Khaled Abdul Rahman (Abu Dhabi)
“We only desire safety and a return to our normal life.” These words were unanimously agreed upon by children displaced by conflicts and wars, whom Al-Ittihad spoke to, through their parents, in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Sudan. Children are considered the most prominent victims of conflicts and displacement, the effects of which do not end with the end of the tragedy, but rather extend to many years due to the great scars left in the hearts of children and the painful psychological and moral damage that cannot be easily cured.
The impact of war and displacement on children is devastating, and can be felt in multiple aspects of their lives, such as physical health, as children are more vulnerable to malnutrition, infectious diseases, and injuries resulting from violence. Children may also suffer symptoms of trauma such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. They may also find it difficult to sleep, concentrate or feel safe.
In this investigation, the “Union” seeks to identify the psychological problems that children are exposed to as a result of wars and displacement, the constant feeling of fear, anxiety, depression, or delayed mental, physical and emotional development, behavioral disorders and hostile reactions, in addition to the difficulty of integration into society, and the inability to build emotional bonds. With others, learn the opinions of psychologists on how to help these children recover from the effects of such violent trauma.
Exodus under fire
Muhammad Ali, a 10-year-old Sudanese child who was forced to leave his home in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, due to the recent crisis, said that he was forced to flee with his family under the fire of clashes and explosions.
The child Muhammad, whom Al-Ittihad spoke to with his father on the phone, said that he does not feel safe despite his arrival in a relatively safe area that was not affected by the battles in the city of Port Sudan, because of what he saw during and before the displacement from his home.
And he added, “Since I left my home, I have been cut off from education, and I have not gone to any school here (Port Sudan). I only want the battles to stop, to return to my home, to meet with my friends and play with them.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned of the grave violations that children are exposed to in wars and disasters, noting that thousands of children have incurred a heavy price with the continuation of armed conflicts, violence and insecurity.
She stressed that one of the prominent negative effects that play an important role in displaced and war-affected children is the inability to access schools or exposure to interruptions in education. The child Muhammad talked about the difficulties his family faced during the displacement, such as the lack of means of transportation and their having to move between several transportations and walk long distances, in addition to their insufficient food and their lack of sufficient funds to secure their necessary and basic needs.
violations of children
Displacement leads to children being separated from their families, recruited into armed groups, or exposed to various forms of violence. Mitigating the impact of war and displacement on children requires the provision of basic needs such as food, water, shelter and health care. Humanitarian organizations can also provide emergency assistance such as food aid or medical care. Psychosocial support is also essential in such cases, as children need emotional support.
Add to this family reunification, where children should be with their families whenever possible, and humanitarian organizations can help trace missing family members, provide temporary care for unaccompanied children or facilitate family reunification.
Pain, suffering and life inside a tent
“I want a coat that protects me from the cold of winter, and shoes that cover my feet and help me walk in the mud.” With these words, the child Omar (11 years old) spoke about his wish from this life, from which he saw nothing but pain and suffering, and to live inside a worn-out tent that does not protect against the cold of winter or the heat of summer.
Omar spoke to Al-Ittihad, saying that he hates the war that forced his family to flee several times, and that he misses his family’s home, which he knows nothing about except for pictures and what he heard about it from his family.
Omar, who is very afraid whenever he hears the sound of the plane because of the painful memories that this sound carries with him and his family during his continuous journey from one camp to another, and caused him to lose many of his relatives and friends. Omar says, “I am looking forward to the day when the war ends, and we return to our village and our home, which I did not know before.”
Exploitation of children
Among the most prominent risks facing children in wars and conflicts are death or injury, displacement and separation from the family, in addition to the difficulty of obtaining health care, which may have long-term effects. Children make up a large proportion of civilian casualties during war, and according to Save the Children, the number of children injured or killed in conflict has increased by 300% over the past decade. Armed conflict is tearing families apart, forcing thousands of children to fend for themselves and other dependents.
The exploitation of children, which often rises during war, takes many forms, such as forced labor in extreme cases. The deterioration of living conditions in the camps, in addition to the poor psychological state, is a major cause of poverty, lack of job opportunities, means of livelihood, and poor health services, in addition to the problems of malnutrition, lack of funding, lack of drinking water, sanitation problems, and the spread of diseases and epidemics.
consecutive shocks
Among the children with whom Al-Ittihad contacted was Abdullah, the 8-year-old Yemeni child, who spent most of his time moving around in refugee camps, until he recently settled with his family in Al-Jufaina Camp, the largest camp for the displaced in Ma’rib Governorate.
Saeed, Abdullah’s father, tells Al-Ittihad that his son has little movement and speech, and he does not want to mix with his peers from other children.
He pointed out that his son Abdullah was less than one year old when he was forced to flee from their home in the capital, Sana’a, after the Houthi group took control of it by force, and pursued anyone who disagreed with it intellectually.
He referred to the suffering experienced by his son Abdullah, as the camps in which they were staying were repeatedly bombed by the Houthis, in addition to the burning of their camp and their miraculous escape from the fire, pointing to those events and many others that caused psychological trauma to Abdullah and made him less mobile and socialize with other children in the camp.
The father of the child, Abdullah, referred to the suffering faced by children in the camps due to the lack of food aid they receive, and its insufficiency, in addition to the weakness of the health and education sector in general.
He said, “When my son gets sick, I have to take him to the health center in the camp, but I wait for a long time because of the overcrowding, the lack of health sector workers, and the poor support provided to patients and the medical sector in the camps.” He added, “As for education, it is weak, and most of the neighboring camps do not have schools, which forces parents to bring their children to our camp, which has caused overcrowding in classrooms, and a decline in the quality of education that students receive, which will negatively affect them when they grow up.”
Constant obstacles
One of the obstacles facing displaced children and their families in Iraq is the repeated terrorist attacks launched by ISIS, in addition to the lack of identity papers for newborns or replacements for those they lost when they were displaced from their cities and villages, as this negatively affected their rights such as movement, enrollment in schools, or Obtaining relief aid. According to reports by the United Nations, there are about 45,000 displaced Iraqi children who lack identity documents because of the war, and the subsequent procedures and official neglect.
Constant fear
Nine-year-old Maryam, from the city of Ramadi, whose family was forced to flee to a temporary camp in the Kurdistan region, after the terrorist organization “ISIS” took control of her village, still suffers from the lack of identity papers. Maryam’s father tells Al-Ittihad that he was able to enroll her with difficulty in school due to the lack of identity papers, in addition to the great difficulty of admitting her to hospitals when she was ill or moving between different regions. Despite government efforts to return the displaced to their cities and villages, the father of the child Maryam refuses to return, fearing for his family from the repeated attacks launched by ISIS from time to time, which target villages and desert areas far from the city center.
Dealing with shocks
Psychologist and early childhood specialist, Alaa Nabil Abu Salaah, who was in constant contact with displaced Syrian children in Jordan, especially in the Zaatari camp, said in a statement to Al-Ittihad about how to deal with children who have been traumatized as a result of painful situations that occurred with them or in front of them: Trauma remains its effect, and it was mostly in the category of adolescent children who lived through conflict, and then asylum, and were deprived of the normal life they wanted, and their consciousness was in the beginning of its formation, and most of them suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and a constant feeling of insecurity and psychological and behavioral disorders.
She added, “We always had to reassure them and make them aware that they are in a safe place, and all that fear has ended, and talking about fears was the beginning of resolving any psychological trauma.”
behavioral disturbances
Psychological expert Alaa Nabil Abu Salaah indicated that one of the most prominent behavioral disorders was aggressiveness, violence, and introversion in some children, noting that the best way to solve crises is “emotional discharge”, knowing children’s psychological desires, and integrating them with their peers in a supportive environment that encourages, cares and provides help. It enhances their confidence, and builds, through playing, drawing, or writing, what was broken in their souls.
A different reality outside the camps
One of the most prominent challenges faced by specialist Alaa Nabil Abu Salaah, she said: “The children’s desire to know the different reality of the outside world from the camp. That day never happened. The children, who were born in the camp, would go out for the first time outside the walls of the camp. I remember very well that the camp at that time was still old, and there were no sanitary installations, electricity, or good necessities for life at that time. While we were on the bus, I remember the astonishment on the faces. When all the children saw the buildings, houses, streets and cars, everything was new to them and they all asked this question: Why do we not live here? Can we live here? Why are we in a different place, why don’t we see these things?
Affected by the surrounding feelings
The psychological expert linked the impact of the fetus before its birth and the events that revolve around it such as wars, conflicts and displacement, saying: “The fetus in his mother’s womb is affected by the surrounding feelings,” noting that “the fetus is directly affected by the psychological state of the mother, as it is saturated with hormones that are related to the psychological state, which It reaches it from the mother, by increasing the number of heartbeats, narrowing of the blood vessels, and symptoms of stress and excitement, as it transmits the same biological changes that occurred to the mother as an expression of emotion, and by repeating that, we have a child who gets used to the emotion without being aware of the reason, and perhaps this explains the fear of children after birth for no reason It is clear, as it is a return to what his nervous and psychological system was accustomed to during pregnancy, meaning that the anxiety generated by him from the unstable environment of the womb.
She added, “Negative feelings are transmitted to the infant, as the passage of a nursing woman in a bad psychological state increases the secretion of the hormone (estrus), which weakens immunity, and is reflected in the ease of the newborn receiving diseases.” She pointed out that children born in refugee camps or places of war are completely different from children born in stable places that support the mother psychologically and morally.
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