Child warriors can’t be ‘fair hope of motherland’

A few weeks ago, we celebrated the 150th birthday of our national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal. We remembered and honored all his sacrifices and contributions for our freedom, and even other countries joined us in celebrating the occasion. As Filipinos, we cannot forget a very famous line from one of Rizal’s poems: The youth is the fair hope of our motherland.

But the question is how can our youth be the hope of our country if they are used as child warriors? If our children are not going to school and, instead of holding a pencil, they are holding firearms; instead of studying lessons, they are studying how to detonate landmines? Isn’t this so sad for our country?

Calling the attention of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to this problem. It is so obvious that the New People’s Army is violating children’s rights to enjoy life, study, play, etc.

—JOSEFA Y. VELASCO,
Saranggani Prov.