There is no pain more profound, no injustice more cruel, than the murder of innocent children. Across history and still today, the smallest among us—the ones who laugh freely, who dream wildly, who trust without question—are the ones who suffer the sharpest horrors of greed, war, and inhumanity.

There is no greater pain, no cruelty more unfathomable, than the slaughter of innocent children. Across the centuries—and still today—the most vulnerable among us—the ones who dream, who laugh without fear, who trust without hesitation—are the ones who endure the worst horrors of greed, war, and power.

From the stolen children of First Nations here in so-called Australia…
To the charred remnants of schools in Palestine…
To the crumbled homes of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Libya…

Children are not just being killed, displaced, and orphaned—they are being erased, not because of who they are, but because of where they were born.

They are not collateral damage.
They are lives with boundless potential.
Little boys who once held their favourite toy car close to their hearts.
Little girls who clung to their mothers, their safe havens.
Babies whose names were whispered with tender love in the quiet of the night.

Their lives were sacred.
Their deaths are an open wound on the soul of humanity.

We weep for our children here on this stolen land “Australia” —and rightly so.
But how can we not weep for the father in Tehran who holds his child with the same fierce love as the father in Sydney?
For the mother in Gaza whose heart breaks for the same reason as a mother in Melbourne?

A child’s life is sacred. Everywhere.

The sanctity of childhood transcends borders, religions, and races.
It’s not bound by walls or flags.
A child’s right to peace, to safety, to love, is universal.

We must not look away.
We must not grow numb.
We must speak, we must grieve, and we must rage—for them.

Let us remember.
Let us mourn.
Let us protect the most sacred souls among us—the children.

They are not collateral damage. They are human beings. Little boys who had favorite colors. Little girls who clung to their mothers’ skirts. Infants whose names were whispered with love in the dark hours of night. Their lives were sacred. Their deaths are an open wound in the soul of this world.

We cry for our children here in Australia—and rightly so. But their lives are not more precious than those across the seas. A mother in Gaza holds her baby with the same fierce love as a mother in Melbourne. A father in Damascus sings the same lullabies, dreams the same dreams, prays the same desperate prayers.

Where is our humanity when we allow children to be bombed while eating breakfast? To be buried under rubble, nameless and unheard? What kind of world allows for empires to thrive while babies die in silence?

The sanctity of a child’s life is not bound by borders, religion, or race. Every child deserves peace, safety, love, and a chance to grow. Yet too many have been denied that simple right.

We cannot look away. We cannot numb ourselves into silence. We must speak for the voiceless, grieve for the broken, rage against the systems that make this world so cruel for the innocent.

If there is any hope left for us as a species, it lies in our refusal to accept the murder of children as “the cost of war.” It lies in compassion that crosses continents. It lies in the truth: a child’s life is sacred—everywhere.

Let us never forget them. Let us never stop mourning them. Let us never stop fighting for a world that protects its most precious souls.