"Where is mercy?"
Amira El-Noshokaty reports on the psychological impact of violence on children
"Why is this happening to me? Where is mercy?" were the words of 13-year-old Arkan Anglo, whose life was shattered seven years ago with the death of his parents when their village in southern Sudan was burnt to the ground. Anglo also lost the use of his hands, and his injured legs prevented him from going to school. Living in an orphanage in southern Sudan, Anglo believes there is little use in thinking about the future. He still fails to comprehend the reasons behind the civil war that devastated his life -- a war which began in 1955.
Anglo is just one of many case studies presented by Sudanese psychiatrist Abdel-Basit Merghani, who has studied the impact of armed conflict on Sudanese children.
Armed conflicts have transformed this planet into anything but a world fit for children. Studies such as those carried out by Merghani indicate that living in a constant state of war has given rise to a whole series of psychological traumas that not only torment children in the present but devastate their future. It is this reality which has prompted the founding of civil organisations such as the Al- Fanar Development Centre, established in 1992, which was the first to provide psychological therapy for children in Sudan. Located in Khartoum, Al-Fanar provides group and individual therapy as well as awareness classes in the marginalised areas of Khartoum.
Al-Fanar provides services for those who fled the official battlefield of the civil war. Southern Sudan has been destroyed and the west of the country has suffered drought and been affected by desertification since 1983. Faced with no other choice, many of the southern population sought refuge in the north, where a high proportion of these refugees, displaced people and thousands of unaccompanied children were forced to survive alone. For the children, survival included coping with family loss, physical torture, witnessing the death of their parents and rape.
"Our centre offers various types of therapy," explained Merghani, director of Al-Fanar, in a telephone interview with Al- Ahram Weekly. "We offer in-house, individual and group therapy as well as integrated programmes which include family members," he added. The centre has joined forces with the Sudanese Red Crescent in campaigning against the employment of child soldiers, an illegal yet increasing trend exacerbated by the development of the so-called "martyr's cult", which encourages young people to participate in war. 625,000 children have been treated at the centre since 1992. This is in addition to those who have been treated at other psychological rehabilitation centers which have opened recently. It is worth mentioning that the population of Sudan is about 30 million and, according to statistics compiled by Al-Fanar, roughly 40 per cent of the nation is below the age of 18.
Children living under the occupation forces in Palestine share a similar fate with children living in war-torn conditions in Sudan.
According to Rima Shewaki, a psychologist at the Palestinian Guidance Centre, children have been drawing images of blood-soaked battlefields and bombed houses during their psychological therapy sessions at the centre. Most of the children being treated there suffer from anxiety, involuntary urination, lack of concentration, hair loss and an overly strong attachment to their mothers. The sound of houses being bombed and witnessing the arrest of fathers in the dead of night has made them anxious, fearful and obsessed with the concept of death. This is followed by depression, after which a state of despair dominates the minds of young Palestinians longing for a safe place to live. "Why am I brought into this society? Why am I a Palestinian? Why did you bring me into this life? These are the questions frequently asked," explained Shewaki. According to the "Palestinian Ministry of Health Report for 2001", the number of children suffering from mental health problems were divided accordingly: 632 new patients, 766 follow-up patients and 546 home-treated patients were being treated for mental health problems in that year alone. By mid-2001 the estimated population of Palestine was 3,298,951, of which 46.7 per cent were children under 15 years of age.
The Palestinian Rehabilitation Centre was opened in Jerusalem in 1983 and offers treatment to 10 to 15 children per day. The treatment programme includes painting and pottery, and also employs other forms of artistic expression to encourage children to articulate their fear and anger. However, until the children's dream of a safe haven becomes a reality -- a desire reflected in their drawings -- Palestinian children will continue to play the martyr in the Palestinian game of soldiers.
The children of Iraq, too, suffered in the 1980 to 1988 Iran- Iraq war, not to mention being victims of ten years of economic sanctions imposed by a US-led international community. Their case, however, is slightly different from the others. According to UNICEF's "Humanitarian Action: Donor Update" report from 29 May 2002, one in eight Iraqi children dies before the age of five, one third of all children do not attend schools and a quarter of all children work to supplement the family income.
A report prepared by the UNICEF Iraq office in association with the Planning Commission/Manpower Planning Department of the Iraqi government, stated that current economic sanctions have seriously affected the psychological and social conditions of Iraqis, particularly children. The number of children between the ages of 0 and 6 years attending outpatient clinics for psychological disorders has risen from 200,000 in 1990 to 220,000 in 1994 and 510,000 in 1998. The report pointed out that exhausted parents who find it difficult to provide basic family needs are naturally less sensitive and caring in relation to the psychological requirements of their children. Indeed, children deprived of such care and attention often develop anti-social behavioral patterns, thus adding to their parents' stress. Highly stressed parents are incapable of providing their children with a sense of belonging, an awareness which is necessary for promoting a child's natural sense of curiosity, desire to explore as well as building up a tolerance for unfamiliar situations. Furthermore, homes are no longer able to provide toys, books and other stimuli essential for encouraging learning and achievement.
Such is the condition of Arab children in but a few of our war-torn countries. What can the future possibly hold?
For general information and data on Iraq: www.unicef.org
For Palestine: www.moh3.com
For Sudan: e-mail Al-Fanar at drabdelbasit@yahoo.com
