A Lost Generation

It is easy to say that we will just kill them all whether it is killing all the politicians you don’t agree with or killing as many ISIS influenced people you can find. Does death really solve the problems or does dealing with each other on this planet in a humane way in as many discussions solve differences? Trump’s leadership seems to want to send more troops to problem hateful areas and has decreased the budgets for education, the arts and the environment protections in favor of more military spending to pay for even more expensive weapons. Hasn’t there been enough continuous death and destruction in the past 15 years? Why does he wish to promote more hate and less smiles that diplomatic relations could provide, clean water and air or a good painting or play or music? There isn’t any diplomatic talks with North Korea where we need it most right now.

War has created a lost generation from all the displaced families from the Middle East if they even survived the carnage of war. Most of our surviving veterans from the past 15 years have severe mental disabilities from their war experiences. Their families have been torn apart from too many tours of service for a war that never ends. Where do they get a sense of satisfaction for donating the best years of their lives to protecting our county just to come home to lost relationships, divorce, poverty and lost limbs accompanies with mental nightmare of their few years of young adulthood spent in the military? They didn’t sign up for this aftermath and neither did the innocent law abiding citizens of the war torn areas.

America has been supplying the Iraq Army with large amounts of weapons to be uses against the ISIS suicide bombers in cities and towns like Mosul, Quartos and Abbas Rajab that are almost completely destroyed. What hasn’t been destroyed the army goes from house to house running out the few survivors of a blast of bombs. America provides places like this all the destructive devices they need but there is no humanitarian services provided for the now homeless what is left of families in the Middle East. Perhaps Europe wouldn’t be complaining about all the refugees pouring into their countries if the United Nations would do serious efforts to save the people!

Now ISIS is building a network of tunnels to escape the bombing from above. There are no burials of civilians or soldiers. The bodies are left rotting in the hot sun. Liberated cities are always still vulnerable to ISIS attacks. Even when the army can declare that a city has been liberated from the enemy often there is nothing left to the place to salvage. The people are completely displaced and can only hope for a refugee camp to spring up somewhere to drop food and water from helicopters from planes. Is this life in this century now?  50% of the people of Iraq are under the age of 19 and without parents. Their relatives are gone from the war with Saddam Hussain. It is easy to recruit this lost generation into ISIS because no one else wants them.

The Iraq economy is in shambles. 16 year old children are driving busses without driver’s licenses or signing up to fight somewhere. There is no education. By 16 years all male children have killed someone and has had access to weapons more than access to food or shelter. No wonder they are callous to seeing other kids their age enjoying dance clubs or rock concerts. They run for their lives and not run in fun marathons. They are angry. Their phones are full of images of heads just cut off and some with hearts slashed from bodies All the teens are doing it there. The revenge photos give them closure for all the lives they   loved now gone. What the hell does war solve? If you live through war you are left with a broken life physically and emotionally!

Education was free with nearly 100% enrollment under the Dictator leadership of Saddam Hussain in 2003 since then the schools have been bombed and few schools remain. The only lessons they are learning now are killing and revenge.  The few schools that remain in Fallujah, Iraq are surrounded by bombed out buildings, are overcrowded with not enough chairs for the students to sit on and in short supplies of books and educational materials. They do not receive any government support or funding anymore. Is there any wonder why the world is growing a generation of insensitive savages? More than a million children have been displaced since this never ending war. Even if a child is lucky to get some form of education, there aren’t any jobs. The unemployment rate is at 40% in Iraq. There are protests in Iraq demanding reform. The new government is already corrupt. The people blame America for all their problems. It was America who killed their beloved leader Saddam.

Religious leaders are telling the youngest of children to pick up weapons and use them. They are told that their lives are just a passage way to their journey to God. Death is inevitable, their lives don’t matter on earth. How so very,  very  sad for all humanity.