War – what is it good for?
The media is full of views about the war with Iraq – from politicians to religious leaders to military experts. But war affects everyone, including young people.
| They can say stuff like it’s the only option but I still think they could go other ways about it. |
We decided to speak to children from four different cities around the world – in New York, Tokyo, London and Belfast - to see how the prospect of war and the threat of terrorism are affecting them.
Most children we interviewed in each country were totally against the war: none more so than in Japan. The young people in Tokyo didn’t seem to feel their country was involved in the war on terrorism. And they couldn’t understand the position that America is taking.
According to Mika Maeda, 18: “This specific war upsets me because it’s meaningless. I don’t feel this war has a meaning for winning something someday”.
Reina Misaki, 15, told us: “The idea of war makes me feel very angry. I think that the United States is very strong in many ways but now I think it should behave more quietly.”
Riyako Takahashi, 15 agreed: “I don’t think that the war is the best solution to this problem. There should be other ways to solve it. It makes me feel upset and sad that war is the only solution that the United States can come up with.”
In the United States objection to war seemed just as vocal. The events of September 11 were obviously still very much in the minds of children in New York.
Zaoxing Yang, 15, told us: “I really feel bad about the people, especially the civilians, we’re going to harm during this war. We have to avoid war whenever we can. I don’t think President Bush right now is doing that enough because he just wants to fight a war.”
Nico Roger, 11, didn’t support his president’s stance either:
War isn’t very good for our country or Iraq. No country really gains anything and it kills many people who ordinarily would have lived a full life.
In Britain, we spoke to some children who supported military action. They were in the minority though.
“If Iraq is holding nuclear weapons then something’s got to be done about it,” agreed Tess Roberts, 16, from London.
Her friend Lucy Tobin, 16, agreed: “I think we’ve got to wait for what the weapon inspectors find. You can’t go to war for no reason, but if there’s a reason, you can’t let Saddam Hussein carry on.”
Samir Pasha, 13, thinks Tony Blair has got his priorities all wrong:
“What the Government should be thinking about is things like gun crime. Why do this country and the United States have to poke their noses into other countries’ problems? Why is it that America and Britain are the only ones who can protect themselves with a gun and a tank?”
These sentiments were reflected in Belfast too, which has seen more than it’s fair share of conflict over the past thirty years:
Rhiannon English, 15, is concerned about the possible loss of so many lives: “I don’t think the war should happen because they are going to go in and kill innocent people. In this day and age, it’s murder isn’t it? We all sat and talked about it in school and all my friends were against it.”
Catherine Grehan, 17, was one of several young people who questioned the stance of the British government: War doesn’t really solve anything. They can say stuff like it’s the only option but I still think they could go other ways about it. I think Tony Blair is completely under Bush’s thumb.”
Thomas Kilpatrick, 18, agrees:
“I am not in favour of any of the British policies. I don’t think it was right to bomb Afghanistan and I don’t think it’s right that we are going to Iraq. It might have got to the point now where it is inevitable, but it needn’t have been.”
Of all the children we spoke to those in Japan seemed to distance themselves most from the war and any threat of terrorism that may ensue:
“My friends don’t talk about the war or even about September 11, says Mika. “We haven’t experienced any war in our lifetime. Japan is quite a peaceful place to live, and we see this problem from a third person point of view.”
In London, though, people are more concerned: “The threat of terrorism is worrying, the way it’s not the sort of war we’re used to,” says Lucy.
Tess lives in North London, near to where traces of a dangerous chemical were found in January. “That makes it suddenly a lot more real, she says. It’s worrying. It just makes you wonder what’s happening.”
In New York, though, young people seem to be hardened to the terrorist threat: “I’m not as frightened as I was before, when the attacks happened on our city,” says Kadeem Jones, 9.
With thousands of British troops in the Gulf, many see the outset of war as being inevitable. Samir in London is annoyed by all the propaganda surrounding it:
“Most people at school are blinded by what is put in front of them, because whenever they watch the news or read the paper, they always take on board whatever the media says.”
In Belfast, Thomas’s message to Tony Blair is loud and clear:
“I wouldn’t follow Bush around and I wouldn’t involve my troops until I knew I had to.”
Catherine agrees: “I believe going to war is a very stupid thing to do. Maybe it’s old fashioned but I don’t believe it really solves anything. They can say stuff like it’s the only option but I still think they could go other ways about it.”
About the team
This story was produced by These interviews were conducted by Daniel Cohen, 14, Chidi Izamoje, 13, Chinwe Izamoje, 10, Isadora Fontaine, 17, Chris McCartney, 17, Thomas Kielty, 17, Martin Kelly 14, Paul McAteer, 16, Daragh Scullion, 15. It was published on Sky TV's Reach for the Sky website.
