Game of Adults

The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (known as Hashd al-Shaabi forces) refer to militia groups organized to help the Iraqi Army in the fight against Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group. Founded in 2014, Hashd al-Shaabi consists of 40 different Shiite, Sunni, Christian and Izadi groups, but mainly of Shiite Muslims. These groups also include children and teenagers who receive military trainings like the other Hashd al-Shaabi voluntary forces for possible operations in Mosul or upcoming clashes. There are no reports of presence of those children in Fallujah or Mosul clashes; however, they are generally under the age of 18 and are classified as child soldiers under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Apart from the war situation in Iraq and the need for various groups in the Middle East to get militarily prepared, another purpose of the military training programs for children is propaganda for military purposes. While children around the globe are being prepared and trained to make a better world and are filled with the joy of childhood, another group of kids in the other parts of the same world are taking up arms which are sometimes bigger than themselves. They undergo training for military purposes, even though they may not be directly involved in the war.