http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/south-sudan-clashes-dozens-injured
http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-conflict-creates-education-gap-children/1895003.html
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/child-soldiers-battle-in-worsening-south-sudan-war-509676
Taking a look at the above news articles about the four month conflict raging in South Sudan, I thought it apt to discuss this. The conflict began on December 15 2013, when fighting broke out between members of the SPLM over conflicting orders and political matters. The president of South Sudan called the original incident a coup attempt and blamed it on the former vice president, but there has been no official evidence or charges brought against him.
Although the conflict originated as primarily political, the fighting erupted as civilians were targeted and it soon spread to an ethnic and civil war.
“Since fighting between government troops and rebel forces erupted last year:
- Over 800,000 people have fled their homes and are now displaced within South Sudan.
- More than 76,000 people have sought refuge at various UN compounds across the country. In Juba, 80 percent of displaced people are women and children.
- 254,600 people have fled to neighboring countries, many of whom had to cross the Nile River on their way to Uganda, leaving everything they had behind and risking their live” -Oxfam international.
As demonstrated in the links above, the conflict is greatly affecting the children of South Sudan with reports of armed youth and struggling, displaced children.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned last week that as many as 50,000 children in South Sudan could die of hunger before the end of the year unless more aid is provided.
-Voice of America News
Many young boys are beginning to get involved with the fighting and the some of the rebel groups have been accused of welcoming child soldiers into their ranks.
“Some of these young boys are very bitter because they lost some of their relatives,” he said, as scores of soldiers sang war songs, with the crackle of rifle fire as they shot in the air. “They decided to take up arms to carry out revenge.”
-NDTV.COM
Conflicts such as this are often overlooked and unpublicized, so the issue of child warfare and the devastating effects of crisis on these children is never brought to the world’s attention.
It is important not only to ask what one can do to spread awareness but also how they can change perception. Quotes like the one above suggest these young boys want to fight, which may be the case, but to what extent does a young boy understand the consequences of his actions? Feeling anger and craving retribution in the face of tragedy and violence is natural, but what if these children had more appropriate resources to cope with such loss rather than using violence as a tool?
Baseball and Bullets 
