Posted on 12/15/2007 3:11:00 PM PST by marthemaria
culture of weapons and reliance on schools that teach little but religion has fostered a growing wave of child militants preparing them for a murderous future in Pakistan. Problem is particularly severe in Pakistan's troubled tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and that it could become self-perpetuating.
Young boys - some clearly under age 10 - wear black headbands bearing Islamic slogans and tote rifles that are nearly as big as they are appear in the video. It was not clear when the video was made or where.
Child-protection experts said that poverty, a culture of weapons and reliance on schools that teach little but religion has fostered a growing wave of child militancy.
It was said to be particularly acute in Pakistan's troubled tribal areas bordering Afghanistan but the problem is growing in other areas, such as southern Sindh province. Such groups have asserted growing control over Pakistan's impoverished northwest in recent years, challenging the authority of the state.
Qazi Azmat, chairman of SPARC (Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child) said an estimated 2,00,000 children under age 18 are serving in conflicts around the world. UNICEF statistics say two million children have been killed, six million maimed and more than a million orphaned by conflicts over the past decade.
"In fact the violence that we see today and the unraveling of our social fabric is to a great extent a manifestation of our apathy and neglect and carelessness towards our children." he said.
Doctor Attiya Inayatullah, a SPARC board member said any use or exploitation of a child is unacceptable. "We need to have a strong movement which says 'No' to child militancy," she said.
Mariam Bibi, from Kohat, a town on the edge of the tribal belt in Northwest Frontier Province told AP Television the state bore some responsibility for the recent spread of militancy.
"Unless they are so brainwashed or so disappointed that the government is not doing enough, how many mothers will agree to send their children for Jihad, to their deaths?" she said.
One recent militant video showed a 16-year-old youth apparently beheading a soldier in lawless South Waziristan.
Two 15-year-olds, jailed in the northwestern town of Bannu claimed they were trained to be suicide bombers, according to a professor at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University.
Reports persist in Pakistan of children kidnapped or pressured into becoming fighters, some lured by the promises of pay or drugs, while others are indoctrinated at an early age into believing they are becoming holy warriors for their faith. Even more are said to be forced into support roles or use as human shields.
Part of the problem is the drastic shortage of quality education, several experts said. The gap is being filled by religious schools known as madrassas that often focus only on Islamic teachings with no modern subjects and TV-watching banned as a sin.
Funded by charities or rich donors, some madrassas have been accused of promoting extremism. Many students live there because their parents can't afford to raise them.
The result is that the children are raised with constant indoctrination and no role models other than militants and gangsters, says Pakistan's child protection society.
Accused of apathy on the issue, virtually all of Pakistan's political parties are making education a prime plank of their campaign platforms for next month's parliamentary elections.
Using children as suicide bomb carriers or suicide warriors is necessary - because the typical Islamist is a goat humping, misogynist and homosexual coward...
But - we MUST remember...
All cultures are equal..
All religions are to be respected...
Multiculturalism adds color to the fabric of society..
Diversity is our strength......
Bull Shit...
how many mothers will agree to send their children for Jihad, to their deaths?” she said.
Answer: Everyone unless she want’s to be beaten to death by her husband and his relatives.
Sigh, they all blow up too soon!
Islam: Throw up and blow up, but never grow up
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