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Two summers ago I was mugged at gunpoint. The experience was terribly traumatic and took a tremendous amount of therapy and meditation to heal from. After that my commitment to nonviolence deepened, and I felt even more strongly that these kinds of traumas are reasons why everyone should be against war. So it saddens me, but also confirms my worst expectations, that the war on Iraq has greatly affected children. The number US casualties is sad enough, but when you factor in the lifelong damage this war is causing for thousands of the survivors, I can’t imagine a single argument that would justify inflicting this kind of psychological pain on anyone. Shame on the warmongers!
The following report explains in more detail how the war is hurting children. It does not mention the broken families of US soldiers, but alas that is another story that needs to be told and amplified to stop this insanity.
Iraqi Youth Face Lasting Scars of War - washingtonpost.com:
In a World Health Organization survey of 600 children ages 3 to 10 in Baghdad last year, 47 percent said they had been exposed to a major traumatic event over the past two years. Of this group, 14 percent showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. In a second study of 1,090 adolescents in the northern city of Mosul, 30 percent showed symptoms of the disorder.
Today, toy weapons are among the best-selling items in local markets, and kids play among armored vehicles on streets where pickup trucks filled with masked gunmen are a common sight. On a recent day, a group of children was playing near a camouflage-colored Iraqi Humvee parked in Baghdad’s upscale Karrada neighborhood. One boy clutched a thick stick and placed it on his right shoulder, as if he were handling a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. He aimed it at cars passing by, pretending to blow them up. Two soldiers pointed at the children and laughed.
Many of the children Abdul Muhsin treats have witnessed killings. They have anxiety problems and suffer from depression. Some have recurring nightmares and wet their beds. Others have problems learning in school. Iraqi children, he said, show symptoms not unlike children in other war zones such as Lebanon, Sudan and the Palestinian territories.
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