Our Children's Playground
I was astounded by a story I saw on CNN today. In the Middle East, a group of children were collecting shrapnel left by the recent bomb blastings. These children would go to nearby sites and collect the different shrapnel they found in the debris left by the blast.
I found it a little morbid that children are exposed to such disaster. Their father explained that maybe they did it as a way to cope, to remind themselves of what was going on the world. One of the children, a teenager, described hearing the whirring sounds as the bombs passed overhead. She pointed out a window to places where she saw the dust/smoke that were emitted by the landing of these bombs.
What is this argument really about? I have already forgotten why these two Middle Eastern countries started fighting. Don't most arguments end up a "who's right and who's wrong" tug of war? And no one really remembers what started the whole thing?
I found it a little morbid that children are exposed to such disaster. Their father explained that maybe they did it as a way to cope, to remind themselves of what was going on the world. One of the children, a teenager, described hearing the whirring sounds as the bombs passed overhead. She pointed out a window to places where she saw the dust/smoke that were emitted by the landing of these bombs.
What is this argument really about? I have already forgotten why these two Middle Eastern countries started fighting. Don't most arguments end up a "who's right and who's wrong" tug of war? And no one really remembers what started the whole thing?
20 Comments:
Actually it started at the dawn of time and who knows when it will end.
By :P fuzzbox, at 11:54 AM
Why, this war has been going on for ages, it just never stops. If you ask me, as long as people are closed minded and think that they are better than others then this will always happen.
By Drywall Mom, at 12:17 PM
Children collecting shrapenl is hardly new. In WWII London, they used to collect spent casings... nose cones, tail fins, etc, and trade them just like they do baseball cards today.
I don't know if it is a coping mechanism or just children's adaptability to what their 'normal'--I should say daily--everyday life is like.
By blackcrag, at 1:33 PM
Of course the fighting will end. You just have to wait for the Andromeda galaxy to collide with ours and... poof! No more wars! Ever!
By Gyrobo, at 4:01 PM
It's amazing how, at times, kids can adapt much better thean adults to horrible situations. They don't know that it's supposed to be so much better ...
-- david
By David Amulet, at 6:03 PM
it's sad to see the future generations...being exposed to the worst the world has to offer...greed, ignorance, war....i guess that's why it becomes a cycle one can't break. they too will be brainwashed and trained into the same ways...what hope is there for the end of all this?
By Foxy, at 8:50 PM
You are right about the "who's right and wrong stuff" in an argument. I cannot stand conflict, and will avoid an argument at all times.
Poor children, it hurts to see that anyone is exposed to that environment.
By Lee Ann, at 10:36 PM
No one remembers why it started...but everyone remembers their brother/sister/mother/father etc who died because of it.
By Tai, at 11:51 PM
I echo Ranea's astute comment.
A tragedy.
By Will, at 2:23 AM
I agree with Renea. The realities for the children in those worlds are different from ours..
By missy, at 3:56 AM
Very sad angel.
I hope god is with them every step of the way.
Innocence lost.
By Cari, at 9:32 AM
This is all these people know...going back a couple thousand years. Sadly, death and destruction is what all of these children will know.
By Jay Noel, at 9:51 AM
I don't know that it will ever end, but it is so sad that kids or anyone for that matter has to be exposed to that.
Kids collecting shrapnel like baseball cards.
Not cool at all.
Scott
By Scott, at 11:55 AM
Sort of similar in Kashmir - where death is so frequent ...
Read the same thing in the poetry of Emily Dickenson coz she's from the civil war days - so nonchalant about death ...
Most arguments are about ego - nobody is listening beyond a point ...
By Wriju, at 12:12 PM
I'm glad I live in North America.
I never watch the news, its 98% bad, 2% good.
By Big Ben, at 10:56 PM
the whole situation is sad really, and i know this is going to make me sound really flakey but i try not to do too much news reading. i do my one paper and watch 11pm news, then thats it. the rest of my news then comes from entertainment tonight and magazines like star and people.
thats my way of coping with the goings on in the world today.
m
By mollymcmo, at 1:11 AM
These people have known nothing but war. They don't know what it is like to live in peace. It's really so sad.
By Lucy Stern, at 4:18 PM
Thats so sad. I cant even imagine how that would screw someone up for a lifetime to have to live like that.
It would have such negative effects on mental stability...I couldnt imagine.
By Princess Pessimism, at 11:28 AM
we have to watch the news, to know what other people are facing and to do what we can to help, even if that means voting for the right people.
I am very sorry for the children, and when i look at my son who is happy and safe i am reminded of the wasted potential of these children. Because on the news, everything is dehumanized. Still, it's reality.
By x, at 8:43 AM
I was thinking the same thing the other day...
By Lindsey, at 7:06 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home