The editorial article by Francois van Eeden highlights the alarming use of child soldiers in the Central African Republic, where up to 6,000 children have been forcibly enrolled by warring militias, according to a United Nations official. The piece underscores the distressing reality of children being coerced into armed groups, with the United Nations Children’s Agency repeatedly warning of the exploitation of young lives in the conflict-ravaged nation. Van Eeden reflects on the moral imperative to protect children, emphasizing that they should be nurtured in classrooms rather than being weaponized. He recalls South African Forces’ involvement in a firefight earlier in