Abigail Lewis Cooper

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  Abigail commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  Wednesday Award for the Worst Place in the World

  I lived in DRC for 17 months and traveled from Kinshasa to Kisangani and Goma.  Young men with weapons do not begin
  "acting like animals" with only a break down in local and national government.  As you mention, there are no mechanisms of social control.  Even worse, traditional values, morals, jobs, role models, or non-violent methods/access to food, water and shelter no longer exist.  One is controlled by the gun or controls someone else by the gun.  A child soldier, him or herself, is the ultimate symbol of societal break down.  There are no rules, no teachers, no traditional rites of passage through society, and no way to fullfill basic needs let alone ways to assist yourself, your family or your community.  The only motto is "Kill or be killed."  Unfortunately, a break down in society is difficult to fix as children have no role models and therefore their children (the next generation) have no role models.   The cycle continues as does the violence.