Questions Raised in Deaths of Afghan Children in Coalition Strike
In Kabul, Afghanistan the international military coalition has confirmed that three children have been killed in a coalition artillery strike in Helmand Province. Although they expressed regret over the deaths, they raised the possibility that the Taliban had been using the children to place roadside bombs. There were five people on the road with two moving away when the approved guided rocket strike was approved against those digging the holes after ensuring that no civilian homes were in the area according to the ISAK official. Loading the bodies, Afghans were stopped by coalition forces until police officers and others arrived. All three bodies were identified as coming from the same family. The children were 8, 10, and 12 years old. A spokesman for the regional military command stated that it appeared that the Taliban had been using children to emplace the improvised explosive devices because they don’t know the risk of doing such an activity.
The families gave a different story that included the children gathering dung and that the children were near the Taliban laying the bombs, and the militants were killed as well as the children. While it was reported by Hajji Hayatullah, a member of the district tribal council, whom saw the dung-filled bags covered in blood, that he did not see any bodies of militants. However, the district governor of Nawa, Hajji Adul Manaf Khan, reported that there were also two Taliban militants. There is a possibility that the children did go out as their parents stated, but were asked to help the Taliban dig bomb holes and that they complied because they were unaware of the danger. Although there have been causalities by the international and Afghan troops, Taliban attacks still are a more prevalent cause of Afghan deaths according to what figures show.
Families all over the world are affected by violence. Regardless of whether or not the children in this story were helping dig holes for bombs or if they were getting dung, they were still innocent because they didn’t know exactly what was going on or the danger and their family was affected by this act of violence. Whether or not the violence stems from war, drugs, or pure stupidity, a family looses a child, uncle, father, mother, grandparent or so on. This can change family dynamics, especially when it comes to war because men are often the ones sent out to fight which leaves women and children home alone and increases their risk of poverty if they lose the man who is also the breadwinner for their family. Even if the man is not the breadwinner, they still lose a source of income. In the case of this story, the family not only lost one child, but three. If these are the only children they have, it takes away from the family because the children will no longer be there to provide for the parents as they age as well as to help at the current time. From fear in the streets to states of terror, violence of one form or another is a global issue we deal with. Christopher Hedges describes was as the force that gives us meaning and turns ordinary lives into extraordinary moments in history that heightens our sense of purpose, honor, heroism, and even our passion (Sernau, Pg 148-149).
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