It Could Be Your Child...

How many people today search for a better life or better yet, survival?  Millions upon millions of refugees, the homeless, and injured people search for a reality that doesn't include pain, suffering, and hunger.   They just desire the best for their family.  Some have to turn to the life that they were trying to run from to survive.  Such as these young men in this photograph are waiting the day that they too will enter battle.

According to Salgado (photographer), many of these young men are between the ages of 4-13. The Sudanese People Liberation Front (SPLF) say they took these young men in to protect them from being recruited by the Sudanese army. As the men mature, they too are forced into the battle they wished to escape--now fighting against their own country (Migrations).  For over 40 years this country has been at civil war.  According to a global security website, nearly 1.5 million people have died in just the last 15 years (Global Security).

Since the beginning of this civil war, only once, according to Wikipedia, has the US given support to help this civil war by sending 20 million dollars over 15 years ago.  Since then, the country has continued to struggle for independence, which continues to seem bleak, especially to these young men who are forced to fight.

I hope that we can help change the world by reaching out to those as if they were our own family.  If it was your son, I would hope that you would sacrifice everything to ensure his safety.  We should care for everyone's well-being in a like manner.

Works Cited

Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. Aperture. New York, 2000. 163.

"Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Web. 28 Jan 2010.

"Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)."GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. Web. 28 Jan. 2010.