Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Britain: Recruiting Kids to Kill.

Felicity Arbuthnot | 03.08.2007 23:29 | Anti-militarism

It's time to take to the streets to inform Brown that he faces serious dissent, and will not be allowed to continue down the Neo-Fascists' deadly path of destruction and Madness.

Britain: Recruiting Kids to Kill.
Felicity Arbuthnot

August 2, 2007

Britain's new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown announced a 'war on poverty' at the United Nations on 31st July, aiming to: '..eradicate the great evils of our time - illiteracy, disease, poverty, environmental degradation and underdevelopment'. This from the man who failed to mention exactly that, which he had been responsible for, in Iraq and Afghanistan's invasions - for which, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he had written the cheques for the UK's involvement, in the total decimation of all which can be called normality. Those elephants in the Bush-Brown meeting at Camp David and at Brown's UN., foray, were seemingly un-noticed; the horrors air-brushed out.

Brown of course stayed silent, both in opposition and since becoming Chancellor in 1997, at one of 'the great evils of our time', the silent holocaust which was the thirteen year embargo on Iraq - and there has not been a squeak from him over what one could be forgiven for thinking has become a genocide since the 2003 illegal invasion. What else can descrobe a possible million dead and four million displaced and one third of the country in absolute poverty? There has not been a glimmer of compassion from a man who suffered the agony of watching a baby of his own lose her fight for life, not a spark of empathy of the searing grief of others, from a man whose small son suffers a serious health condition - for whom he can demand the best treatment, whilst in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, parents watch in helpless heartbreak and trauma, because little or none is available.

The man who wants to '..eradicate the great evils of our time ..' is especially focussed on Africa (in a patronising hark back to the 'penny for a black baby', sort of way) so presumably is against that rife in parts of that continent, one of the world's great shames, child soldiers. Listen out then. His predecessor Tony ('I'm a pretty straight sort of guy') Blair and now Brown preside over the only country in the European Union, where it is legal for the armed forces to recruit under eighteens. Further, recruiters arrive at schools unannouced to the pupils, on recruiting drives at periods such as assembly, where attendance is compulsory and sanctions can be taken against them for leaving in protest, since they can be accused of turancy, 'bunking off'. In the UK children of sixteen can be recruited, an age too young to legally drive a car, drink a pint, or have a credit card. School Students Against the War (ssaw.org.uk) are a vibrant, informed organisation, growing across the U.K.. and have launched a campaign in response: 'Troops Out of Our Schools - Troops Out of Iraq'. SSAW's Sam Fairburn says they ' demand students right to attend school without fear of being recruited into a discredited government's killing machine.' This fear is well founded since, state SSAW : ' Recruiters typically target economically deprived areas', with little hope of meaningful - if any - employment. Moreover, via the school Cadet Forces, children as young (and impressionable) as twelve are subject to the forces recruitment officers sales pitch. In Gordon Brown's native Scotland, the Scottish Teaching Union has passed a Motion demanding the end of recruitment in schools.

In a shameful, shocking allied development, SSAW have discovered that the Ministry of Defence has employed an agency called 'Kids Connections', to write forty lesson plans for use in UK schools this September, entitled: 'The Defence Dynamics Project'. A plan which is: ' A blatant propoganda excercise justifying the invasions and occupation of Iraq.' SSAW point out that: 'Included in their 'Fact Sheet' about Iraq is the following: "Over 150 healthcare facilities completed and many more are in progress. 20 hospitals rehabilitated. 750 nurses trained in maternal and child health services. Immunisation programme re-started in 2003."

'The real facts are to be found in the report released this week by the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq (made up of 80 international NGO's, 200 Iraqi NGO's and supported by OXFAM) which states: "4 million Iraqis are 'food-insecure' and in dire need of humanitarian assistance. More than 2 million people are displaced inside Iraq and over 2 million have fled abroad, the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world.

Child malnutrition has risen from 19% before the US-led invasion in 2003 to 28% now. OF 180 HOSPITALS COUNTRYWIDE - 90% LACK KEY RESOURCES INCLUDING BASIC MEDICAL AND SUGICAL SUPPLIES.'

Media queries addressed to Kids Connections were referred to the Ministry of Defence. THE M.O.D., asked into what part of the curriculum the Defence Dynamics Project would be slotted (citizenship? colonialism? popular mechanics? target practice?) the response was that it was: ' mapped to support vasious subjects across the curriculum, including english, maths and science.'

SSAW are organising a picket outside Kids Connections at 2pm August 2nd., and handing in a letter, signed by veteran former M.P., author and broadcaster Tony Benn and Stop the War Convenor, Lindsey German, demanding that Kids Connections terminate their links with the Ministry of Defence and that the Defence Dynamics Project not be introduced in to schools.

For those who are inclined to picket or express their views in writing, Kids Connections are at : 114-118 Parkway, Camden Town, London, NWI. SSAW also has a petition to end recruiting in schools to be presented to Downing Street in October.To add your name visit their website and click on 'Resources'. The shame of Britiain's child soldiers must be ended.

 http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m35028&hd=&size=1&l=e

Felicity Arbuthnot

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech