Them Child Assassins

(Photo courtesy of current.com)

Over lunch yesterday, my officemates and I got into the topic of children in Maguindanao being trained to kill at a very young age. It was told that, at age 12, kids are taught to have no mercy and to kill without remorse. And if they suddenly grew a conscience and refuse to kill those they were tasked to exterminate, the kids have to exchange their conscience for their life. So, everything comes to just one choice: they kill or they will be killed. Not a good set of options right?

The talk about these kids being trained to kill people led me into thinking that what a blessing it is that I was born into a life, an environment, and a family in which I did not have that kind of dilemma, the dilemma of having to choose between my life or another's. I am blessed to be born into a life that opens different opportunities for me to excel, to dream, and to be happy. I am blessed to be born into a relatively safer place with no ongoing war, no soldiers constantly on the move, no fear of continuous gunshots and grenade bombings. I am blessed to be born into a family who gave me a baby doll for a toy and not a baby armalite, who let me run with my playmates and not run after men to kill, who taught me my ABCs and not how to dislodge a grenade. I am indeed blessed. How then can I be not thankful for the life given to me?