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Recruited To Die
in response to reader comment: A Brutal Example of Child Abuse

Submitted by Mutare, Jun 21, 2007 07:17

I resprect Ms Goldstein for her courage and determination but with the exception of the 16 year old who surrendered to the Israelis she refers throughout to 'children' and 'child'. What is a child? Someone "between birth and puberty". What is puberty? "The stage of adolescence in which an individual becomes physiologically capable of sexual reproduction." Lets say puberty starts at 14 years. So for our purposes, if we wish to remain true to the meaning of the word 'child', we are referring to people under 14 years. In fact most adolescent suicide bombings have been carried out by 15 year olds.

In 19th Century Europe, drummer boys of about 10 and 11 years would lead the troops into battle and were usually the first to die.

Have any of you stopped to consider what kind of 'childhood' these Palestinian 'children' have? Under military occupation, likely to be shot at, disrupted sewage, electrical, water, medical, and refuse collection services.... Their fathers might be beaten up by the IDF. Does anyone think for one moment that these children have a normal childhood? Did those children who grew up in occupied Europe have a normal childhood? So lets see what Ms Goldstein was actually talking about.

She was talking about adolescents, subject to curfew and being shot at, who all in all have a very poor standard of living and very little enjoyment and very little prospects for the future. Under such dire conditions becoming a suicide bomb might seem attractive to some, especially if the IDF had killed some of their relatives, and the motive of revenge was there.

Make life unbearable and destroy hope and you sow the seeds for suicide bombers.

Fill life with hope for the future and security and happiness and the spectre of a suicide bomb disappears.

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
I am a little person, dwarf, and when I read the 3rd page of Heather's article it mentioned a sister... [MORE]	Bill	Jul 16, 2007 20:58
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unequal. Israel is the recipient of a never-ending avalanche of billions and billions of American taxpayers'... [MORE]	Mutare	Jun 21, 2007 06:38
The basis for terrorism and suicide bombing do not spring from poverty, humiliation, or hopelessness as Paul Meyer (letter, June... [MORE]	Shel	Jun 3, 2007 20:02
The detained terrorists in the custody of Pakistani authorities have accepted the reality that they had been brain washed, trained... [MORE]	kamal khan	Mar 14, 2008 02:39
It is a pity Ms. Goldstein did not explore the reasons suicide bombers are recruitable, the conditions that create despair... [MORE]	Paul Meyer	Jun 2, 2007 13:37
It amazing how little effect the facts have on those inoculated with hate. The emotion eclipses all reason and social... [MORE]	John	Jun 2, 2007 04:48
These children are just one small, easy to see, facet of a much larger picture. Islam is a circular hate... [MORE]	Bob Smith	Jun 2, 2007 09:37
This story is one sided how do you fight an enemy who is more superior than you in weapons using... [MORE]	mambwe	Jun 1, 2007 21:22
Ms. Goldstein is a brave young woman, risking her life to bring to light the atrocities being committed against children... [MORE]	Mel Laraway	Jun 1, 2007 17:05
I resprect Ms Goldstein for her courage and determination but with the exception of the 16 year old who surrendered...	Mutare	Jun 21, 2007 07:17
As long as the West identifies "predatory adults" as the cause of these people killing their own children, we will... [MORE]	Julie Mckinley	Jun 1, 2007 10:14
Worse than the tragedy of the brainwashing of these children, is that these children are going to grow up to... [MORE]	Joel	Jun 1, 2007 09:04
On Thursday, CSpan showed a panel in which a participant said that the proper word to use for these terrorists... [MORE]	Richard L.A. Schaefer	Jun 1, 2007 08:34
To: Brooke Goldstein, Heather Robinson, the Editors, et al. I am profoundly affected by this courageous exercise. And, I trust this... [MORE]	Nancy Joyce Jancourtz	Jun 1, 2007 08:08

Reader comment on:Recruited To Diein response to reader comment: A Brutal Example of Child Abuse

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Reader comment on:
Recruited To Die
in response to reader comment: A Brutal Example of Child Abuse