Thoughts on war, part 4
Mourners hold a portrait of a students during a funeral ceremony for children, who lost their lives after a primary school in Iran’s Hormozgan province was targeted in US and Israeli attacks, on March 03, 2026 in Minab, Iran [Anadolu/ Agency]
On February 28th, the US/Israel bombing campaign destroyed a girl’s school in Minab, Iran, killing more than 175 people, mostly school children. Prevailing thought is that the school was located near a barracks facility for the Iranian Republican Guard, therefore proximity was the school’s misfortune. I write these word seething with anger as I think of the 175+ girls who were sitting in classrooms, playing outside, making friends and learning about the world, destroyed in moments. I started this exercise (Thoughts about war) as a way to respond to this incident, the killing of a school full of girls as “casulaities of war” and yet I find myself unable to explain my thoughts.
Where do I begin?
War doesn’t solve any problems; it creates more than it solves.
Even one innocent person killed is too many - certainly 175 children is too many.
With all the advanced technology of war, a mistake in targeting like this is unthinkable.
The image above, of the woman holding a photo of two school girls killed in the bombing, is one that will stay with me forever. These two baby girls were killed at school, with all their classmates, and I am reminded of the story of Jesus with the children:
“He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.'” ~ Mark 9:36-37
Children should be protected. Children should be nurtured and loved and honored. Many of the programs we’ve developed for Friends of Padhar Schools are centered around providing opportunities for girls to get an education. Each year when I visit their schools in India, I am amazed at their joy in learning, their eagerness to be together, their dedication to improving their possibilities.
Children are sacred. Schools are sacred. The destruction of such sacredness is evil.