Iraqi Children Play War Games

Following are excerpts from a TV report on Iraqi children playing war games, which aired on New TV on September 19, 2007.

Reporter: The American occupation has had a negative effect on the behavior of Iraqi children. Pistols and rifles are the toys most popular among children. This reflects clearly the daily violence they witness on the streets of Baghdad – particularly the activities of the occupation forces.

Iraqi child: A pistol and a machine-gun...

Reporter: Why?

Child: Because all my friends play with pistols and machine-guns.

Reporter: Don't you want to play with other toys?

Child: No, just with pistols and machine-guns.

Reporter: What is the reason?

Child: Because the whole world shoots with pistols, and the Americans shoot... We take a machine-gun in order to kill them.

Second child: I shoot the Americans.

Third child: It's like a game of cops and robbers that we are playing.

Reporter: This clear change in the behavior of children is not restricted only to boys, but includes the girls too. They don't care about dolls anymore. Instead, they play violent games, as the mothers and fathers notice.

Father: Our streets are full of weapons –machine-guns and pistols - and the children choose their favorite toys - machine-guns, RPG's, and whatever...

Reporter: What is the reason?

Father: It's all because of the occupation.

Reporter: Psychologists and sociologists believe that this phenomenon might lead to the destruction of society, when children begin to behave this way towards their peers at school, which might lead to problems in society. Although the official Iraqi authorities are taking the necessary steps to combat this phenomenon, there is still room for further efforts.

Movies and what the children see in the streets have a detrimental and very harmful effect on the life of the child. That is why we need whole generations of re-education, long years of education of our sons, our youth, and our girls in order to introduce the opposite opinion.