KID REPORT
January 21, 2003
Kids Speak Out Against War
TFK Kid Reporter Mia Kabasakalis reports from the scene of a major anti-war rally in San Francisco
 Many young people marched in an anti-war rally in San Francisco. |
Many people around the world and in the United States feel the U.S.-led war against Iraq is a bad idea. TFK sent Kid Reporter Mia Kabasakalis to cover an anti-war rally in San Francisco, and she found some very young protesters among the group. Here is her report:
 |  Mia interviews a protester in San Francisco. |
The ground started to tremble and the roar of the crowd echoed off the buildings. At the anti-war demonstration in San Francisco on January 18, there were so many people crammed together, it was like ants pouring out of an ant hole. Police estimated that 55,000 people protested, but demonstrators insisted there were four times that many.
Kids and Teens Speak Out
Protestor Emily Shaw, 13, said, "I think its really important that everybody says how they feel about going to war, so (President Bush) knows that not everybody believes in killing." Noah Lazarus, 11, is also strongly opposed to war. " (The Iraqi people) need education, not more war,” he said. “We need to tell George Bush our message: He does not need to go to war for us. We need to give peace a chance."
|  A young girl holds up her own peace sign. |
A New Spirit
Reverend Cecil Williams, a community activist, stressed the importance of children protesting: "One of the most important things is the young people. In America, a lot of young people have been asleep. They have not seriously confronted political, social, and economic issues. This is the (demonstration) for them to begin to protest, and they're doing it. There's a new spirit, and the young people are helping to provide that new spirit."
Fourteen-year old Betsy Selander shares that spirit, saying, "Hopefully there will be a lot of kids here, so that Bush can see that kids care about (the issues) too."
|  In San Francisco, thousands of protestors marched as they waved anti-war signs. |
Demonstrators hope that President Bush will see that many Americans do not support war with Iraq. But even if the President does not, protestors say they won't give up hope. When asked what he'll do if the the U.S. declares war on Iraq, Elliott Schwimmer, 12, said, "Keep on protesting.”
