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14 years old Sunita Aryal said "Before the maoist war, we lived
in Baglung. When the conflict broke out in October 1996, we took
refuge in another area. Meanwhile we have a house in Baglung.
But we cannot go there because there is hatred, and robbery is
widespread. We'd like to go home. If we could, our problems
would be partly resolved". These are words of Sunita Aryal.
She said "One day I arrived home from school and found my father
had been killed. I ran to my friends and we fled into the forest.
We can not go to school, because several times we are sent home
from school because we are unable to pay our school fees. We
receive little support from our uncle who lives in Korea."
"When I heard about my mother's death, I was very sad. I cried a
lot." She said. She especially missed them when she heard that her
mother had died".
It said some of the children had witnessed horrible atrocities
committed against their families or their neighbours. Girls living
on the streets due to war or poverty were "extremely vulnerable"
to sexual predation once they reached puberty. If they cannot find
a home or are not taken in by a child welfare centre, they are
almost certain to have to sell sex to survive. The war-affected
children of the eastern Nepal have no opportunity for education,
and eat one meal a day, if they are lucky. Many are homeless,
forced to flee because of acute poverty.
Another girl, Jamuna Thapa 18, said " People were being killed in
Dang. We were very scared. All of us fled with our uncle. My
father was sick in hospital. Many other children in Dang have had
similar experiences. Before the war men would not exploit young
girls. It was very much forbidden.They would have been punished".
Jamuna and Sunita are one of hundreds of thousands of Nepali girls
directly affected by the 9-year conflict. With the escalation of
murders, thousands of women and girls like Jamuna and Sunita are
pouring into urban and semi-urban areas.They may have never
experienced normal life in the community. Their gender development
can be totally skewed.
Eleven-year-old Suman had no idea why he was taken or why the
guerrillas who took him were fighting. He just knew he had to do
what he was told. "Otherwise, your life could be in danger," he
said. "I saw people being whipped ... people being sent to distant
areas.... When there was physical punishment, we were invited to
witness. We were told that if you disobeyed, this could happen to
you."
Social worker Niruta Malla, while speaking with the People's
Review said, "Children associated with armies or gurilas are often
stigmatized because of their participation in the conflict.
Meanwhile, hostile environments prohibit some ethnic-minority
children from attending schools and parents from earning money to
provide for their children. Discrimination and attack can lead to
the construction of an identity of themselves as victims. And that
can become a warrant for future acts of violence to make sure that
no one can ever do that to them again. How war and armed conflict
impact on children".
She appeal to keep children out of war, if war itself cannot be
stopped. We cannot expect children to grow up normally amid guns
and explosives. We can see that more than 100 children have been
killed in Nepal. This figure will go up. More than 1,500 children
have lost their parents and 3,000 children are displaced along
with their parents. This is the direct effect of the conflict. The
indirect effect is much larger".
She said "In some way, the first war hit a family that was
standing up, but now it hit a family, and actually in the first
encounter with the family and children, they are crying
together". She also added "One of the greatest effects I see on a
day-to-day basis is a loss of hope. Once young people feel
hopeless, they really do give up. They don't take the steps that
might build a constructive future.
Yet, in order to build an international consensus among
governments and armed political movements on the need to inure
child populations from the impact of war, precise documentation of
its real life impact on children in different parts of Nepal
needed to be compiled. Most child recruits into maoists are from
poor families or from minority or indigenous groups.
While attention to children in armed conflict has increased,
girls' experiences and needs are just beginning to be noticed,
says psychologist Susan McKay, PhD, a University of Wyoming
professor. She says "children are low on the totem pole, but girl
children are even lower," she explains. "Nobody will talk about
them. So girls, up until very recently, have been invisible."
In the issues of children forced to flee from conflict, children
under threat from HIV/AIDS, the heightened exposure of children to
sexual exploitation during armed conflict, the impact of war on
the health of children, the threats from landmines and unexploded
ordnance; and child protection and the creation of an agenda of
peace and security for children.
Most people have only recently started to realize that war affects
children in many ways, In addition to witnessing fighting and
bloodshed, children are faced with a host of other challenges,
including: Armed conflict destroys the basic necessities of life:
schools, health care, adequate shelter, water and food. That makes
it difficult for communities to give children an environment that
fosters healthy cognitive and social development.
Many children have family members who are kidnapped or killed
while fighting--and others are taken from their families and
forced to join armies. Others are separated from parents while
fleeing conflict. The loss of the family places a considerable
stress on children, especially since the biggest mediating factor
in how they cope is a solid family relationship.
"When parents are emotionally affected by war, that alters their
ability to care for their children properly," explains Mike
Wessells, PhD, a Randolph-Macon College psychology professor with
extensive experience in war zones. "War stresses increase family
violence, creating a pattern that then gets passed on when the
children become parents."
She further said "Many children, exposed to horrible acts of
violence during key developmental years, come to accept violent
acts as a normal part of life. "This is putting young people at
risk for continuing cycles of violence," explains Wessells.
"Violence is the way they will use to discipline their children or
deal with a conflict with their spouse."
There's also a need for psychologists to advocate for policies
that support children affected by armed conflict, and to help
deliver other services--such as providing food, water and health
care--in sensitive ways. Psychologists can help Government raise
the level of psychological awareness. We have a question what
causes the death of thousands of Nepali children? A child needs
interaction and encouragement through these times. They need a
place to communicate even the irrational fears without being
condemned. Normalcy and balance are essential to their lives and
to their emotional well being.
The exploitation of children in the ranks of the rebeles and
armies must end. One of the most alarming trends in armed conflict
is the participation of children as soldiers. Children are
dropping out of childhood. The psychosocial effects of armed
conflict on children can be devastating and may haunt them through
life.
The principle of family unity, as safeguarded in the Convention of
the Rights of the Child, must be the basis of all support for
these children. War can lead to temporary or permanent separation
of children from their parents or other adult caregivers. Those
relationships are the major source of a child's emotional and
physical security. Separation can have a devastating social and
psychological impact.
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