THE EYES

The look in the eyes of the Serb children cooped up in the bombing shelter and the looks in the eyes of the Kosovar children crossing the border is compelling. The emotion that hey must have felt is startling.

Our country is one that is, thankfully, prosperous. Most of our children are free to roam around with a relatively worry-free life. However, sadly, that is not the case everywhere. In several unstable areas of the world, the anguish and life-altering changes children experience are enough to cripple even adults for life. The sheer number of children experiencing this pain renders this one of the most serious problems we face.

Just one look into the eyes of these children and you know there is something wrong. Confusion, anger, mistrust, daze, sorrow, terror, pain, and anguish, all feelings seen in the eyes of these children. Their faces stained and their eyes wide open they just stare. I feel they stare for hope. They are looking for hope in their companions, their parents, and their acquaintances. Yet, they find none. The sheer intensity of the feelings is immeasurable.

They do not know what is really happening. They do not know that the reason their father passed away, or the reason their mother was abused is because of political games being played by two equally wrong and defiant sides. They are the ones suffering for the crimes of two sides fighting to preserve their ego.

This problem extends far beyond the present, however. The scars that will be inflicted by this chain of events will forever live in the memory of these children. These events will cause them to forever fear their lives. To quote Yoda from Star Wars, "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering." On a CNN page (http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9904/14/refugee.children/) there is a strong message. The following is an excerpt from that site, "One of the children in the program is Valon Bllacca, an 11-year-old fourth grader who doesn't like to admit he's scared. Valon says his most vivid memory is of police pounding on the door telling his family to get out. His father protested, Valon says, and was beaten and bloodied." This boy said that he would be fighting for Kosovo if he were a bit older. This is what this campaign has succeeded in instilling in the hearts of children. Pictures on the sight show children lying dead in the middle of the street while a tank is nearby. Such heavy mental trauma will only cause children to harbor violence.

We must, at this point stop and ask ourselves what we are doing and what we hope to accomplish. I am not trying to evaluate if what we are doing is right or wrong. Violence only begets violence is the message I am trying to convey. Our actions today are very likely to be reciprocated by the generation of tomorrow. We must be mindful of what we do, for every action we commit shapes the generation of the future. The people in power today experienced Vietnam and WWII that violence is now shown here. The disturbing cycle must be broken.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will leave you with this picture that a Kosovar refugee child drew, further underscoring the importance of this issue.

Date posted: May 23, 1999.

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