The War Children

Blood curdling. That is the simplest word I could use to describe this picture. This is the picture that won the Pulitzer award for photography in the year 2013. Here a father grieves the death of his son in Syria. http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2013-Breaking-News-Photography 

 

I sat frozen at the sight of this picture in a daily. My eyes welled with tears that blocked the vision for a while. A chlilled numbness crept down the spine. Legs turned stones. It was so shocking. This is what happens when people out of their senses come out on to street and fight each other. This is one of the several horrendous scenes that unravel on the streets of war zones. It should never happen to even our enemies. Oh God, why do you gift only miseries to some people always? I know your answer. You are helpless. You are not in control. Men have taken over your powers long time back

Look at this picture. This could be a regular scene on Afghan streets for the past several years. Look at the faces of those little children. It is heart rending. Madness of religious bigots are the sole perpetrators of such horror on children. They have not started their life yet, but they are not sure if they can really complete their 5th birthday.

The remnants of the ancient city of Palmyra. The boy is seen in the picture

I can never forget that little boy who followed the tourists at Palmyra in Syria in 2009. He could not be more than five years. He is seen in the picture here. He had been holding a few post cards bearing the photographs of Palmyra structures. These post cards are sold as souvenirs to the visitors. That boy had been running after the tourists to sell off his products. Syria was a poor country. It was under the Assad dispensation and it is still under him. Suddenly a rebellion started against him and the ensued civil war has destroyed whatever little the country had. Where does that country go? Can't predict anything. World is divided over this tragedy, based on the benefit each country can draw out of it. Let us all helplessly watch the events with prayers in our lips for the earliest conclusion of the strife.

Do not click this link : http://www.warchild.org/

The tiny tot in the pram may not be walking steadily yet, but he had a tablet PC in his hands. Sitting in the pram, he was lost in it. This was a scene in the Dubai mall last time when I visited Dubai. There are kids like him in this world. They are never exposed to the rough part of the life. They too do not know what the life is. They surely cut cake on their fifth birthdays. Their parents do everything to make the event as grand as possible.

But still, there are so many kids, even when wallowing in all comforts, crave for affection and love. Imagine a family in which father and mother fight each other. What could be the feelings of the children there? It cannot be anything different from the chidren who run for cover on the streets of the war zones.

 

 Of course, children and not secure even in the peace zones. growing intolerance between different communities even in the civilised societies takes a toll on the children. To add to that, indisciplined road traffic, losing moral values of the people that opens up another cannon of worms against the little ones are alarmingly on the rise. When I was a child, I was a free child. I had full freedom to go around my village and mingle with any child of the village.

 

We braved rough weather during the monsoon and walked more than three kilometers to go to school. Our parents never worried about our safety, security or if we were straying away from the course. They did have the confidence in their children. Those children are now fathers and mothers. They never send their children to school like they went. They never allow their children to mingle with other children. The children live a life confined to their sweet homes. There, they have more than one smart phones, high end tablet PC, 40 inch LED TV and Play station. They will hardly know that their couter parts in different parts of the world are a traumatised lot. They hardy enjoy their innocent childhood there. Let us hope, the Almighty has a plan for those unfortunate kids. Whatever be that plan, oh God, I demand, place Your cards on the table, right now....