Effects of War on Children: Broken Childhoods
Numerous children all over the world are affected greatly by war. They suffer and feel lost. Accordingly, the effects of war force many children to flee while others may be injured and killed. There is no longer any secure shelter for children since their homes, schools, and playgrounds are damaged by violent wars. Indeed, innocent children become victims of war. To explore the effects of war, this essay will focus on how war can have a negative influence on children and their future. Children are not only deprived of their rights in education but they also experience physical and psychological suffering that can affect their development and well-being for years to come.
Children are critically affected by war than any other group of people. One of the major effects of war on children is the lack of education. There are not any facilities for children to learn due to schools and playgrounds being demolished by violent wars. An attack on a bus in Yemen is a vital example of how war caused a great suffering for those poor kids as what is reported in Aljazeera, “a school bus that was bombed was reportedly carrying children back to religious education classes after a picnic near the city of Dahyan and body parts scattered at the scene.” Thus war means no education and no future.
Furthermore, children are also affected by war physically. They may have no immunity to disease as a result of population movement. So children may pass away because of malnutrition and infectious illness. Syria is now the utmost dangerous country for children. Syria’s children mentioned the realities of war in the following sayings. “There is no food and we cannot go outside’’. ‘’The planes are bombing.’’ says a terrified child, “One of my friends died …. and I saw the blood.’’ As a young boy expressed his extreme fear, "It feels like the end of the world." The end of the world means a dark future or no future at all. On account of the war, children find no way to live in dignity. As a consequence, children can lose their confidence, their trust in others and their trust in the future. They often become anxious, depressed, withdrawn and even aggressive. Owing to witnessing several incidents, there will be a devastating effect on children. Therefore, some children may develop fear inside them or learn negative behaviors from war events. That results in learning and looking at violence as a technique of handling problems. Boys are persuaded into becoming child soldiers, girls can be exploited into the human trafficking. Therefore, the war caused great psychological harm to those little helpless kids.
Undoubtedly, war is harmful, so children should be protected or helped in order to recover soon. It is essential for children to grow up in a secure environment. War Child’s Program can help children to regain their confidence and build a healthy relationship with their peers, families, and societies. They need to have the ability to play, learn, develop and have fun together. As I suppose with an optimistic view, children can shape their own future; no child should pay the price of war.
