The Boy

There is a boy in my camp. He's been here since I got here. He works in the kitchen. He's 15 years old. The thing about this boy is that he isn't some hardened third world child that doesn't think like a child. He does. You can see the wonder in his eyes when he sees something new. He cries at the drop of a hat and pouts. He's just like any other kid his age. The only difference is is that he is surrounded by men. In a camp 300 miles from nowhere and earning a real living. His parents are gone. The camp calls him the baby. We're all raising him. He hears cursing and sees man stuff but everyone in camp tries to teach him and take care of him because of his age.

I watched him today. He was standing next to a soldier that he obviously admired. You could watch him thinking of how he could mimick this man because he made some impression on him. I wonder what this experience will do for him or to him in ten years. Will he take the fatherly advice that we give him or will he go the way of the criminals that also reside here? Only time will tell. I asked at one time when he took a short vacation, where does he go. 'Family', they told me. No parents.....maybe aunts or uncles....Grandma? I don't like to think about it. Are they abusive? Do we take better care of him here? He is definetly safer here. When these guys go home, they have to take great measures not to be caught working for the 'wrong' side. Taxis into other towns and doubling back. Hitchhiking. I don't like to even imagine what this child must do just to get from point A to Point B. He does it on his own. God bless him.

The one thing I do know about this boy is that he will be stronger and wiser than most of his American counterparts. It makes you wonder; is Playstation really the answer to creating productive, strong members of American society? Maybe working in the middle of the desert for a year isn't the answer but, maybe, just maybe, if we show our own children the value of hard work and stop protecting them from the unknown, they may also grow to be strong and wise. ?????????