The children in Kenya are suffering. They are being abused by both the government and the militia of the Sabaot Land Defense Force. And these children are totally innocent. It is their bad luck that they have been caught up in the war between the militia and the army. The militia of Sabaot is fighting for a good cause. Poor farmers who had been tilling the land in the area for a long time were denied the land after the government came up with a land scheme. The land they lost was grabbed by the rich and powerful big farmers.
Though the cause of the Sabaot militia might be just, their means are barbaric. Kenyan children are bearing the brunt of the militia fury. They are being forcibly conscripted at gunpoint, with threats of otherwise killing their near and dear ones.
The attitude of the government is hardly better. The army went into the Sabaot region and promptly rounded up children there, merely on suspicion of them being involved with the rebels. The army does not bother to understand that even kids who are with the militia are there under duress. The kids have received inhuman treatment at the hands of the army.
All this points at the failure of the Kenyan leadership. A strong government in Nairobi would not have allowed the army to go berserk in Sabaot. The issue of the country’s leadership itself is highly unstable today, after the Kikuyu-Lou conflict during the presidential polls. If there is chaos at the centre, one can hardly expect rule of law in the provinces.
Whatever be the political situation in Kenya, innocent children are paying the price for the anarchy.
Source: MSNBC
