Children's innocence

Have you ever wondered what war does to children’s innocence? I came across a photography taken by Reza during the war in Bosnia. The photo depicts a girl leaning against a dark wall in a corner of a war-torn Sarajevo. Her eyes are set on the photographer, yet she seems beyond her own place. She wears a red winter’s hat, a long coat that reaches her knees and colorful gloves that remind the viewer of childhood dreams. On the girl’s left-side, against a blurry background of what seems an alley, the girl’s Christmas presents wait to be sold. The girl, whose eyes pierce one’s heart, is selling her dolls so that her family may have food to survive. There is no bloodshed or wounded people to be seen, but the image of a child giving away part of her childhood shows another side of war, a side that hurts even more than physical death.
Is interesting to notice all the emotions that that the picture itself evoke on you. It makes you thing about what is important in life, like family. There is so much to learn from children like her, especially --the power that love has in times of war.
What do you think that happens to children’s innocence when they are forced to grow up amidst the pains of war? Do they love more or less?

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0701/oneworld47.html