C H A P T E R   FOUR THE CHILDREN   What in the name of Allah have you done to your children? Is there a civilization, a faith, a race, a creed, that does not cherish its children? That does not see a little child as a gift of joy, given to us by God, to be sheltered, nurtured, fed, protected? Even the lowest creatures on God’s earth take care of their young and teach them the things that they will need to survive and prosper. Make sure they are healthy and nourished. Give them hope for the future. Well, welcome to the world of the Taliban! For whom their hatred of others takes precedence over the care of their children. Who are happy to eat while babies starve. Who teach their babies hatred of people they have never met. Who live in far-off places they have never heard of.  Who have no lesson for them, only a mantra that always seems to begin with “Death to-----“. Who do not educate them for fear they will begin to think for themselves, and eventually free themselves from the ignorant rantings of their fathers and the inarticulate ravings of their “leaders”. Who lead as the Pied Piper did, to certain destruction. Who teach them that Death is something to mourn unless it happens in some far-off place to people you hate, in which case it is cause for celebration. That ignorance and poverty are standard fare, and cold and hunger the way of the world. Blessed be the children! Little bodies swollen with hunger that should be plump with food. Big eyes bright with fever, that should be shining with wonder.  Great heroes of the Taliban and your ilk! Tell me. When your little children, your most precious gift, go to sleep at night, what do they dream of?  For them there is no Santa Claus, no Toothfairy, there are no sugarplums. Perhaps they dream of food, or of keeping warm. If they dream at all. When they wake up to a new day, what do they play with when there are no toys? Where do they go when there is no school? Do the little boys practise throwing stones, or make guns out of sticks so that they can emulate their fathers? Do the little girls sit around and giggle about the day when they will be able to wear the burqa just like Mum? Do they practise cooking stale bread and water so that their future husbands will be happy with them? Or do they play at all? When they look into the future, what do they aspire to? Or do they aspire at all? God help them! They are your most precious gift and yet for them you saved your most virulent poison. For these pure little minds you offer no future, no hope; only more of the same miserable existence you have bequeathed to them. And still you feel no shame. For you, Dr. Ayman al Zawahiri A special mention, all your own. Dr. Zawahiri, pediatrician Doctor - one who heals and does no harm. Pediatrician - one who cares for little children. For the less well educated of your group there may be the excuse of ignorance, but you have no such excuse. You are the product of an excellent education, and were gifted with great skill.  But, for whatever reason, you chose to align yourself with your present companions. Or should I say that they have aligned themselves with you, since you are one of their leaders. The same group that feeds and clothes itself by stealing the rations that God-fearing, compassionate people all over the globe have sent in the hope of alieviating some of the misery you have inflicted on the people of Afghanistan. Who but a monster would steal food from children? The same group that hides itself where little children live and play because it has not the courage to reveal itself, and out of fear of discovery. Who but a coward would hide behind little children? You eat well, at the same time you terrorize your children with the lie that the food we send is tainted with poison, even though you have nothing to feed them yourself. You would rather see your babies starve even as you feed yourself. You call yourself a leader. But you are also a doctor who once took a sacred oath to heal. Are you so full of your own venom that that oath means nothing? For you, there is really no excuse. For this alone, God has reserved a special place for you in the Afterworld. There you will learn what this world has not taught you.

©2001 Y. Smidt, Las Vegas, NV, USA All Rights Reserved