The heavy war and violence have rendered children highly vulnerable to social harms. Their rights to life, liberty and education are trampled upon with impunity. Children suffer mentally, emotionally and physically amid the horrors of war and bloodshed. Reports say that a large number of Syrian, Libyan, Palestinian and Iraqi children were forced to abandon school on the grounds of insurgencies and destructions.
A report by the United Nations Children’s Fund cast a sobering new light on the subtle long-term destructive consequences of violent conflicts that have convulsed a region encompassing all or portions of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza.
More than 13 million children are being denied education due to conflicts in the Middle East, the UN has said, warning “the hopes of a generation” would be dashed if they cannot return to classrooms. In a report on the impact of conflict on education in six countries and territories across the region, the UN’s children fund UNICEF said more than 8,850 schools were no longer usable due to violence.
It detailed cases of students and teachers coming under direct fire, classrooms used as makeshift bomb shelters and children having to cross active front-lines just to take their exams. “The destructive impact of conflict is being felt by children right across the region,” Peter Salama, regional director for UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa is quoted as saying.
“It’s not just the physical damage being done to schools, but the despair felt by a generation of schoolchildren who see their hopes and futures shattered.”
Based on the report, one in four schools have been closed since the conflict erupted, causing more than two million children to drop out and putting close to half a million in danger of losing their schooling. Additionally, more than 52,000 teachers have left their posts, saddling the country’s crumbling education system with an acute skills shortage. “Even those Syrian teachers who have ended up as refugees in other countries have faced obstacles which prevent them from working,” the report said. “The killing, abduction and arbitrary arrest of students, teachers and education personnel have become commonplace”.
Violation of children’s rights to education is the tip of the iceberg. They encounter with life-threatening challenges triggered by insurgencies. As a result, a number of the victims’ children lose their lives while seeking refuge to Europe. Off late, a heart-rending picture of a toddler’s lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach sparked horror as the cost of Europe’s burgeoning refugee crisis hit home.
“The images of a child lying face down in the surf at one of Turkey’s main tourist resorts has once more put a human face on the dangers faced by tens of thousands of desperate people who risk life and limb to seek a new life in Europe.
Wearing a red T-shirt and blue shorts, 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi from the Kurdish-Syrian city of Kobane was believed to be one of at least 12 Syrians trying to reach Greece who died when their boats sank. The body of his 5-year-old brother, Galip, washed up on another part of the beach.”
Aylan’s heart-wrenching picture outraged the public conscience and aroused a sense of deep sentiments around the globe. The image was widely posted on the cyberspace of Facebook with strong comments emanating from burning emotions. Similarly, harsh remarks were made against the IS group who are the main factors behind these tragedies.
The war victims who take refuge, along with their children, to foreign countries to breathe in a climate void of violence and bloodshed and flee the IS’s murderous acts and toxic ideology, succumb to death on a large scale. The children, especially the female teens, bear the brunt of war in Middle East. As a result, a considerable number of underage females fell victim to systematic rape perpetrated by IS group. Hence, it is not only the issue of education but they suffer manifold problems created by radical elements.
The IS’s fundamental ideology is a serious menace to the entire globe. It is likely that their atrocious acts have outweighed the Taliban and al-Qaeda’s practices. There is no doubt that the Taliban militants challenged the hegemonic powers and counter-insurgency strategy did not bear the desired fruit. Similarly, the “war on terror” in Iraq and Afghanistan was proved abortive. If the IS group does not be battled internationally, it will change into more life-threatening issue. In other words, it is time for the international community to combat the IS militants with strong mechanism or it will blackmail the globe.
The international community has to uphold children’s rights and dignity and empower them through schooling. In another term, the terrible effects of war and persisting challenges of refugees and war victims will have to be mitigated via global campaign against extremism and providing education for teenage asylum seekers. After all, the perpetrators of war crimes and violators of child rights have to be pursued and prosecuted in the first instance. Meanwhile, it should be noted that education is highly critical for the children’s future. Their illiteracy will compound the challenges. It is hoped that today’s war-afflicted generation will not be the heir of illiteracy, war and destruction of tomorrow – this is possible through eliminating the warring parties and their toxic ideology.