What happens when humans are used as ammunition, whether to gain leverage politically or otherwise? This is precisely what happened to a number of Filipino children this past week, as their own government tagged them as rebels. “Human Rights Watch said it had investigated three of six cases involving 12 children and found evidence the military fabricated accounts of their involvement with the rebels”, said Asian HRW deputy director Elaine Pearson. Not only is this defacing upon the children’s families and reputations, but also shatters the idea that they have any rights at all when their government is using them to propel themselves to a higher status of power. These children were no child warriors, and in fact were supposed to be in the hands of social welfare services. Not only does this raise questions about the goings-on with child soldiering in underdeveloped areas like this, but it also makes one wonder how much information like this is being falsified. Also, does a great enough percentage of the Filipino people find this to be a social problem, and what options are there for them to correct the atrocities that could be happening under their noses? Human Rights Watch is calling the Philippine government out, saying that “there should be an end put to these despicable practices, and the officers involved should be heavily investigated”. When a country is torn by war and insurgency, it proves difficult to decipher the truth about the way people are being treated, or even what their thoughts and opinions are on these issues. Regardless, the fabrication of these children being soldiers is not only a sign of clear abuse, but of unrest within the government as well, which should be causing deep and grave concern for everyone, indeed making this a very large social problem.
http://arabnews.com/world/article516766.ece
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