Bikram Vohra, article, “Child soldiers in command position,” (Aug. 4) presents a pathetic picture of the children who are forced to live in squalid refugee camps.
That 55 percent of the 25 million refugee children come from countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Sudan, is a telling sign of the depth of turmoil that most countries of the Muslim world are passing through.
It’s depressing, though not surprising, that a major part of the future generation has to live in camps depending on others for their food, education and everything that a child may require to grow up as a normal, civilized and productive human being.
Needless to say that the whole world is responsible for such a situation where chances are that the very same children grow up with embers of anger for having been robbed of their homes, belongings, their childhood and more importantly their innocence.
They represent not just the turmoil in their region but also a global adverse situation, which is being created to make their lives vulnerable.
If there are 250,000 child soldiers currently with guns and grenades ready to kill, as the writer succinctly puts it, we do not need to delve deep to find reasons.
These are but very disturbing signs of what the future holds in store for us. — Mumshad Akhtar, New Delhi
Robbed of innocence
