Listen to the words that come out of the mouths of babes and you will hear the truth. Just ask any parent who has shuddered in horror as their child asks an overweight person if they are pregnant, or just yelled “mommy, that guy is fat”.
When I asked 7 year old Justin, if children should go to war?, he turned and looked at me shockingly and said, “No, they would die!”. I then asked him if he knew that there are some kids that are sold like the things you buy in the store and then people force them to work? , Justin had no response his little eyes just looked at me in shock and dismay, there brightness had quickly faded and he just looked confused. After some time he said to me, “but only adults are supposed to work, its wrong and they are bad people they should get in trouble”.
Justin is right, they are wrong and they should get in trouble, however the sad reality is that some 27 million men, women and children are victims of modern slavery, and impunity continues to aid in the fueling of this plague against the most innocent and marginalized in out society. Children are forces to kill and rape as child soldiers, forced to work in harsh and dangerous conditions, malnourished, denied education, verbally, physically and sexually abused, children are used as disposable tools, as cheap commodities, which serve only to feed the greed and line the pockets of those who prey on their innocence.
When will we see an end to the continual violation of children’s rights across the globe? Maybe when we all begin to see the world through the eye’s of a child and speak quickly and earnestly when we see the violations the are so often right before our very eyes.