“Peace is in the waves at sea. Peace must begin with you and me!”
- Student, Gander Middle School, Gander, Newfoundland, Canada

“Why destroy when we could create, Keep the peace, erase the hate.”
- Normal Community West High School, Normal, IL, US

“As I look around the world I sigh, And think, We could at least give peace a try.”
- Exeter-West Greenwich Junior High, West Greenwich, RI, US

“If only PEACE were understood, What couldn't be now, in the future could.”
- Milwaukee German Immersion School, Milwaukee, WI, US

“Peace can be snuffed out‚ like a candle. Together we can protect Peace from the winds of war.”
- East Pori Middle School, Pori, Finland

“Stop war‚ love for millions of children's smiles. Sadness of the dove's bleeding heart.”
- Lycée de Beauregard, Montbrison, France


The drawing is from, Children Write for Peace, which can be downloaded here.

All quotes where taken from www.blogforpeace.org

Talking to our children about violence and war is difficult in its own right, as no parent wants to bring their child into the harsh reality that is our globalized world. And while yes, sheltering children from violence is ideal, it is not an option that holds feasibility for long. Soon children will catch a glimpse of the destruction the fills our evening news, see the images of death on the cover of the morning newspaper; hear something at school about a child in his class that was abused, etc. The reality of life is that most children two thirds of the worlds children live in violent conflict, making violence are part of everyday life. Helping children who live in environments of peace understand violence and conflict, and that children across the globe do not all live as they do, does not only help to be more prepared should they ever be faced with such situations, it also works to help prevent instances of violence and conflict. Children undoubtedly have a clearer understanding of human nature than adults tend to realize, and they tend to see past the political polarization that so often muddles' the peace process.

So how do you talk to children about violence and conflict, with out leaving them daunted and distressed, but leave them empowered for peace? Start with letting them know that everyone does both good and bad things sometimes, but violence based on someone's race, religion or gender is never ok. Work with them to see that real war and violence isn't a black and white issue, there is no good guys versus the bad guys, and regardless of how gray the areas between the two sides are, atrocities such as ethnic cleansing and genocide, are never ok. Helping children to brake down the barriers between fantasy war and real war, by highlighting the realness of the victims, who are disproportionately children, lets them know that life and conflict do not always end with a storybook endingthat people die and lives are uprooted, and once peace comes there is still much to be done to help people rebuild their lives and maintain peace.

Help your children understand the world better and take time out once a week to learn a about a new culture, show them what a child's life is life for someone their age in Brazil, China, India, Kosovo, Spain, Zambia Why not have your child pick a country which they feel the most connected to, and work with them to find a way to give back; collecting clothing, donating their allowance, donate books to a school, etc. You and your child will not only have fun learning together, but you will be helping your child develop into a more cultured and tolerant person, and possibly even a future leader for peace! Peace begins with social responsibility and teaching our children that it is the only way forward is the only way to ever move towards sustainable peace.

See Books for Children , Resources for Children and Young Adults , Resources Teachers and Parents , and the other resource pages as well as the links for more resources and tools to help you talk to your children.

Links:
Talking to Children About Terrorism and Armed Conflict
Promoting Tolerance and Peace in Children
Kids on War, Peace and Terrorism

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is far from being anything remotely close to new, and who's right and whose wrong remains muddled in the smoke and dust of war. However one thing is clear, and that is that the children on both sides of the war are caught in the middle. Currently Gaza's children are truly caught in the firing line, as casualties are now estimated to be more than some 683, according to the Gaza ministry of health; additionally more than 3,085 have been wounded.

On 6 January, the Israeli authorities allowed a brief testimony of an Israeli army officer in Gaza to be aired on public radio: "The situation in Gaza is grim; we see women and children carrying white flags looking for food, it will take years to rehabilitate [Gaza]", he said. (IRIN)

The future of children on both sides of the fence were born with a cloudy future, many tainted at birth by the fog of hate and fear, never given a chance see peace in the eyes of the child playing on the other side of the fence.What happens when children are surrounded by war, know nothing of peace, used as the pawns of their families…a nation? They become the next generation of fighters. While, yes, many will grow to be activists and fight for peace, many others will continue on the journey of hate and violence.

Some children will grow-up to be suicide bombers, others will serve in the Israeli army, many more will just continue to hate their neighbor on the other side of the wall, or even next-door.I stand not to pick a side or place the burden of blame on any one pair of shoulders, no the continued violence is the fault of both Israel and Palestine. Israeli children have been tossed like rag dolls on to the streets of blood by suicide bombers, and Palestinian children have been bombed out of their bed and dreams, both will only to loose the dream of a future among the rubble and the dust of the bombs. Images of death are haunting on either side of the conflict, and loss of the lives of innocent children continue to rise.

A recent Newsweek article illustrates the huge impact that the ongoing conflict has on child survivors, who will carry the brunt the damage, an affect that will be carried with them long after the war. Post-traumatic stress disorder is expected to affect many of the nearly 1 million Gazans who survived.

Psychologist Hasan Zeyada, head of the Gaza Community Mental Health Center, says more than half of the children may end up with posttraumatic-stress disorder, either from what they have seen and heard, or from watching the horrific cinema verité on Palestinian television. He ticks off the symptoms: “clinging behavior, regression, bedwetting, re-experience and flashbacks, intrusive memories and dreams,” and, worst of all in a way, “disappointment in parents unable to protect them.”

When one looks at the photos of children whose lives were violently lost to the horrors of war, does one see the death of innocence or the enemy, does one see a child or an Israeli, does one see a child or a Palestinian? When I see such images, I see the loss of a child and a future, it pains me the same regardless of whether or not the child was an Israeli or a Palestinian, both are equally innocent, both are equally valuable. It is this value of life and the future that both sides must learn to respect if this conflict is to ever find it's self in a true and holding ceasefire. Maybe if the parents on both sides of the conflicts could see the future with and the future without peace, they would see a future for their children.


Recent News on the Conflict:
International meeting on Gaza aid to be held in Qatar on 1 February
Gaza children increasingly traumatised according to specialists
Gaza's children in the firing line
Schools caught up in Palestinian conflict
Aid workers protest restricted access to Gaza
UXO threat in Gaza
Israeli clinic closes after treating five Palestinians
U.N. chief Ban sees “heartbreaking” Gaza damage
UN calls for probe into Israeli attacks on UN buildings
Israel accused of war crimes in Gaza

China parents press demands in wake of milk sentences
Chinese parents of children stricken by toxic milk pressed compensation demands Friday, a day after a court sentenced two people to death and jailed 19 over the scandal in which six infants died.

China sentences two to death over tainted milk
A Chinese court on Thursday sentenced two men to death for their role in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children, while the woman most widely blamed for the tragedy got life in jail. Nearly 300,000 children fell ill last year after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, a toxic industrial compound that can give a fake positive on protein tests.

Gates Foundation donates $255 million to fight polio
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $255 million to fight polio, the potential killer that still cripples children in parts of Africa and Asia. The pledge was part of a $630 million package, including funds from the British and German governments, according to a statement released today by the Seattle-based Gates Foundation. The money will go to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, whose partners include Rotary International, a service organization based in Evanston, Illinois. The foundation earlier said it aims to prevent the onset of new polio cases globally by 2010 and to ensure the eradication of the virus three years later, but the foundation no longer is holding to that timetable.

Congolese displaced by Ugandan rebels to receive UN aid
The flood of Congolese civilians fleeing raids by the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) are in dire need of food, shelter, medicines, clothes and other aid items, and United Nations’ relief will begin reaching them tomorrow despite immense logistical challenges, the Organization's refugee agency said. "This remote and increasingly unstable area poses immense logistical challenges for aid agencies due to the lack of roads or their poor condition,” Ron Redmond, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said, following renewed assaults in the north-east Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the past week

GUINEA: Changing the odds for blind students
Most blind people in Guinea end up uneducated and begging in the streets, say government officials, who are working to change this by training teachers in mainstream schools to better teach blind students. Guinea's Ministry of Social Affairs hopes in the next two to three years to train some 140 teachers to teach blind students and those with other disabilities, according to Mohamed Camara, the ministry's chief of integrated education and president of the Guinean Association to Promote the Rights of the Handicapped. The government signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in February 2008.

Walk-out closes Kenya's schools
Unions in Kenya have declared the first day of a nationwide walk-out by some 230,000 teachers “100 percent successful.” A BBC correspondent in Nairobi says some primary school pupils found their classes empty and so played or tried to give each other lessons. Billed as the “mother of all strikes.” the open-ended action follows the collapse of pay negotiations. The education minister said the strike was illegal and blamed teachers, saying they kept changing their position. On Sunday the government had urged parents to take their children to school despite the threat of industrial action.

SUDAN: Western Equatoria struggling with influx of refugees and IDPs
The Southern Sudanese state of Western Equatoria has registered thousands of refugees and displaced civilians but lacks the resources to support them, officials said. “Children with malaria and pneumonia have no access to medicines and medical facilities; food supplies are getting very low even for the local inhabitants; most displaced persons have no shelter and the situation is likely to get worse after the onset of the coming rainy season.” The refugees fled a Ugandan government-led offensive in December 2008 against Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while the others fled attacks on their homes by cattle-raiders from neighboring Ethiopia.

Zimbabwe receives $5 million boost from UNICEF in fight against cholera outbreak
UNICEF announced a USD 5 million donation for Zimbabwe's besieged health sector to help it battle an out-of-control cholera epidemic and the effects of collapsing health services. The death toll in the cholera outbreak has now topped 2,000, with over half the estimated 40,000 diagnosed cases in Harare. "The cholera outbreak is the tip of the iceberg,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman while visiting Zimbabwe last week. Zimbabwe's defunct health system and the growing humanitarian crisis have had a devastating impact on the lives of children, particularly those who are orphaned or vulnerable, and UN officials have warned that child mortality rates will continue to rise.

Energy needs to be part of global poverty battle
Ensuring energy supplies to the poor should have been included as a Millennium Development Goal, and the exclusion of this element adversely affects the global fight against poverty, Rajendra Pachauri, head of the United Nations climate panel, said Wednesday.

Sri Lanka: continuing conflict sparks UN concern over fate of children
The United Nations is increasingly concerned for the well-being of tens of thousands of civilians caught up in the conflict raging in the northern Vanni area of Sri Lanka pitting Government forces against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the world body's humanitarian chief said Jan. 16. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that around 230,000 people have been displaced due to intensified fighting in the north of the country during the second half of 2008.

Injured Gaza children in Belgium
Six seriously injured Palestinian children have been flown to Belgium from the war-torn Gaza Strip for treatment in Brussels hospitals. The children were airlifted on a Belgian military plane, which brought them from El-Arish, an Egyptian town about 60km (37 miles) from Gaza. Belgian media say the children's ages range from two and a half to 18 years. Each child is accompanied by a parent. More than 200 Belgians have offered to accommodate the parents, reports say.

YEMEN: What is blocking progress on MMR?
The maternal mortality rate (MMR) remains high as a result of poor health care and harmful social practices, including child marriage and female genital mutilation, a UNICEF official in Yemen has said. Eight women or girls die from pregnancy or childbirth complications every day in Yemen; globally the figure is 1,500. According to UNICEF, the lifetime risk of maternal death in Yemen is 1:39, making it the highest in the Middle East. At the same time Yemen has the lowest percentage of births in the Middle East at which a skilled attendant is present: Delivery care coverage is 36 percent, and 24 percent of births take place in hospitals.

Pakistani Taliban blow up schools in Swat
Pakistan's Swat valley destroyed four schools there in response to the government's vow to reopen the facilities. Teachers are reluctant to return to schools, which have been closed for a winter break, following the violence. “If they’re destroying schools during a curfew, they can do anything,” said the president of the Swat teachers association. “Militants blew up two girls schools and two boys schools,” a top government official in the valley, Shaukat Yousafzai, told Reuters. “Attacks on troops are understandable but why are they destroying schools?” Yousafzai said the militants had destroyed 170 schools in the valley where about 55,000 girls and boys were enrolled in government-run institutions.

Earlier this month Human Rights Watch's (HRW) released their 19th annual World Report, the report summarizes human rights conditions in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide. The 2009 HRW report highlights the extensive and investigative work which the HRW staff, and human rights activists in the field, undertook in 2008.

2008 marked the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and at a time when the world should be united in the protection and promotion of human rights many are still standing in the way of progress, as noted by HRW;

…the governments demonstrating the clearest vision on international rights protections, sadly, are those seeking to undermine enforcement. In their foreign policies and in international for a, they invoke sovereignty, non-interference, and Southern solidarity to curb criticism of their human rights abuses and those of their allies and friends. Governments that champion human rights need urgently to wrest back the initiative from these human rights spoilers.

In the report Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth's piece, Taking Back the Initiative from the Human Rights Spoilers,

…governments that care about human rights worldwide retain enough clout to build a broad coalition to fight repression-if they are willing to use it. Instead, these governments have largely abandoned the field. Succumbing to competing interests and credibility problems of their own making, they have let themselves be outmaneuvered and sidelined in UN venues such as the Security Council and the Human Rights Council, and in the policy debates that shape multilateral diplomacy toward Burma, Darfur, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and other trouble spots.

The 576 page report gives an overview of the year's human rights situation country by country, and while not all of the country reports have a specific ‘children's rights’ section, each gives a summarized yet detailed insight into the daily struggle that children face in that particular country. Although children are not always be specifically mentioned in reference to conflict, displacement, HIV/AIDS, gender based violence, forced labor, freedom of expression, etc., the state of human rights protection and violations across the country directly impact children, even if they are only indirectly affected by the violation itself. A violation of rights against a parent or a community undoubtedly impacts that of a child's life, through the current and future security of their human rights. Most of these situations have a direct and profound impact on the scale of human trafficking of children, including child soldiers, child labor, sexual exploitation and slavery.

To learn more, please see the full report here.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." - Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)

As we embark on a new year and a new administration, I felt this quote was truly fitting for the week. Let us embark on new beginnings domestically and internationally, but let us not forget the past, both good and bad, that led us to that new beginning. Each road leads to another and with out the rocky road to travel on one would not have found themselves on the smooth pavement of the future.

I came across this photo expose, The American Teen, which I found tremendously enthralling and wanted to share it with you. In the 22 photos photojournalist Robin Bowman, manages to not only capture the diversity of the American teen, but also the complexity of the generation. From drugs to god, pregnancy to chastity pledges, rural to city, the streets to the police academy, debutants to punks, drag queens to preachers…the list goes on and on.

While these teens' images are strikingly different, they all have one thing in common and that is that they all face the same drudgery that is coming of age. Every teen has faced the struggle for independence; acceptance and all have searched for guidance in their own way. There is nothing typical about the life of an American teen, and there is nothing easy about growing up today, but each of these teens' shows hope and strength as they battle through adolescence into adulthood.

Barak Obama was sworn in yesterday as President of the United States, however with President Obama, not only comes the new First Lady Michelle Obama, but also the ‘First Daughters’. Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, have surely done well thus far in the public spotlight, and shadow of their father. Nonetheless what does the move to the White House means for them?

Life as the President's daughters will surely be an adjustment for both girls, and while the Obama's will seek to see that every opportunity of normalcy is kept, life for the Obama sisters will never be the same again. Malia and Sasha are not just the daughters of the US President, but role models for all of America's children, not to mention the world's children. That is one heavy burden for a 10 and 7 year-old, can they handle it?

Both Malia and Sasha were well poised as their father took his formal place on the historic day, and surely the girls have a clear grasp of the importance of not only the event, but their fathers ‘new job’. But will the pressure of their new town and role be too much for them? The Obama's will clearly shield the girls from much of the media hype and pressure; however it will be inevitable to shield them from all the public attention and interest. From this day forward the American youth, especially the minority community, will still look to the girls for inspiration, as Malia and Sasha will quite literally grow up before our eyes.

So far so good, as the girls have proven to not only be "normal', but also well mannered and studious, able to handle the press, and without a doubt they aim to make their parents proud. The girls biggest challenge going forward as the First Daughters, is to live up to public expectations and maintain their normalcy in spite of the constant public spotlight, and only time will really tell, and no child is perfect, but the support of their parents to keep life ‘normal’ will surely help keep the girls on the right track as they transform from children into teenagers in the White House.

DC has been a buzz all weekend with the glitz and glamour of the inaugural balls, as well as the not so glamorous road blocks and street closing; however rain, shine or snow crowds of people will descend on the city streets in only a few hours. Many young and old have already begun to take up post in the hopes of catching even the smallest glimpse of Barack Obama, as he is sworn in to be the 44th President of the United States.

The city is well prepared as law enforcement and military alike have already taken up their posts, only an hour ago I literally found myself in a sea of some 400 uniformed police from across the country as they prepared to descend upon DC, a spectacle in its own right. However the streets will soon be flooded with on lookers as they descend upon Washington, D.C.'s famous Mall to become part of history and to feel the pride that one has in such a democratic election based on peace and freedom, a feat for which so many dream across the globe. The eyes of hope will all be on Obama as he takes oath and takes the reins of a country which has begun to feel the heavy strain of the war and the economic melée that has engulfed our nation.

The Inauguration is not an event for adults, but for citizens of all ages, including press of all ages, as not only will Barack Obama, but it will also be an historic day for 10-year-old Damon Weaver, from Kathryn E. Cunningham Canal Point Elementary School in South Florida reporter. Weaver is a reporter for the schools TV station, KEC TV, and obtained a press pass to cover Damon will cover the inaugural welcoming event, the parade and the live TV children's concert. Damon hopes he will have the opportunity to interview Obama directly, but regardless this young reporter has already made history and the news. Weaver is no stranger to doing interviews, he first hit the spotlight when he interviewed, Vice-President elect Joe Biden, when he was on the campaign trail. You can see Weaver's interview with Biden below or by clicking here,

You can also see Weaver in his message To President-Elect Obama and his own appearance on CNN, as well as in his interviews with others like Caroline Kennedy on You Tube.  Maybe it is Weaver and young minds like him across our great country, that really are “The Change” that America needs…that the world needs.

As we embark upon a new journey as nation, let us move forward in hope that the children of today and tomorrow will be given opportunity, strength and live in prosperity under the new administration, not only in the US, but across the globe.

To day we honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., King’s fight for human rights and his legacy was left for all children regardless of race, religion or color.  The fight he led for civil rights in the United States was, and still is, an inspiration for all who have, or are, oppressed around the globe.  The protection of the equal rights of every man, woman and child across the globe are still being fought for on a daily basis, as the fight for equal rights, freedom from modern slavery, poverty, gender based discrimination and violence continue to plague our world community.  However today’s fight for human rights is rooted in the hard work of so many in the civil rights movement, such as Dr. King, and though decades have passed his words still inspire nations.

On the 28th of August 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, at the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C. during the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom  by the ‘Big Six’ ( Roy Wilkins from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Whitney Young, National Urban League; A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; John Lewis, SNCC; and James L. Farmer, Jr. of the Congress of Racial Equality).

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

In his speech Dr. King expressed his hope and dream that every man, woman and child would be equal that we would one day no longer see the color of ones skin, note ones religion, and truly be equal. We have come along way since he stood in awe of the masses before him, but often those words are unheard, or misheard, so let us take this day to remember there true meaning;

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!