“I wish Father Christmas offers me the latest video game,” says Joanna. “I wish he offers me the whole set of  Tintin  adventures  DVD,” adds Tony.  “I wish I could still be alive,” spouts Youssef in tears.“

My brother died last Christmas age ten. He was a soldier in Darfur.”

Children in War Zones The Bridge MAG image

Joanna and Tony both hug Youssef to share his sadness, as he continues explaining how his Dad broke the story a year ago at Christmas, when the whole family was sitting on a mat in the kitchen ready to share their meal: some pounded potatoes with beans and palm oil.

Every year children like Youssef’’s brother are used as soldiers: wounded, abducted,   sexually abused, made vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses, and murdered in wars.

According to the International Rescue Committee in London:

“The use of children in armed conflict is one of the most atrocious effects of war. An estimated 300,000 boys and girls are currently trained for combat or used as porters, spies or sex slaves in conflicts around the world today.

“In northern Uganda, at least 20,000 children have been abducted by the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) during a ruthless 18-years war.”

A few months after his brother’s death, Youssef’’s parents flew to Britain where they were eventually granted asylum-seeker status.

The bell announcing the end of break-time seems to come as a relief, as Youssef, aged nine, and still sobbing, fails to be consoled by his classmates, both eight.

Christmas is associated with the events surrounding Jesus’ birth – a fulfilment of the Old Testament messianic prophecy. But the day is also equally associated with children and family festivity. Therefore, there is surely no better time to reflect on the plight of children around the world – particularly those like Youssef.

How deep and genuine is our concern about children in war zones?  Children death and suffering should not only matter to us because we live in the same country or continent.

STOP WAR The Bridge MAG image

Once we stop to think, and start conceiving of someone as a son or daughter, or parent, this changes everything.

Every year in the UK people work hard to…

On The War you Don’t See, a powerful and timely investigation into the media’s role in war, the investigative journalist John Pilger wrote:

“We journalists… have to be brave enough to defy those who seek our collusion in selling their latest bloody adventure in someone else’s country… That means always challenging the official story, however patriotic that story may appear, however seductive and insidious it is.

“For propaganda relies on us in the media to aim its deceptions not at a faraway country but at you at home… In this age of endless imperial war, the lives of countless men, women and children depend on the truth or their blood is on us… Those, whose job it is to keep the record straight ought to be the voice of people, not power.”

According to Human Rights Group experts:…

Follow the links below to read more:

1) Politics Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives.

https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/rachel-tcheungna/politics-global-news-that-never-fades-the-bridge-magazine-book-from-britains-news-to-world-exclusives/paperback/product-n5954v.html?page=1&pageSize=4

 2) Global News That Never Fades: From Britain’s News to World Exclusives.

https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/rachel-tcheungna/global-news-that-never-fades-from-britains-news-to-world-exclusives/paperback/product-ennmdm.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Rachel Tcheungna, Author, Writer of 

The Bridge Books and 

The Bridge Magazine Editor.