Recently, news items with pictures of young girls and boys holding automatic weapons have been flashing in the daily papers. The 'security training' programme is supposed to give them confidence. This situation is simply shocking.

These children have hardly grown out of playing with toy guns and they are now provided with automatic prohibited bore weapons, while being trained to use them too. They also participated in fake exercises, which included how to flee from kidnappers and jump from moving vehicles. The students seemed to be enjoying this part of their education.

To our young, scared children, this seems to be the message we are giving:

“In the process of protecting yourself and in time you can eliminate those whom you do not like, and as the fight heats up, join the armed wing of your own ethnic/sectarian origin”.

 

That is one sure prescription for civil war, which, for those who care to see, is not too far anyway.