“Being the target of hate can be devastating and often results in tremendous sadness, grief and fear” (Coard, Wallace). War puts the stamp of hate on innocent victims, most often than not the victims of war are children. My own father was a victim of war. My father lived during WWII in Cephalonia Greece during Greece’s occupation by Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. During this time all of Greece and her people suffered immensely; the economy was in ruins, civilians died from starvation and civil war broke out among resistance guerrilla groups. My dad was a young boy of 16, the same age as my son is today and he was the oldest among 9 children. Continuing his education was not an option but rather supporting and aiding his family was. My father had to protect and provide for his siblings, along with his father, he became the patriarch of his family. I am sure fear overtook my dad’s life, but he was not given the opportunity to process those feelings of fear or grief; my dad was in survival mode especially when it came to protecting his siblings. Instead of falling apart, my dad did everything he could to empower his brothers and sisters, providing them with an emotionally stable loving environment. It was his job to protect them and he succeeded in doing that. He made a bad situation seem manageable, almost hopeful. My dad was a role model for his family, showing “that people have successfully stood up to hatred” (Coard et al.). Did the war have an affect on my dad? I know it did, but the only effect we ever experienced was always a positive example of caring for others, and surviving with the love of your family. My dad never stopped caring for his siblings; he cared for them into their adult lives. Perhaps my dad was one of the lucky one; unfortunately others are not so lucky especially Iraqi children.
Iraqi children live in war everyday. “The fighting is happening in the streets in front of our houses and schools…. many Iraqi children have to pass dead bodies on the street…others have seen relatives killed” (Palmer, 2007). This is normal childhood for these children because real normalcy is being “swept away by violence and displacement (Palmer, 2007). “Nearly 15 % of Iraq’s total population have fled their homes – 50 % of them are children (UNICEF, 2007). The war is impacting not only the children’s mental health, but also their ability to learn and develop appropriately. The war has displaced children from their homes, closed schools and centers of education; access to quality health care is limited, and many children face life separated from their parents or as orphans. Children that are able to access education face struggles as well, finding themselves in over crowded classrooms with limited resources (UNICEF, 2007). The Iraqi children have lost a sense of family, a sense of community and a sense of self. These children are suffering from sever trauma, post traumatic stress disorder, sleeping and eating disorders (Palmer, 2007), and unfortunately, there are not adequately trained professionals to deal and assist these children. Unicef has been working vigilantly to raise funds for appropriate resources to assist the war torn children of Iraq so that they may be afforded the opportunity to develop in all areas of development and lead healthy lives.
My dad was driven by a commitment to family surviving the ill effects of war; the Iraqi children sadly do not have that same luxury.
References
Palmer, J. (2007, April 16). Iraqis Fear War’s Long-Term Cost to Kids. USA Today.
Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-04-15-iraq-
Palmer, J. (2001, April 17). Trauma Sever For Iraqi Children. USA Today. Retrieved
Coard, S., Wallace, S. A. When Hurt Lead to Hate: Preventing your Child’s Feelings of
Anger from Leading to Actions of Bias and Hate. Retrieved from
UNICEF. (2007), Immediate Needs for Iraqi Children in Iran and Neighboring Countries.
