Special Report Transcript Episode 53, Section 2, Time 01:46

One of the targeting of children also is to make them witness atrocities, witnessing their own parents being killed in a very brutal way and when that happens it means that that child is shattered from inside. And it can produce two things, one is a strong sense of revenge, this child will live the rest of his or her life saying I have to revenge, but it can also produce another thing, is that this child will never be able to reconcile and to understand the meaning of normal life, will be traumatized from inside and will become a weak person because he cannot reconcile with what he has witnessed. But the worst of targeting of children is what I’m coming to now, is to take children to participate themselves in atrocities. You have heard about the so-called child soldiers, it is a worldwide phenomenon in which those who are behind this kind of violence, they know that the best way to attack is to plant the seeds of violence in the new generation. It means to transfer the conflict of today to two or three generations which will come. When you instrumentalise children of seven, six and even ten years you can be sure that they will find it very difficult in the rest of their lives to live without violence. They will find it very difficult to be stable adults, to be parents and of course if they have difficulties in parenting their children also will suffer for the effect of the conflict today. South Africa has found a peaceful transition, but the effects of what has happened to our children, we are going to live with for more decades to come.

Notes: Images of children in conflict situations; Graca Machel (TRC Youth Hearings Gauteng)