making war on kids

I watched Sky news. Beirut families were pouring out of a block of flats that was under attack. They fled to a school, thinking they’d be safe there – but they weren’t. Shells started landing nearby. Now the children were streaming from the school, crazed with terror. One little girl – she looked about 9 – stood, screaming and swaying, clearly in hysterics. She was petrified. A man – presumably one of the teachers, came up to her and yelled at her to snap her out of it. She flinched, rocking back as a boxer would to avoid a blow.

What is going on with the world? How can war be made on children without every adult being so ashamed and shocked that we stop? I don’t mean that naively. I fought a war. I know that we include womane and children and other civilians in our war-making. We’re not surprised when when they’e on the casualty lists. Yet, however much we protest, we have to face the fact that we accept that we make war on kids. Cos if we didn’t – if we were as outraged and soul-sick as we ought to be – we’d do something about it!