The Children of War

3 y.o. Dieu Do, homeless and fatherless after a 1967 Viet Cong attack, Source http://www.dcvonline.net/php/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=3989, Author USIA (PD as work product of US Govt.)

WARNING: Graphic Images

“The only way to eliminate war is to love our children more than we hate our enemies.”

-Golda Meir

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) last year issued a milestone report titled “25 Years of Children and Armed Conflict:  Taking Action to Protect Children in War” [1].

That report documents the grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict, highlighting steps the international community can take to protect children.  But the ravages of war have long been recognized [2][3].

Conflict fundamentally impacts the world in which children live, along with impacting the adults around them.  Conflict destroys houses, businesses, roads, crops, and fields.  It pollutes groundwater and sanitation systems; wreaks havoc with electrical systems; disrupts food and medical supply chains, impairing access to essential services.

Both aerial bombardment and explosions from artillery can produce anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among adults, adolescents, and children [4A][5A].  Mere vibrations from shelling can kill an unborn child in the womb [4B].

The United Nations Security Council has identified the following serious violations concerning children during times of war and conflict [5B]:

1. Denial of adequate nutrition and other basic necessities to children.
2. Attacks on schools and hospitals.
3. Abduction of children.
4. Rape and other sexual violence inflicted on children.
5. Use of children in armed forces and militia.
6. Killing and maiming of children.

Globally, the deaths of more than 10 million children 5 years of age and under can be attributed to conflicts between 1995 and 2015 [5C][6].  Some 450 million children worldwide continue to live in conflict zones [7][8].

Despite all this, children can demonstrate remarkable resilience.  That resilience manifests both in wartime, and in the years afterward.  Rosemarie Schade is one such individual.

A forthcoming book, We Were Children of War by Santiago Serrallonga, tells Rosemarie’s story and that of her family as refugees during WWII [9].  I have had the privilege of writing a prologue to the book for which no publication date has yet been set.

For those who may not be familiar with her, Rosemarie Schade blogs at Senioren um die Welt https://seniorenumdiewelt.wordpress.com/ .  Santiago Serrallonga blogs at Santiago Galicia Rojon Serrallonga https://santiagogaliciarojonserrallonga.wordpress.com/.

Both blogs are inspiring and uplifting.

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[1]  UNICEF, “25 Years of Children and Armed Conflict:  Taking Action to Protect Children in War”, https://www.unicef.org/reports/25-years-children-armed-conflict.

[2]  Wikipedia, “Childhood in war”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_in_war.

[3]  Wikipedia, “War Childhood Museum”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Childhood_Museum.

[4A and 4B]  Journal of Health and Economics, 73 (2020) 102345, “Military Training Exercises, Pollution, and Their Consequences for Health” by Gustavo Bobonis, Mark Stabile, and Leonardo Tovar, November 2017,  https://saludparavieques.org/images/pdfs/SALUD/Bobonis%20et%20al%20-%20Military%20training%20exercises,%20pollution,%20and%20their%20consequences%20for%20health.pdf.

[5A, 5B, and 5C]  National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Turkish Archives of Pediatrics, 57(3): 253–254, “Wars and Children” by Fatma Lale Sever, May 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9131822/.

[6]  National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, The Lancet, 392 (10150): 804–805, “Childhood mortality during conflicts in Africa” by Emelda Okiro and Philip Ayieko, 9/8/18, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7613507/.

[7]  ReliefWeb, “Children Affected by Armed Conflict, 1990-2021” by Gudron Ostby, Andrew Arasmith, and Siri Rustad, 10/20/22, https://reliefweb.int/report/world/children-affected-armed-conflict-1990-2021.

[8]  Save the Children Resource Center, “Stop the War on Children:  The forgotten ones” by Denselow, James, Fylkesnes, Gunvor Knag, Kamoy, Kristin, Mangan, Roisin, Podieh, Pia, and Stromme, Alvhild, 2022, https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/stop-the-war-on-children-the-forgotten-ones/.

[9]  Facebook, “Santiago Galicia Rojon Serrallonga”, https://www.facebook.com/1663188970573884/posts/3647600055466089/?wtsid=rdr_0xhfQ5tyqHK1jqS70.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  https://alawyersprayers.com