When World War II descended on London, families fearing the inevitable bombing packed their children off to the countryside. Not so now.
Children are often the intended targets and are even forced into combat themselves.
This issue of our magazine is the first in a series on children facing peril in a menacing world. Mayerly, the peacemaker, and Tenema, the reluctant soldier. Although my childhood and young adulthood contained nothing close to the horror experienced by children such as Tenema and Mayerly, my upbringing toughened and shaped me. Growing up in Syracuse, N.Y., my sister and I were products of a broken home plagued by financial problems. Early on I resolved to make something of my life, but I knew I would have to do it myself.