{"id":10514,"date":"2019-03-04T12:35:10","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T10:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/?p=10514"},"modified":"2019-03-04T12:36:17","modified_gmt":"2019-03-04T10:36:17","slug":"children-are-the-first-to-pay-for-our-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openasia.org\/en\/2019\/03\/children-are-the-first-to-pay-for-our-wars\/","title":{"rendered":"Children are the first to pay for our wars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Qantara<\/a> – In “Capernaum”, Nadine Labaki tells the dismal story of Zain, a boy living on the streets of Beirut. She calls the system behind it “modern slavery”. Paul Katzenberger spoke to the Lebanese director.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In your view, was it right for Zain to be born?<\/i><\/p>\n

Nadine Labaki:<\/b>\u00a0By all means, yes. He is among the 25 percent of the children who manage to break out of the vicious circle of neglect, abuse, lack of affection and physical violence. Numerous studies have shown that 75 percent of children who are subjected to such abuse turn to crime or slide into drug addiction. Only a quarter manage to create a life worth living for themselves: Zain is part of that minority.<\/p>\n

And what about the 75 percent of children who can\u02b9t escape the vicious circle?<\/i><\/p>\n

Labaki:<\/b>\u00a0There is a justification for every new life. But the question is: does anyone have a right to behave so irresponsibly towards children? My film addresses the whole system that has let these children down. I\u02b9m looking at fundamental questions.<\/p>\n

What questions are those?<\/i><\/p>\n

Labaki:<\/b>\u00a0Why do we automatically give adults the absolute right to have children, but we don\u02b9t give children the absolute right to a life which at the very least fulfils their basic needs? For me, children\u02b9s rights are just as non-negotiable as parents\u02b9 rights. But in my view, there is an extreme imbalance.<\/p>\n

You mean between the powerlessness of children and the ability of adults to make decisions and act on them?<\/i><\/p>\n