Support Child Soldier Prevention

Support the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 ~ 19th Oct 07

Over 200,000 children are currently serving as soldiers in more then twenty countries, most of these in Africa. Of nine governments worldwide implicated in the recruitment or use of children as soldiers, eight receive US military assistance.

US tax dollars should not be used to support the exploitation of children as soldiers and US weapons should not end up in the hands of children.

This bill will provide clear incentives for governments currently implicated in the recruitment and use of child soldiers to end this practice and demobilize children from their forces.

It also encourages the United States to expand funding to rehabilitate former child soldiers and work with the international community to bring to justice rebel armed groups that kidnap children for use as soldiers. (hrw.org)

“ Adrenaline is pumping through my body, pushing me to run but all I can master is a slow jog. The look on their faces is stuck in my mind, their screams echoes in my ears and my head is about to explode. How did it all come to this? What have I done? The guilt is coming back. I can feel it, spreading from my feet to my fingers, entangling me and pulling me down. Shaking my head I try to push the thoughts away and focus on the muddy road in front of me. That is where the forest ends and so does my cover. From now on I will have to move through open ground.”
© “Faces” - Kajsa Berg

Help support the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 by writing a letter to your Members of Congress urging them to co-sponsor the Act.

Locate your Members of Congress’s addresses at: www.senate.gov or www.house.gov

Together we can & will make a difference!

I saw Blood Diamond last night and 24 hours later it’s still all I can think about.

Blood Diamond tackles a slew of issues facing Africa such as hyper-violent rebel militia groups (like the RUF or LRA), the first world’s insatiable greed over Africa’s resources, blood diamonds, the diamond industry itself (De Beers, etc.), Child soldiers, the rampant small-arms trade (for more see Lord of War) and STILL manages to tell an incredibly compelling story of redemption in the midst of such tragedy. And good stories are more compelling than documentaries.

There have been a number of good films recently bringing to light the suffering in Africa;

Hotel Rwanda, Lord of War, Constant Gardener, Invisible Children, Tsotsi and now Blood Diamond.

I hope and pray that films like these help us to act in response to what’s happening NOW in Africa.

Janjaweed are still committing genocide against black Africans in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Just to the south the LRA is still capturing children and forcing them to fight in their resistance to the Ugandan government.

Let’s hope that "All Govt of Countires" start imagining what a redemptive response to these situations could be.

Some people are already thinking… check out InvisibleChildren.com