Children in conflict zones deserve our compassion and total support. Their resilience in the face of adversity is remarkable, but they need global attention to ensure their safety and well-being. Ending these conflicts and addressing their causes is crucial for securing a brighter future for these vulnerable children
By Yashika Baghel
Children in war-torn areas experience untold suffering. Their lives are permanently marked by violence, bloodshed and turmoil. The everyday dying and destruction, which brutalizes their innocence and purity, just cannot be described. Their tragedy is infinite.
In conflict-zones, these little ones face intense hardships, which affect their physical security, education, and mental health. Daily routines are interrupted by the ever-present danger of relentless violence. Education centers within such zones are often either demolished, air-bombed, or converted into military bases, leaving children with no permanent place to study.
Health institutions suffer greatly due to this crisis. This means that there is reduced access to essential health care services. Consequently, these kids lack vital services required for their growth and survival.
Displacement is also a significant challenge. Many kids flee their places of residence to avoid violence and end up in refugee camps or temporary housing facilities. This makes them feel unstable and unsafe after losing their homes and neighbourhoods.
Mental well-being, too, takes a blow. Exposure to violence and being displaced constantly can cause post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), fear and depression. Psychological wounds of war stick with children from these backgrounds throughout their lives, such that they are unable to achieve emotional stability as well as cognitive growth, which could be seen by others outside their world.
In the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, a desperate situation has been created for the young. Schools, university campuses, libraries and medical facilities, have been ruined or damaged, leaving students and citizens without such services. Everyday is full of impending terror and terrible uncertainties.
Thousands of children suffer from trauma and stress. Their learning process is interrupted all the time by the threatening atmosphere of violence that do not give them an opportunity to get used to a typical childhood.
In the same way, the war between Russia and Ukraine has put huge pressure on young people’s lives. As the fighting goes on, kids face are being forced out from their homes; they are split up from their families, friends and loved ones.
A lot of them have to stay in temporary shelters as internally displaced refugees, or have to run away to safer places — exiled and homeless. This means they miss out on school and have to deal with serious mental health problems. In both these conflicts, international organizations and local groups have worked tirelessly to provide aid, food, medical supplies, drinking water and support.
Children in conflict zones deserve our compassion and total support. Their resilience in the face of adversity is remarkable, but they need global attention to ensure their safety and well-being. Ending these conflicts and addressing their causes is crucial for securing a brighter future for these vulnerable children.
Yashika Baghel is a class 10 student of Dr BR Ambedkar School of Specialized Excellence (SOSE), Andrews Ganj, Delhi Board of Secondary Education (DBSE), Delhi government.