Children

Any time that a child spends in a refuge camp, isn’t ideal, and is usually ripe for children’s rights violations. However many children in refugee camps around the world, know no other life outside the camps, and Somalian children in Kenya are no exception. The question is, when and how can they leave life in the camps behind? The sad truth is no one knows, and leaving is not an option that looks to resolve it’s self in the near future.

Unemployment in the camps is continuing to increase, as jobs are far and few in between.  While many children have been unable to continue their education, as an estimated 2,000 children have been able to pass the secondary school entrance exams, others seem to have little advantage with an education.  Education in the camps seems to have little value, regardless if a child moves on to secondary education or vocational training, the high unemployment leaves little room for hope at employment opportunities. Regardless of high levels of unemployment, education still has an incredible value in the camps to most parents. Therefore while free education heavily outweighs the unknown instability that awaits many back in Somalia, others question the point of an education that they have no outlet to use.

“I‘ve stayed in the camp for 11 years and now I am about to finish grade four in secondary school. I think that after that I will just go somewhere else. Perhaps I might go back to Somalia, my country, without even waiting for repatriation. There is not peace there, but at least there is a life. If you manage not to be killed or robbed, then you can have a normal life there,” said 17-year-old refugee, Abdi. (Which way out of the camps for Somalia’s young refugees?)

Photo: Department of State

Children’s organizations in the camps have placed considerable effort and resources into eduction on other children’s rights issues, especially Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Circumcision. The efforts to end FGM in the camps have been a great success, as has disease preventions, such as promoting the use of treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria.

Returning to Somalia is not a viable option for adults or youth alike, as the country is still embattled with the conflict between the country’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). Thus the indefinite nature of life in the camps has many worrying that the efforts in the camp are not enough.  Concern that the ngo’s and governments are not looking at resources and services that are enabling the refugees for the long run, nor the return home, when ever that may be.

“What the UNHCR has been doing is to find short-term solutions for a very long time. We need a real solution, not another emergency one,” said Mohammed, 24. (Which way out of the camps for Somalia’s young refugees?)

Other concerns in the camp, are the over all health conditions of children, and with chronic malnutrition of children in the camps now above the emergency level, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The WFP is now launching an appeal in conjunction with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“The malnutrition crisis that we are witnessing in the refugee camps in Kenya is the cumulative effect of years of recurrent budgetary shortfalls,” said UNHCR acting representative Eddie Gedalof. “Year after year we are unable to fully meet refugees’ needs for firewood, soap and other essential commodities. We must get to the core of the issue if we are to eradicate malnutrition in the camps.”(UN agencies seek funds to help hungry refugee children in Kenya).

The instable situation in Somalia, and the uncertainty of returning home, has placed many youths at risk for being recruited to join the Islamic Courts’ Militia. Others are at high risk to return home only to find themselves caught up in the instable environment, and discover only poverty, unemployment and violence awaits them. Unfortunately the questions that weighs heavy on the minds of all Somalian refugees, ‘When can we go home?’, remains unanswered.

War, drought, heavy flooding, poor health care and education are plaguing many children in Afghanistan. UNICEF appeals for more aid to help women, children as the country has one of the highest child and maternal mortality rates in the world, with 1,600 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, and one in four children die before their fifth birthday, according to the UN. “Seven percent [of children] suffer from acute malnutrition and 54 percent of them are chronically malnourished,” UNICEF said. More than half of primary school age Afghan children, about two million, are deprived of schooling, UNICEF says.

Ethiopia, female circumcision on the decline in the southern region, however NGOs say it could decrease even further if laws and penalties where enforced. Under Ethiopian Penal Code, FGM carries a punishment of imprisonment of no less than three months, or a fine. According to official statistics, FGM has decreased from 80% in 2000 to 74% in 2005.

Election campaign in Sierra Leone focuses on youth With unemployment well over 50%, the countries youth find themselves conflicted with an abundance of time and few options, which could lead to problems as many are former child soldiers. While few observers believe civil war will break out again, the UN Secretary General’s report in May said, high rates of unemployment is a major issue which could threaten the country’s already fragile situation. Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended that “youth questions be viewed as a national emergency.” ‘Yet five years after war’s end and four years after the creation of government “youth policy,” many rights activists say the issue is largely still ignored, to the country’s peril.’

Nigeria, a land of guns, gangs, drugs feed growing delta violence has been growing recently, as has the gun culture among many youth. “Most of those carrying weapons are youths aged 16-25,” and a study in 2004 commissioned by Royal Dutch Shell, the biggest oil multinational in Nigeria, estimated 1,000 died each year, mostly youth, in violence the between rival militia groups. See the earlier post on kidnappings in Nigeria. “What we are witnessing are some of the worst manifestations of a social crisis that has been festering in the delta and the country as a whole in the past three decades,” said Pius Waritimi, a sculptor and art teacher who runs a government-backed skills training scheme for youth in Port Harcourt.

SYRIA: UNHCR urges more Iraqi refugees to attend schools UNHCR launched a “Back to School’ campaign aimed at getting more Iraqi children in Syria into local schools. Currently there are only 35,000 out of an estimated 250,000 school-aged Iraqi children enrolled in Syrian schools, despite the government’s offer of free education for all Iraqi children. Many Iraqi refugees believe education for their children will cost money, or jeopardize their residency in Syria. “It is not possible to find a school,” said Mohammed Taha, There is no place in the schools in Syria and they are too expensive.” UNICEF, UNHCR and the Syrian Ministry of Education launched the media campaign to raise awareness of the free schooling available to Iraqi refugees, as well as to strengthen the facilities on offer. Education programs are essential as there are an estimated 1.5 million Iraqis already in Syria and another 30,000 arriving each month.

Imprisoned by the flesh

Raped of my spirit

Held captive by violence and fear

You cut me with your sword, disfigure me with your gun and scar me with your manhood

When will it end, when will you let me die?

No longer whole, no longer alive

I am nothing more than a dead soul trapped inside a body

Trapped in a body you seek to pillage for vengeance and greed

But I am only a child, what could I have done to deserve such hate?

Justice is no longer mine to hope for

Freedom is lost

The mind cannot forget the terrors you bestowed upon me

I live out my life sentence day after day, and face after face

No more do my tears spill, only my blood do I have left to wipe away

Unidentified Victim of Sexual Violence

“I was naked; the men had forced me to take my clothes off. Four of them were holding me down, one on each leg and one on each arm, while the other raped me. I was weeping so much. I couldn’t stop thinking…These men will give me diseases. I thought of HIV. The men said nothing at all, the five of them raped me one after the other. I had terrible pain in my abdomen and vagina; I was bleeding. I just lay there — I couldn’t move.” - “Pewa” was raped at only 9 years old, in her own home, in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In times of war everyone becomes a victim, however children suffer more than anyone, and girls face an even graver fate than their male counter parts. Sexual Violence against girls is heightened in times of war, the degree of violence deepened. No child should ever face violence whether, physical, sexual or mental, the scars of violence never heal, but it is the scars of sexual violence that run deeper than one can imagine. When one thinks of rape, and other forms of sexual violence, they often think only of the mental scars, yet in armed conflict girls are disproportionately abused sexually, mentally and physically, repeatedly year after year. The physical violence that accompanies the rape in much of armed conflict today, is extreme and of a sexual nature.

Earlier this year, ‘The Shame of War: sexual violence against women and girls in conflict’, was published by IRIN, the book is a was composed to be a reference tool. The use of a portraits and testimonies from women and girls who have been victims of the sexual violence of war. This is the second publication on gender-based violence, IRIN, as ‘Broken Bodies, Broken Dreams: violence against women exposed’ was published in 2005. It was this book that lead to ‘The Shame of War’, as the issue was covered as one chapter in the book, and therefore the issue received much concern, that it was felt more attention to the subject must be taken. The Report concluded that the key to ending sexual violence is to first of all address the crisis at hand.

“Addressing this crisis requires a response that includes immediate support measures for victims; access to legal services; and global, national and local advocacy to tackle embedded belief systems and social structures that discriminate against women and girls and allow sexual violence to continue unabated…Governments, donors and humanitarian agencies urgently need to harness the necessary resources …to eliminate gender-based violence in all its forms and ensure that women and children can live in safety and dignity….When states persistently violate human rights and when the international community fails to respond, it is a collective responsibility we have all failed to meet.”

THEY FIND US IN THE FIELDS as we plant.
THEY FIND US BY THE RIVER as we fetch water.
THEY FIND US IN THE FOREST as we collect wood .

They are the nameless, faceless bandits-rebels-military
They abuse our bodies, take our souls, empty our guts
Then throw us away

We are the trash they leave behind in their wars

We are the silent ones you see by the side of the road
The ones once called mother, sister, wife, daughter
We are the ones discarded by husbands

We are used up, defiled by other men, dirty
Unwanted, unseen, unheard, UNDONE

We are the battleground - the ammunition
in a war never seen, never heard
Felt only by us…

(Our Bodies…their battleground: Gender-based Violence during Conflict)

Sexual violence in war, is unfortunately not a new concept, however todays rates, and forms of abuse are alarming. Sexual slavery and violence, in all forms, has become a modern plague, as it scourges across the globe. The use of sexual violence as a form of warfare has become an epidemic, in many of the conflicts 50% or more of the female population is raped. The World Health Organization (WHO), claims that violence against females is the cause of more death or disability, for girls and women aged 15 to 44, than that of cancer, malaria, traffic injuries and general warfare combined. However while in some conflicts all women, young and old, are essentially up for grabs as war booty, in others the younger girls receive the brunt of the violence, with repeated violence, increased gang rapes, and are kept often for years as ‘wives’. Many girls never try to escape, for fear of increased abuse, victimization of a family member, or death.

Recovery and rehabilitation is not easy for any victim of sexual abuse, but for victims of sexual violence due to armed conflict, the process often seems completely out of reach. There is often little to no infrastructure in place to deal with such abuses, safe havens are few and far between. Girls are often impregnated by one of their attackers, thus a new generation of victims is born, girls are given a life of sexual abuse and boys are abused as child soldiers. While if a girl does find refuge, it is often short lived, due to over crowding, long waiting lists, or lack of funding. This lack of care for victims of sexual violence, often leaves girls open to recapture, in many cases the ‘husband’/soldier will come looking for the ‘wives’ who escape.

Sudanese child draws image of rape

‘The Conflict in Darfur Through Children’s Eyes’

- Human Rights Watch

Everyday young girls bodies are used as weapons of war, claimed as the rights of a soldier, abused, enslaved, mutilated, and killed. These girls are only children, and their bodies and minds have been taken from them for the sake of war. No longer can these young girls live in peace, even when the war ends they will suffer the turmoils of conflict. We must work to end this horrid and sadistic practice of violence, and give the girls of war hope for the future.

“Safety and security don’t just happen: they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear. In order to ensure this, we must become tireless in our efforts not only to attain peace, justice and prosperity for countries but also for communities and members of the same family. We must address the roots of violence. Only then will we transform the past century’s legacy from a crushing burden into a cautionary lesson.” -Nelson Mandela, World Report on Violence and Health 2002.

Links:
‘The Shame of War: sexual violence against women and girls in conflict’ - A full downloadable copy, the book is also available for purchase.
Broken bodies — broken dreams: violence against women exposed
Our Bodies…their battleground: Gender-based Violence during Conflict
Razor’s Edge: The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation
The Crushing Burden of Rape: Sexual Violence in Darfur
Liberia’s child rape victims
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Local NGO works to heal victims of gender-based violence
Sexual violence, an ‘invisible war crime’

In the past week UNICEF has positively acknowledge a number of strides taken by the Egyptian government in the last week to abolish the traditional and horrendous practice of female circumcision or female genital mutilation (FGM). The governments actions where heavily incited after the recent death of a 12 year-old girl. The girl, Badour Shaker, who died at on June 29th, after having the FGM procedure preformed in an illegal medical clinic. Egypt’s Health and Population Minister has issued a decree fully criminalizing FGM and closing a previous loophole involving health professionals conducting the practice, UNICEF said July 2 (UN News).

Badour Shaker

This is not the first step the Egyptian government has taken to abolish FGM, the political and legal strides began in 1959 when it was forbidden to practice FGM, and could result in a fine or imprisonment. A number of ministerial decrees followed, which allowed some forms of FGM to be practiced, while also prohibiting doctors from conducting FGM’s in government health facilities, and banning all non-medical persons from practicing FGM. However in 1994 following a CNN broadcast of a 9 year old girl being give a procedure by a barber, a law was established allowing FGM to be performed in government health facilities one day a week by trained medical personnel. The 1994 law was overturned in 1995, after various protests. In December 1997, a full government ban on FGM, prohibiting all medical and non-medical persons from performing FGM, unless certified as a medical reasons. Under the 1997 ban, violators could have faced loss of their medical license, and could face criminal charges, or penal manslaughter charge in the case of death.

The loophole of allowing FGM to be preformed if certified for medical reasons, was what prompted the government to update the laws, and truly place a full ban on FGM. Unfortunately by making all forms and cases of FGM illegal, will not completely eradicate the practice. FGM is still heavily practiced in many other African nations, including the surrounding nation of Sudan, which has a 90% prevalence of FGM, according to UNICEF. It is estimated that around 3 million girls undergo FGM every year in Africa alone. A 2005 UNICEF report showed that 97% of girls and woman 15-49, in Egypt had experienced some type of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, A Statistical Exploration).

There is no religious doctrine for Female circumcision, and it is not conducted with any religious bias in Egypt, the practice has continued by both Muslims and Christians. FMG is done various reasons, or under multiple guises, however the most common reason indicated for FGM is to preserve a girls virginity. FGM can be the partial or full removal of the external genitalia. FGM can often be fatal, especially when done in none sanitary condition, and/or by non-medically trained persons, which can often cause excessive bleeding, transmission of disease, or shock. The complications and long term effects of FGM, can include; pain, infertility, difficulties in child birth, trouble with menstruation or urination, problems and extreme pain with intercourse, lack of sexual desire, no sexual stimulation, and mental illness.

The changes in Egyptian law will hopefully bring an end to this barbaric practice, that is physically, sexually and mentally abusive to young girls. Female Genital Mutilation, or Circumcision, mentally and physically scar’s girls for their entire lives!

Links:
State Department Report on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Egypt
Female Genital Mutilation – The Facts
Giving up on FGM: why a village midwife put down her scalpel
World Health Organization (WHO) - Female Genital Mutilation
Razor’s Edge: The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation
CHANGING A HARMFUL SOCIAL CONVENTION: FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION/CUTTING