Earlier this month, two children were hospitalized after a bomb they were trying to plant exploded near the Bahraini village of Daih. According to the Interior Minstry, the boys were just 10 and 11 years of age and were following someone's instructions. They were the foot soldiers.

The growing presence of children like the two injured boys in street clashes and violent unrest has unsettled Bahrain, opening a broad debate over who or what is to blame. On March 9, Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa decried the “exploitation of children in terrorism” and called for stricter implementation of child protection laws. Parliamentarians have accused the opposition of using children for political purposes and said those who encourage them onto the streets should face punishment. Human rights and opposition groups, meanwhile, argue that minors have become involved after watching their friends and family members being arrested or suffering.

Whoever is at fault, the children of Bahrain are demonstrative of just how deeply entrenched in society the current crisis has become. They also portend how long it might take to resolve it. Whether politicized by conflict, traumatized by violence or simply distracted from their schoolwork, large numbers of youths are growing up marked by the turmoil around them.

“There is a new generation, and they are growing up with all these bad experiences,” asserted Sayed Hadi al-Mosawi, head of human rights documentation for the Shiite opposition bloc al-Wefaq, in an interview with Al-Monitor. “We can contribute values [for the children] between us and the authorities, but we cannot prevent them from developing anger.”