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2008 poster by Rafaela Tasca and Carlos
Latuff
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“The centuria was an untrained mob
composed mostly of boys in their teens. Here and there in the militia you came
across children as young as eleven or twelve, usually refugees from Fascist
territory who had been enlisted as militiamen as the easiest way of providing
for them. As a rule they were employed on light work in the rear, but sometimes
they managed to worm their way to the front line, where they were a public
menace. I remember one little brute throwing a hand-grenade into the dug-out
fire 'for a joke'. At Monte Pocero I do not think there was anyone younger than
fifteen, but the average age must have been well under twenty. Boys of this age
ought never to be used in the front line, because they cannot stand the lack of
sleep which is inseparable from trench warfare. At the beginning it was almost
impossible to keep our position properly guarded at night. The wretched
children of my section could only be roused by dragging them out of their
dug-outs feet foremost, and as soon as your back was turned they left their
posts and slipped into shelter; or they would even, in spite of the frightful
cold, lean up against the wall of the trench and fall fast asleep.”
-
George Orwell
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