Responses to young children in post-emergency situations
Responses to young children in post-emergency situations
Responses to young children in post-emergency situations
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Disabled <strong>children</strong> and families<br />
All <strong>children</strong> need <strong>to</strong> be seen as part of a family liv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> a particular community (unhcr 1999). If you<br />
<strong>in</strong>clude the family of a disabled person, 25% of the<br />
world’s population is disabled (un 2002). The family<br />
is <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> this figure because car<strong>in</strong>g for a disabled<br />
child lowers their status <strong>in</strong> the community and<br />
restricts the options of the carer <strong>to</strong> work or socialise<br />
outside the home. This has a negative impact on the<br />
household <strong>in</strong>come and the ability <strong>to</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> a social<br />
network, which, <strong>in</strong> comb<strong>in</strong>ation with the extra costs<br />
of healthcare, medic<strong>in</strong>e and basic devices, deepens<br />
the poverty and isolation of the family.<br />
Children’s ability <strong>to</strong> cope with conflict depends<br />
largely on whether they have the security of a family<br />
and a structure <strong>to</strong> their life, like go<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong> school.<br />
Disabled <strong>children</strong> by def<strong>in</strong>ition often have fewer<br />
cop<strong>in</strong>g mechanisms <strong>to</strong> start with. For example,<br />
<strong>children</strong> with hear<strong>in</strong>g or visual impairments are<br />
unable <strong>to</strong> see warn<strong>in</strong>gs of attack, and <strong>children</strong> with<br />
mobility or learn<strong>in</strong>g difficulties are easily separated<br />
from their families and less able <strong>to</strong> escape (iddc<br />
2000). If they are displaced follow<strong>in</strong>g war, disabled<br />
<strong>children</strong> and their families may lose their natural<br />
support network and therefore have even more<br />
difficulty <strong>in</strong> cop<strong>in</strong>g with the situation. The s<strong>to</strong>ry of<br />
Shafqat <strong>in</strong> Afghanistan is an example: “I was hit by a<br />
shell and felt my legs becom<strong>in</strong>g limp. In the midst of<br />
the chaos, my parents died and my brother carried<br />
me all the way over the mounta<strong>in</strong>s <strong>to</strong> Pakistan <strong>to</strong><br />
seek assistance. I was 8 years old.” 7<br />
Disabled <strong>children</strong> as victims of conflict and small<br />
armaments<br />
It is estimated that one-third of all countries have<br />
experienced conflict <strong>in</strong> the 1990s. Nearly 90% of<br />
those killed or <strong>in</strong>jured were civilians, and onethird<br />
of those were <strong>children</strong>. As a result, more<br />
than 2 million <strong>children</strong> died and 6 million were<br />
permanently disabled or seriously <strong>in</strong>jured (Machel<br />
2001).<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g conflict, <strong>children</strong> are more at risk of <strong>in</strong>jury<br />
and impairment than adults. The types of activities<br />
that <strong>children</strong> like <strong>to</strong> undertake, such as herd<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
collect<strong>in</strong>g water and firewood, and play<strong>in</strong>g, are<br />
those that carry the greatest risk of <strong>in</strong>jury from<br />
landm<strong>in</strong>es. Landm<strong>in</strong>es often look like <strong>to</strong>ys and can<br />
attract <strong>young</strong> <strong>children</strong>. Even if there are warn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Disabled <strong>children</strong> are <strong>in</strong>dividuals with the potential <strong>to</strong> shape<br />
their lives by their own means<br />
signs, <strong>young</strong> <strong>children</strong> will often not take them <strong>in</strong><br />
(Deverson 2002).<br />
In many cases, conflict relief and cacd operations<br />
focus on the number of people killed, made<br />
homeless or deprived of their source of <strong>in</strong>come,<br />
ignor<strong>in</strong>g the number of people with serious<br />
<strong>in</strong>juries or who have become disabled. If there are<br />
first aid or rehabilitation services available dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
or immediately after conflict they are usually<br />
focused on adults, particularly soldiers who have<br />
become disabled as a result of the conflict. The<br />
services on offer primarily concentrate on ‘medical<br />
rehabilitation’ by provid<strong>in</strong>g mobility devices for<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividuals. These aids are often not set up for<br />
<strong>children</strong> who were already disabled or who have<br />
become disabled, and the long-term priorities of the<br />
child and the family at home and <strong>in</strong> the community<br />
are not considered.<br />
Pho<strong>to</strong>: MIKE KOLLOFFEL / LINEAIR<br />
B e r n a r d v a n L e e r Fo u n d a t i o n 57 E a r l y C h i l d h o o d M a t t e r s • Ju l y 2 0 0 5