"Britain's Class War On Children" by John Pilger
November 27, 2020 " Information Clearing House " - When I first reported on child poverty in Britain, I was struck by the faces of children I spoke to, especially the eyes. They were different: watchful, fearful. In Hackney, in 1975, I filmed Irene Brunsden's family. Irene told me she gave her two-year-old a plate of cornflakes. "She doesn't tell me she's hungry, she just moans. When she moans, I know something is wrong." "How much money do you have in the house? I asked. "Five pence," she replied. Irene said she might have to take up prostitution, "for the baby's sake". Her husband Jim, a truck driver who was unable to work because of illness, was next to her. It was as if they shared a private grief. This is what poverty does. In my experience, its damage is like the damage of war; it can last a lifetime, spread to loved ones and contaminate the next generation. It stunts children, brings on a host of diseases a