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A message from
Children First to CLAE, Congress of Latin American Students
April 2000
"When you look into a child's eye you expect to see
hope, trust and innocence, but when you see these signs of
childhood are replaced by betrayal, hunger, child labour, fear,
prostitution and suspicion, we need to take a serious stock of
ourselves and the society which has been created for us."
Please accept my best and genuine greetings on behalf of the
Children First organization.
I am glad to be here as a CF representative. Please let me
first thank all those activists who organized this seminar and
wish all of them success.
Dear friends:
On behalf of Children First, I protest the United States’
sanctions against Cuba and condemn the United States’ tension to
impoverish Cuba. Everybody knows that numerous children and
youth in Cuba have fallen the victims to the brutal and inhumane
tensions of the United States. There is no doubt that the United
States is directly responsible for these tragedies and we
support the people of Cuba and their struggles against these
tensions. We declare our solidarity to Cubans.
The issue of children and youth is now one of the most
important problem all over the world. We are all witnessing the
governments’ negligence and lack of attention regarding children
and youth in different countries. Let me for a moment take you
out of this hall and mention some examples of horrendous
conditions involving children and youths in other countries.
In Iran, the country in which I was born, Khomaini and the
Islamic Republic of Iran, with a superstitious promise and key
to the heaven, recruited, deployed and killed thousands of
children and youths in the mine fields during the war with Iraq.
Imprisonment, torturing and the execution of children are legal
and are a daily practice of their lives.
Under the Islamic canon in Iran, the legal age of marriage
for girls is 9 years. Such a practice in Europe or any western
society would be prosecuted as child abuse and rape. In Iran,
free relationship between girls and boys are illegal and
voluntary sexual relationship will cause death penalty for the
partners involved.
In the neighbouring country of my birthplace, Iraq, thousands
of children were killed by the United States and its allies
invasion, bombardments and sanctions; according to a published
statistic from UN, five thousand children are die monthly
because of economic embargo and lack of basic medicine, milk and
food.
NATO invasion and bombardment of Yugoslavia caused the deaths
of thousands of ordinary people, including children and youth.
You all remember horrible tribal war in Rwanda. Half a
million human beings were eradicated within a month- the main
slaughtered population being children and youths.
According to another published statistic from UN, 24000
people die daily from hunger; three quarters of these deaths are
children. Only conflict or famine causes 10% of these fatalities,
90% are due to malnutrition and starvation.
It is impossible to recount the tragedies that have become a
reality in the lives of our children all over the world. The
local police continuously kills the homeless and street children
in Brazil. There are hundred thousands of children within the
South East Asian countries that are traded for prostitution or
their organs. Female infants are murdered in Asia. Millions of
children are died due to starvation. These are horrifying facts
that inflict the children of this world today. There is no doubt
that capitalism is the source and cause of these tragedies.
Clearly, we must put an end to this situation! Mankind
deserves a better. Children deserve a better life and a chance
at brighter future. The only barrier to such a better world is
capital and capitalistic rule. In capitalistic societies
profitable businesses cause the starvation and death of millions
of children. Deprivation of education, health care and security
are realities for children living within these societies.
Children, undoubtedly, are the most vulnerable victims of
capitalism.
We, the majority of the world workers and employees do not
have any benefit from supporting such a barbaric system as such.
It is to wellbeing of all that capitalism be over turned. We
must topple down capitalism and its current rulers in order to
fight for a world free from oppression, cruelty, ignorance,
religion, war and senseless killings. We must work together to
build a world in which laughter, happiness, entertainment,
health are obtainable for all. A world that offers a clear and
bright future for all children and youth. This and only this
should be the basis for the improvement and progress of our
society. We must commit ourselves to this social movement and
play an active part of this effort necessary to build such a
better world. We are assured support of millions of noble people
in our way of struggle.
Friends and comrades!
The only clear alternative to the complicated capitalistic
tragedies is the socialism of workers- a socialistic society- an
equal and free society in which all human beings are treated
equally and worth and are granted the opportunity of a humane
life, where all humane strives for prosperity.
Long live
socialism
Salah Irandoust
Children First,
International Campaign for Children’s Right
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