Life is graded on a cheaper scale in the Middle-East, as well as in other places compared to the US and other Western countries.
Visit Sudan, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone or any other area that's seen close to non-stop conflict and you'll find 6-7 year-old kids laughing while they draw up pictures of beheadings, rape, pillaging, shootings, etc., etc.
When you've got decades of conflict and violent suppression that's common to everyday life, it's certainly not surprising that a rather jaded view towards death starts to become the norm...
