Friday, March 6, 2009

While I read, " Iraqi kids play make-believe war games", all I could think was of how awful it is that these kids seem to think their way of life is normal. They feel that it is ok to dress-up and act out shootings, while screaming that they are going to kill the enemy. It shows that they are truly being affected by the war and are being taught this aggressive behavior. Then there is the fact that if they continue to play these games, they will continue to see the Sunnis as enemies. Even if peace between the Shiites and Sunnis is ever acheived, the kids may not be able to accept it. Another part of the article that I found to be sad, is how kids in Iraq are giving up on their education. I guess I can understand why they would feel like it is a waste of time, given that they are constantly expossed to violence and death. However, I think that one of the ways to help get the country on it's feet would be to have it's children educated. That way, once the violence is over, they can begin to use what they have learned to help themselves. Knowing how to act out a shooting isn't going to help them in the future.

2 comments:

  1. I strongly agree with your thoughts on this issue. It troubles me that the children are so violent but they think it is just play. However, the war around them does have a large affect on them. Can we actually blame them for being violent when they are raised in it. Education would give a leg up to the reconcilliation of this probem, but their surroundings must change in order to really make it happen. Overall, I really agree with your thoughts and I love your interpretation of the article.

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  2. I totally agree with your opinion on this issue. I think it is terrible that things have even gotten to this point. The Iraqi children don't want to play better games, they actually enjoy the real life ones. I couldn't believe that the toy store owner said that the toy guns were the highest selling product. I know it's a totally different world over there but I cannot see any good coming out of the kids playing these war games.

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