Children

“Where there is no hope, one must invent hope.” - Albert Camus

Recently I have written a few posts on the situation in Sudan, and I was fortunate enough to attend the prescreening last night of Sand and Sorrow, which premiers on HBO on December 6th at 8pn ET. The event was held Monday, December 3, at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association Theater, in Washington, DC. HBO, in conjunction with Enough and Campus Progress, which is the student arm of the Center for American Progress.

Bodies scattered across the barren land, their outline remains long after they are gone. Blood red sand stained from the bodies who spilled their blood fighting for their land, homes, and futures. Scorched bodies lie like an invisible mass of death, a plague haunting only those who have been forced to bare witness. A plague with no cure in sight!

Images seared on your brain, in your mind, in your heart…They cannot escape your soul, forever etched in your memory, and this is exactly what the films producers want you to walk away with. The film does not gloss over the horrors that plague Sudan, but shows graphic images of the bodies of those who have been burned alive, the faces of those who still cling to life, and burned out villages among the arid land. The film tells the real stories of tragedy from those who have lived to bare witness to the acts of genocide and systematic rapes. For too long the cries of Sudan have fallen on deaf ears, and thus “Sand and Sorrow” “examines the international community’s ‘legacy of failure’ to respond to such profound crimes against humanity in the past.” “Never Again!”, are the words we have failed to live by time and time again. The films Director, Paul Freedman, said in response to our failures to act, even as the ten year anniversary of Rwanda unfolded, and our continuous failure to end the genocide in Sudan;

“We will do it slowly and we will call it Darfur.
Everybody knows, yet we don’t do anything….
we stand idly by and do nothing!”

Narrated by George Clooney, the film relies heavily on the powerful interviews of Samantha Power, John Pendergast and Nick Kristof. However in its brief 93 minutes the producers take you into an American High School, and Capital Hill, to give you some incite into the concern and frustration back home. In the film also follows a contingent of African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur, which included Sabina Blay, an police woman from Ghana. Blay, organized a forum for rape victims at an IDP camp in Chad, seeing that many sought treatment for the sexual assaults that had been inflicted upon them. “What those children saw is something that human beings should never see”, Blay said with sadness in her eyes.

Burned bodies, utter carnage, terror and despair…that is the description of Darfur…the lives of millions of displaced children, many now without fathers, others the reminders of their mother violent attackers. But their suffering is far from over as those called to protect them are rendered helpless, only able to watch, video and document the horrors that continue to unfold before their very eyes. The innocent civilians of Darfur are far from safe, as under their watchful eyes the camps burn, and innocence continues to die.

Who will end the terror and sorrow in the sand? The US has condemned the acts in Sudan as genocide, yet still we sit sill, and no policies have yet been made. As South African President Mbeki said, “The solution doesn’t lie in making radical statements.” We can not condemn the crisis and then sit back and hope it will fix itself, for five years later we are only facing a new enemy of disease and hunger. Death and violence is common in every day life in Sudan, as IDP’s spend endless days in unknowing anguish, in fear and in hope, and day after day they wait alone and in silence.

“Human lives are heavy or light depending on where they are!” -John Pendergast

Following the film there was a Q&A discussion featuring John Prendergast, co-chair of the ENOUGH Project, and Director Paul Freedman, who also produced and directed “Rwanda—Do Scars Ever Fade?”. The discussion was moderated by Erica Williams the Issue Campaigns Manager at Campus Progress.

What do we do, well John Pendergast made a great statement which says it simply;

“There has to be a cost for committing Genocide…they want to be accepted internationaly . These guys change their behavior if pressured hard enough, lets pressure them!”

Campus Progress and Enough are encouraging people to have a Party with a Purpose . Gather your friends, family, students and classmates, then register your party and get discussion materials. Following the film you will have the opportunity to participate in ‘Join a Call’ with John Prendergast, Samantha Power and Nick Kristof after the film.

Related Articles and Links:
HBO buys Darfur docu ‘Sand and Sorrow’
Save Darfur
Smallest Witnesses

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial 2007 Human Rights Award laureate was presented this morning to Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, of Sudan. The event was opened by Kerry Kennedy, founder The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights.

“…champions of justice are imbued with moral courage. The cause is compelling, the enemies dangerous and powerful. But we are blessed by a handful of Davids, who, with little more than the slingshots of their hearts and nerve and sinew to support them, stand up against a world full of Goliaths. And the angels prevail.”

Dr. Mohammed Ahmed was among hundreds of human rights advocates nominated from across the globe, and he was chosen for his unwaivering dedication to help those in Darfur who need him the most. Dr. Ahmed’s helps those in his country that so many others have turned a blind eye to, the victims so many have been too cowardly to stand and fight for. He protects and heals those survivors of rape, torture, and violence in Darfur, who’s lives have been ripped apart by genocide. By working to see that their lives are restored, that they know the whole world didn’t turn it’s back on them, Dr. Ahmed, not only tirelessly administers medical assistance, he also prescribes hope to a nation.

Ms. Kennedy took a moment to avert the crowds attention to another RFK Human Rights laureate, who also stood fearlessly for the people of his own country. The room stood in applause as Ren Wanding, the 1994 award winner was introduced as a member of the audience. Ding was imprisoned in China for promoting a democratic government and the release of political prisoners, he was unable to accept the RFK award when it was presented to him.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, then took the stand to introduce this years laureate, speaking on how we must demand as an international community, that attacks on IDP camps and the people of Darfur end now, and that all parties held accountable for their safety and security. Senator Kennedy added that Congress must pass the Sudan Divestment Act. He then commented heavily on Dr. Ahmed’s selfless acts, giving light to the power of individual activism.

“As my brother Bobby so eloquently stated, ‘Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of those acts will be written the history of our generation.’”

Senator Kennedy, with the support and assistance of Ethel Kennedy, Robert Kennedy’s wife, presented the award.
With his arms raised high, his face awash in hope and peace, Dr. Ahmed took the award and stood strong for all of Sudan…he stood strong for all of mankind.

“…I never thought I’d come here today, not just as an individual RFK award winner, but as a citizen of Darfur…I also talk to you on behalf of my patients. The situation on the ground now is critical. The government of Sudan, who is my government, is really now targeting civilians.”

Dr. Ahmed asking for all of Sudan, placed the following plea before us today;

“I urge the United States and the international community to understand these camp liquidations for what they are: the final phase of the Sudanese government’s plan to exterminate the African tribes of Darfur. The fate of the people expelled from the camps is clear: they are left vulnerable to attacks by militias and left without access to the humanitarian aid they rely upon. Because of this situation, they will soon die of preventable disease, malnutrition, starvation or violence – unless they are protected!”

Dr. Ahmed serves as the Medical Treatment Director for the The Amel Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Sudan. The word Amel, means hope, which is exactly what the center gives all whom it treats, and to the country from which has given them both life and death. The center provides much needed treatment for women and young girls, who are often raped in front of their own families. “Females are systematically targeted…rape is used as a systematic weapon of war.”, but at the Amel clinic “we make them whole again…make society accept them. We cannot forget them!”, Dr. Ahmed stated. The clinic is a rarity in a country with little to no infrastructure, a country in desperate need of specialized services for widows, rape victims and children born of rape.

“We people in Darfur are badly in need of peace…we have started peace processes…the problem is that the government of Darfur, Sudan hates peace.” “We have to be consulted as the people of Darfur. Libya negotiation table failed as the people of Darfur where not consolidated.”

Kerry Kennedy once again took the stage, and with even more passion in her voice she took the microphone; “President Bashir thinks if there is no witnesses then it didn’t happen. He can only do this as long as we do not act.”, she said.
Ms. Kennedy then introduced Mia Farrow UN Goodwill Ambassador, mother of 14, actress, and activist, to speak on the situation in Sudan. Farrow has taken seven missions to Darfur in the last five years, and will take her eighth mission this coming January, her work and her words where nothing less then heart provoking. Showing photos from here previous journeys’ to Sudan, Farrow gave a face to the human suffering that has gone ignored for far too long by so many.

Farrow wasted no time, and did not begin her speech with a light and fluffy introduction, she simply aimed to bring the suffering of the people of Sudan to light, and her words hit hard;

“After the Nazi Holocaust, the world vowed “never again.” How obscenely disingenuous those fine words sound today. As we look at Rwanda, Darfur and eastern Chad, are we to conclude that “never again” applies only to white people?”

Farrow continued to speak strong, her words coming from her heart and from those who’s suffering she has witnessed first hand. “Almost five years of this suffering is five years too long! …what are we saying to the people of Darfur, only that they are completely dispensable.” Referring to “responsibility to protect”, the UN Security Council’s unanimous adoption of Resolution 1769 on Sudan, words which Farrow stated, “are proving to be as hollow as ‘never again’.” “we have failed Rwanda and we are failing Sudan…collectively and individually we have failed them.” Her voice full of passion, her eyes overwhelmed and verging on tears, as Farrow spoke on what she has seen, what she has heard, and most of all on what has failed to be done.

In closing Kerry Kennedy appeared to be speaking words broken by emotion, as she called the audience to do a traditional call for rain…the room filled with snaps, taps, stomps…and hope as the prayed for rain in Darfur. “With the hope of Dr. Ahmed, let us hope that in Darfur justice rains!”

The room was left in awe, and incited with passion, a passion one can only hope will lead one to stand-up and speak out for those who’s cries have long since fallen on deaf ears. Let us not turn our backs for one more day on the innocent woman, children and men of Darfur. To Dr. Ahmed the answer is simple, “Either protect the people of Darfur, or see Rwanda again. No one wants to see Rwanda again!”

Resources and Documents:

See all the RFK Human Rights Award Laureates here.
Release: Darfuri Doctor and Rights Defender to Receive 2007 RFK Human Rights Award
Speech: Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah at 2007 RFK Human Rights Award Ceremony
Speech: Kerry Kennedy at 2007 RFK Human Rights Award Ceremony
Speech: Senator Edward Kennedy at 2007 RFK Human Rights Award Ceremony
Speech: Mia Farrow at 2007 RFK Human Rights Award Ceremony
Washington Post article: Physician Honored For Work In Darfur
Voices of Genocide Prevention Podcast: Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah
AP Article: Doctor warns of Darfur camp expulsions
AP Article: Darfur Doctor Wins RFK Award
Voice of America, Webchat Transcript: Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah
Video from C-SPAN: Dr. Mohammed Ahmed at National Press Club Briefing
Interpress News Service article: Sudan: Civilians Driven Into Camps, Then the Bush
Washington Times article: Embassy Row (featuring Dr. Mohammed Ahmed)
Sudan Divestment Task Force
Mia Farrow’s Blog and photos on Darfur
Save Darfur

*please note some quoted statements, may differ slightly from they typed speeches in the links, as they where submitted prior to the event, and some quotes are taken at the event it’s self.

On November 14th UNICEF launched their annual Christmas fundraising campaign, the web-based Star Appeal. Now in its third year and UNHCR hopes to surpass last years total of US$560,000. The funds raised will be used to providing shelter and schooling for refugee children around the world. UNHCR launches Christmas appeal for refugee kids

This year’s appeal is being supported by John Dau, a former so-called “Lost Boy” of Sudan and subject of the documentary “God Grew Tired of Us.” Dau, who says his basic education in a UNHCR-run camp transformed his life, has signed a letter calling on donors to support the Star Appeal.

To find our more or make your donation go to the Star Appeal now. A little bit goes a long way. A donation of US$47 will purchase a survival kit for badly malnourished children; US$80 will buy a durable lightweight tent for a family of eight; US$125 will be enough for 25 blankets; and US$210 will pay the wages of a teacher for three months.

Imagine one who is the “only doctor for nearly half a million people”, and who also teaches, runs a clinic, and still manages to be on the counsel of his tribe. No, this is not a character in a movie, nor an action hero, but a simple doctor and gentle man who only wants to serve his people in their time of need in any way he can.

This evening the American Center for Progress hosted, “What’s Really Happening on the Ground” with Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdullah. On Friday, November 16th, Dr. Ahmed will be awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, and this week in DC he is taking time to share the situation and suffering in Darfur. The event began with Dr. Karen Hirschfeld, the Sudan Coordinator of Physicians for Human Rights, who nominated Dr. Ahmed for the Award. PFH was the first NGO to call Darfur a genocide and have been promoting Darfur since 2004.

“Without dedication you have nothing, without motivation you can do nothing.”

The first in his village to become a doctor, graduating from Khartoum University Medical School in 1976, Dr. Ahmed now sees no less than a 100 patents a day in his home, he is a mentor to aspiring physicians and healthcare workers…he is a man who will never be found without a smile upon his face and hope in his heart. He spoke how he had now been able to see his own mother for some five years, but that was just the way it was to be he said, for he had to do what he could and had to do….his sacrifice to him seems small, as he looks daily at the greater picture of life, death and suffering.

Dr. Ahmed asked, “So are we going to see Rwanda again?”, a question so many find themselves fearing the answer is ‘yes’, as we have already acted too late. Despite our blind eyes over the last five years, the people of Sudan are sill crying out for our help. Dr. Ahmed said the priorities which need to be taken, are number one is the protection of the Sudanese civilians, two the international community must take a stand, three the people of the US must start to support Sudan, four the people of Africa and Asia too must commit their support.

Dr. Ahmed once walked days to reach school and now people often walk days to see him. Receiving medical treatment in Sudan is no small feat, as the country only has two teaching hospitals, and in order to receive treatment one must go to the police to get a form 8, which must then be filled out with a full doctors report to get any aid. “If you are African there is no way you will get this.” Under the mandate a doctor can only treat those with this form, and thus many doctors have been arrested and harassed. The government doesn’t want this type of work to continue, and Dr. Ahmed is no stranger to these harassments, yet in his eyes one sees he is a stranger to fear. His work is enough to burden even the strongest team, he carries the weight alone and on his shoulders the load looks light. When asked by an audience member, “Where did you get your courage?”, Dr. Ahmed replied,

“If you are always suffering you will learn something…this will not abide me from doing the right thing.”

Dr. Mohammed spoke with warmth and openness, his frankness was both refreshing and heartbreaking. Though he spoke of endless suffering and tragedy, he also spoke of hope and optimism, he told not the stories of victims, but the stories of survivors. Though he stated that currently the Sudanese face “really miserable conditions and a lot of challenges, but with optimism and desire we can accomplish!.” Peace is the only option for Sudan, “To continue war will not help any!” The answer to him is simple; “You must protect civilians first or tomorrow, you will not find them. If you don’t protect the civilians, who is going to tell you what is happening…who will you unite without civilians?”

Related news articles on Dr. Mohammed:
Doctor warns of Darfur camp expulsions
African Doctor Wins RFK Award
Sudan: Civilians Driven Into Camps, Then the Bush
Sudanese Physician and PHR Partner, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, Receives 2007 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Today in Washington, D.C.
RFK Memorial Foundation Press Release
The Amel Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Sudan
Sudan Journal, by PHR Deputy Director Susannah Sirkin
PHP Durfar Survival Campaign
Interview: Dr. Mohammed-Ahmed Abdallah, medical director of the Amel Center for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Darfur, speaks with Jerry Fowler, at the Holocaust Museums, Voices on Genocide Prevention, about the current situation on the ground in Darfur.

All over Cambodia teachers’ demands for “informal fees” are forcing children to quit classes because their parents cannot afford to pay. Seng Hong of NGO Education Partnership, an umbrella grouping of Cambodian education organizations, says research shows sending one child to school uses up almost a tenth of the average family income. “This increases if the family has two or more kids to send to school,” he said. “Then they may reconsider which kids should go to high-grade education and which kids should stop.” (BBC)

A recent Newsweek International report over the a recent discovery and controversy surrounding reports of child abuse in a school founded by the talk-show host Oprah Winfrey has only served to highlight the prevalence of sexual abuse in South Africa.

Those children displaced by the ongoing conflict in Iraq are not receiving enough educational support and access, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), approximately half of Iraqi IDP’s, some 220,000 are school aged children. “Displaced children have a particularly hard time accessing schools, water supplies and medical care. Many move without proper papers, creating bureaucratic hurdles in their new areas,” Hajaj added. “Displaced families struggle to find work, push children into poverty and make them vulnerable to child labour or other harmful forms of exploitation. And some children even become separated from their families during their move.” (IRIN)

Also in Iraq the number of girls attending school dropping, say analysts and they now fear that a large gender gap will soon appear. “The fear of losing their children through violence has led many families to keep their children at home but the number of girls kept at home is higher because in addition to the security problem, they are being forced by their families to assist in household chores,” said Sinan Zuhair, a media officer for the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

The situation in Iraq is very similar to the one Pakistan is facing, as Education the first casualty in Swat, as violence continues. “If this situation continues, it is going to have an adverse effect on education,” Mohammad Iqbal, principal of the Degree College for Boys, in Mingora, the largest city in Swat district. However it is girls that are primarily being pulled from school due to the increased violence in the region.

In Zimbabwe it is the teachers that are leaving the schools, and forcing many students out of the classrooms. Schools close as hordes of teachers resign, and students are forced to transfer schools in the midst of preparations for end of year exams. Recession that has engulfed the country for some seven years, is the primary cause of the teachers exodus. “The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), the biggest grouping of educators in the country, said this week that 15,200 teachers had migrated to neighboring states, such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland, since the beginning of 2007.”

The stubborn military conflict in Afghanistan is posing growing risks to the country’s children, a UNICEF ambassador said Wednesday. Martin Bell says in his new report that progress made during the last few years, such as higher levels of school enrollment and lower child mortality, could be reversed due to the fighting unless more is done to protect young people (CBC.ca/Associated Press).

In Bangladesh the primary-school dropout rate rises to 47 percent. High dropout rates in Bangladesh are not uncommon, but according to a study conducted by 10 NGOs and the Commonwealth Education Fund, the rate is now becoming quite alarming. Primary school dropouts have increased from 33% in 2002 to 47% in 2006, while the enrollment of children between 6-10 years has also declined, from 97% in 2002 to 93% in 2005.

A French Charity, Zoe’s Ark (L’Arche de Zoé) is accused of child trafficking in Chad. Chadian President Idriss Deby has even gone as far to accused the charity of accusing trying to take 103 children, to sell into the sex trade, and even sell their organs on the black market (according to a BBC news report).

The children where reportedly to be taken to France to live with some 50 families, who where waiting for the children’s arrival. The children, who were all claimed to be Sudanese, although some are now suspected to be Chadian, all though final verifications and investigations are yet to be completed.are now in protective custody in Chad and will be return All the children are to be returned to their families.

France has stated that the charity was acting illegally, neither Chad nor Sudan, have legalized international adoptions. Although charity representatives state that the children where only to be placed in temporary host family situations, and that the move out of the country was to save their lives. Some media reported that the children – aged one to nine according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) – were orphaned and sick and being evacuated to receive health care. One humanitarian worker in Chad told IRIN some of the children had bandaged limbs. However in later reports the UNHCR claimed the children were in good health, while the Chadian Minister of the Interior and Public Safety, Ahmat Mahamat Bachir, said that not all of the children were actually orphans.

What fate the children would have faced if transported out of Chad is still unknown. However in a day and age when the selling of humans, especially children, is becoming the worlds biggest business, one does not want to take any chances. The truth in this case may never be known, but in many ways it is a relief to see a government taking hard action to prevent possible trafficking, as in most cases children are not so lucky.

The French NGO staff of 6, 3 French journalist and 7 Spanish flight crew where placed under immediate arrest, and have today been formally charged, all could face a sentence of hard labor in Chad (French charity workers face kidnapping charges in Chad). The French charity workers where all charged with kidnapping, while the French journalist and the Spanish flight staff, where all charged with complicity (Chad charges aid workers with kidnapping).

A committee of 21 NGOs working in eastern Chad, including Save the Children, Oxfam, and Action against Hunger, has signed a joint statement expressing “profound concern” over the incident, which the committee calls a “serious violation” of the children’s rights.

“Since our arrival in Chad, we have worked very closely with the Chadian and Sudanese communities to assure that their basic needs are met,” the statement says. “We have always respected the rights of children in the communities we serve, and we will continue to integrate these fundamental principles into our work”(NGOs work to clear their name after child ‘trafficking’).

Incidents of some mild violence against NGO’s in the region, and the sheer scale of detriment that the case could cause to the international aid community, has prompted the EU to make a statement. ‘This is an isolated incident, the result of irresponsible conduct,’ a spokesman for the EU’s executive, the Commission, said (EU condemns “irresponsible” NGO in Chad orphan drama).

The story looks to be one of great international debate and uproar, however one can only hope that other stories of child trafficking can receive such public interest and outcry.

In South Africa the battle against HIV/AIDS looks not to be a battle won, but a battle lost. UNICEF’s South Africa representative Macharia Kamau said that infection and death rates in the are outweighing the rate of treatment. The ones paying the highest price for this lost race, are the children whose parents are rapidly dying of Aids, therefore leaving a devastating image for the futture. Kamau said if this trend continues, some five million orphans may plauge South Africa by 2015. (BBC)

For the first time the World Food Program (WFP) has been forced to air drop food in Uganda following the worst flooding in 35 years. In a statement issued on October 16, the WFP said the operation was a desperate last resort to help tens of thousands of people after flooding washed away vital roads. The agency said it urgently needs around USD 20 million for food and trucks to transport September rations to around 250,000 people. (Reuters)

Suspected pedophile targeted has been arrested in Thailand, the Canadian was targeted in global manhunt, thanks to efforts to unscramble digital images. The arrested was Christopher Paul Neil, a schoolteacher who was under suspicion of sexually abusing Cambodian and Vietnamese boys. The capture of Neil was in thanks to both to border guards in Thailand and neighboring countries, who remained on high alert, after immigration cameras captured Neil arriving at Bangkok’s international airport last Thursday from South Korea. (AP)

The Lebanese government must do more to alleviate the miserable conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who are treated like “second-class citizens,” Amnesty International said on October 17. In a report “Exiled and Suffering: Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon,” the London-based human rights group said the refugees face discrimination in education, jobs, health care and housing. More than half the 400,000 registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live in 12 cramped, squalid and often unsanitary camps scattered across the country. (Reuters)

I need not tell you that the situation in Sudan is grave, and that for countless children their lives hang in a fragile limbo, while the world at large looks on. Hunger, disease, and violence is taking the lives of more and more children every day. Some 4 million people have been affected by the war in Sudan, according to UNICEF , more than half of which are children.

War is never kind to the children in its path, but when violence reaches out to children, we have gone past war. The situation in Sudan, is not a war but a full scale genocide, which is preying on the innocence of millions of children.   The children in Sudan, walk a tight rope each day, as they are under the constant threat of military violence, food and water shortages.  These are children at extremely high risk for exploitation and abuse, children also have little or no healthcare or education.  As an international community we cannot sit idly by any longer, we have already waited too long…we have already let too many children die.

Recently in the Southern town of Muhajiriya, attacks have taken the lives of 45 people died and have caused thousands flee their homes. The attacks where aimed mostly at women, children and the elderly, according to a rebel faction.

“The government moved forces into the town two days earlier,” Mohammed Bashir, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), said from Khartoum, the capital. “With air cover, they attacked the town, burnt down half of it and killed mainly children, women and the elderly.” (Darfur attack “targeted women and children”)

Using children, woman or the elderly as primary targets in this violent crisis, must not be allowed to continue.  As an international community we must ensure, safe and adequate refugee facilities, food security, education, suitable healthcare services, and most of all we must hold the those involved and the government of Sudan accountable.  When we look to aid those children who have been caught in the Sudanese violence, we must ensure that child centered programs are created and adhered to.  Programs, must meet the immediate needs of children, but also focus on their long term needs.

Save Darfur, has a great news archive on all news concerning the crisis and region, as well as other valuable resources and ways to help.

The ‘cycle of abuse’, we’ve all heard the phrase a million times, yet I often think we forget what it means. It does not only mean the cycle, or stages, in which abuses are carried out. A child who grows up in an abusive home, is sexually abused, is a victim of trafficking, a child soldier…unfortunately the list of grave injustices against children goes on and on, is never able to escape the cycle of abuse. Therefore a child of abuse is at an increased risk to become an abuser, victim of sexual assault, become socially isolated, turn to drugs and alcohol, and various other form of self destructive behavior or susceptible to varying forms of continued abuse. We, as an international community must work to ensure that all children have been given their right to protection, both to prevent such abuses, and to assist the abused in their recovery. Therefore substantial physical and psychological care must be given to victims.

No matter what you say, or what you do, it all leaves a mark on the children around you. A child who witnesses violence and war, is forever scared by what they see. A child who hears nothing but negative, cannot erase the voice that says, “you can’t”. But the child who witnesses peace and love, will carry that with them forever and continue to share hope for the future.

We cannot erase the mistakes of the past, but we can leave a bigger impression on a child with hope, than with despair.