education

The branches of the U.S. military have long seen high schools as optimal recruiting grounds. Some veterans are beginning to fight the propaganda and tell students the truth about military service.

This week (20-26 November) is the International Week of Action Against the Militarisation of Youth. During the week activists from various countries will be taking actions and organising events to raise awareness of how the military and military values are promoted to young people, and how we can challenge it.

In Czech Republic, NESEHNUTÍ is organising a screening of the movie “Výchova k válce” (Education for War), followed by a panel session on the militarisation of education in the country.

In Israel, activists from the Mesarvot network - a solidarity network supporting political conscientious objectors in Israel - is organising a demonstration in Tel Aviv in support of the young refuser, Matan Hellman, who's declaring his conscientious objection on 20th November.

The New Zealand army has started a new programme teaching children about weaponry and leadership.

Pictures of smiling children holding the unloaded weapons appearing in the New Zealand media has caused Education Minister Nikki Kaye to order new guidelines be drawn up on guns in schools.

As reported by the New Zealand Herald, during the army's visit to a school near Palmerston North, students aged 9 to 13 were allowed to assemble and fire an assault rifle.

One of the students aged 11 told the newspaper that he had never held a gun before and "it felt amazing and cool" while the schoold administration said they did not think the visit would be controversial.

Natalia Vasilieva, The Evening Kazan

They threatened to mess up his permanent record if the tenth grader at a village school in the Arsky region did not take military training classes. The classes are required for boys as part of OBZh — a health and safety course taught in all Russian schools. “I’m a pacifist. I think it’s just not right for me to assemble and disassemble automatic weapons. I don’t want to spend beautiful days in May playing war,” explained 17-year-old Kamil Sh. to newspaper Evening Kazan. Staff at the human rights organization “For Our Sons” note that this is the first case in Tatarstan where a student has openly refused to take part in the OBZh classes out of conviction. Up until now, if young people asked to be excused from the training, it was on grounds of poor health.