Photo taken by Emily O'Dell in Afghanistan
In my recent article “The Faces of Afghanistan’s Future”, I profiled some young Afghans, and wondered what their lives will be like in the years to come. Will they thank us? Curse us? Forgive us?
Tragically, children on both sides bear the brunt of war and violence–as illustrated today in a new report which finds that U.S. army child abuse cases have jumped 40% from 2009. This trend correlates with the return of tens of thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Another report released today found that civilian casualties in Afghanistan have spiked 23%. Perhaps instead of just thinking about the war wounds of the children of Afghanistan, I should also be thinking the same about the children of veterans back here at home. Sadly, cycles of violence usually continue for generations to come–on both sides.
