BY JOSEPH SOBOKA
First and foremost, children, by definition, are recently born human beings such as boys or girls. Since they have not yet attained maturity, they are not expected to bear responsibilities like grownups. Until they reach a certain age when they become self-reliant, they should be under the care and control of their parents. The age they are in is known as formative years, the time they should be taught about the moral and social values of the society they grow up in.
Physical and mental development must be attained at this stage. Parents should do everything in their capacity to make possible the holistic development of their children. They should not be forced to assume duties their mental, physical and emotional states do not allow them to undertake. Whatever they are expected to do should be within their physical and psychological limits; anything beyond that is nothing other than child abuse. The international law declares that children should not be subjected to jobs like cooking and security guard and the like. Exposing them to addictive substances is considered the most heinous crime. The contrary suggestion to this is nothing but intangible argument.
Apparently, properly cared-for children will be the cornerstone of the future adulthood that will enhance the continuity of and development of a country. A country without children has no future; it is rather dead. The objective reality of Tigray, unless the situation of the children there is thoroughly addressed and curbed, specifically the future of the region and that of Ethiopia’s at large, will be dark and bleak. At this intensive moment of crisis in the region, TPLF is drafting innocent and powerless children to go to the battle front against their or their parents’ will. Their weak physical condition does not allow them; let alone fighting, to make a long-distance travel in arid land with empty stomach, carrying heavy weapons.
The harsh military orders to which they are not used to or trained for has subjected them to psychological trauma – a response to an event that the children find highly stressful. Elaborately, psychological trauma is a response to an event that a person finds highly stressful. Examples include being in a war zone, a natural disaster, or an accident. Trauma can cause a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms. Furthermore, trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster. A traumatized person can feel a range of emotions both immediately after the event and in the long term. These children may feel overwhelmed, helpless, shocked, or have difficulty processing their experiences. Digging deep into the case, we can find that trauma can have long-term effects on the children’s well-being. If symptoms persist and do not decrease in severity, it can indicate that it has developed into a mental health disorder.
Children should be cared for unreservedly. There are quite a number of needs to be met without the children asking for. They are their basic natural rights that they are entitled to get them. These basic needs are life, caring, control, purpose, and happiness.
Why is it important that the basic needs are met? If one or more of these needs are not being met, a child will spend a lot of energy and activity to get them. Coming to behavioral development, it is not advisable to let the child act as he wishes uncontrollably. But he should live with the parents to whom caring and controlling is granted. The parent with care and control will have the right to make daily decisions for the child, such as what the child eats, and when he should go to bed and the like.
Caring for a child involves listening to him or her to help the kid understand the connection between his or her sensations and feelings so that he or she can get better at figuring out what he/she needs. Parents should also explain to the child the reason that guides his actions. Children need to be happy. As adults, we want the feeling of excitement, joy and euphoria whenever possible. As a child the excitement of an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, the carefree feeling of riding with parents down the Churchill Road or playing around the house in a rural setting, can make the child exceedingly happy. They should, in no circumstance, be sent to the battle field. Being a kid can still be complex, but children tend to think differently than adults and they interpret happiness in a very direct and simple form.
A child who is denied such opportunities, later as a grownup person, who has experienced trauma, may feel denial, anger, fear, sadness, shame, confusion, anxiety, depression, numbness, guilt, hopelessness, irritability and difficulty concentrating. In addition, along with an emotional reaction, trauma can cause physical symptoms, such as headaches, digestive symptoms, fatigue, racing heart, sweating and feeling jumpy.
Children experience a heightened state of stress during terrible events, and their bodies release hormones related to stress and fear.
This type of developmental trauma can disrupt normal brain development. As a result, trauma, especially ongoing type, can significantly affect a child’s long-term emotional development, mental health, physical health, and behavior. On top of playing; the value of hard work continues to be the most important lesson for children. We adults believe that children should learn at school in order to be successful when they grow up. We also highly rate the value of money and teamwork the children should understand.
As adults, we want the feeling of excitement, joy and euphoria whenever possible. Just remember that feeling as a child, the excitement of an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, that carefree feeling of riding your bike down the street with the breeze blowing in your hair – but mostly that simple contentment with life.
Being a kid can still be complex, but children tend to think differently than adults and they interpret happiness in a very direct and simple form.
So, why in the world should the children in Tigray be denied such opportunity and reduced to such humiliating sub human level by being sent to the battlefront? How can we stop children from being sent to the battlefield?
The United Nations directives stipulate that demobilization be put into practice by the countries where child militarization is evident.
Children should specifically be included in a peace process. For instance, while not explicit, in the 1994 Lusaka Protocol, their demobilization and reintegration was declared a priority in the first resolution adopted by the commission set up to implement the peace agreement. Partnerships among local civil society networks made it possible for many children to return to their homes. This experience offers a long-term perspective on the transition to civilian life for child soldiers, which began after the 1992 peace accord. El Salvador is also significant because many of the child soldiers were girls. Important, if disturbing, lessons were learned from the fact that child-soldiers were excluded from the peace accord and the demobilization and reintegration programs.
The full scale studies on Angola and El Salvador, published separately, provide a number of practical references as well as a candid discussion of lessons and challenges faced by the programs. This situation highlights lessons learned from Angola and El Salvador. While such positive approaches regarding child militarization are in order, the international community indifferently looks at the agony of the children in Tigray without any regret. They should have been more concerned about the violation of the international children’s rights. Today, one in four children lives in a country affected by conflict or disaster, and recent years saw a large increase in the number of documented violations against children in these areas.
Armed forces and armed groups are required by international humanitarian law to take measures to protect civilians, including children who are particularly vulnerable during times of war. Civilians must never be the target of attacks. The international community deliberately ignores the six grave violations against children in times of war. They are killing and maiming of children, recruitment and use of children by armed forces or armed groups, attacks on schools or hospitals, rape or other sexual violence against children, abduction of children and denial of humanitarian access to children. It sounds like ‘Who cares for the dead fish?’ Yet, Ethiopia cannot easily be intimidated by force.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
The Ethiopian Herald August 12/2021
