeria
There is a path to peace for the global community and it is not pre-emptive war by any nation or nuclear proliferation for some stupid balance of power.
The balance of power mess was 'created' along with 'the domino effect.' Nations just need to stop and disarm. They need to stop the generational fear of each other based in differences in governmental identity. If Communist nations are not as capitalistic in the year 2013 than the USA ever was, then I don't understand reality. If capitalism is the basis of global commerce and the Evil USA Money Empire is viewed as a reason for economic growth, then what the hell goes on?
