blevkog

Thanks for posting the clip. It speaks not only to the sadistic way these kids are treated but also to the dehumanizing effects on soldiers of having to fight an unwinnable counterinsurgency in the midst of a raging civil war. I just wonder how much more brutalized these young soldiers have to become before they start shooting these kids instead of taunting them?

This clip reminds me of when I did some volunteer work in Africa. Let me explain: Everywhere I went in The Gambia, Africa there were children. Seriously, when you go to a "third world" developing nation you feel old. The group that I was with included a man who was probably about 50 or so and everywhere we went he was looked up to as an "elder." He could hardly believe it.

Anyways, these children that were everywhere made it a game to get your water bottle. Full or empty, it didn't matter. Even if we were in our vehicle, children would approach us whenever we even slowed down a bit to see if they could have our bottle.As we had limited resources, I would frequently (read 90% of the time) have to say no to them. When I did give them my bottle, you would see a spontaneous soccer match break out- they would use it as a soccer ball.

Anyways, I am not defending what is happening in the video, it was a bad idea to do this. I am just trying to give it a little bit of non-western context.