Tagged: Children and Armed Conflict

A young woman stand ion front of the rubble of a building

Changing the narrative: Act now to protect children in armed conflict

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As the New Year begins, it is time to bring new urgency to safeguarding the rights and protecting the lives of children affected by armed conflict. Around this time last year, I reflected on the failure of the international community to protect children living through war. Today, I am writing at the end of another devastating year –… Read more →←
A young girl in a traditional head scarf stands amid tents.

Tragedy and hope across Mindanao

Children in emergencies

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The drive alongside lake Lanao is idyllic. Surrounded on one side by the lush greenery of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao and on the other by the vast ocean-like expanse that forms the largest lake on the island. But the horror of what took place alongside the lake’s northern shores hits you when you enter the devastated… Read more →←
A young girl stands in a room that is now largely rubble.

Protecting children in conflict – a moral imperative

Children in emergencies

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It has been a rewarding, challenging year. On January 1, 2018, when I became the head of UNICEF, I felt privileged to begin leading an organization with a noble mission: protecting the rights of every child. I thought then – and am even more convinced now – that there is no more important cause than children and young people. But… Read more →←
A boy sits in the front row of a classroom while a teacher assists him with a textbook.

Education will bring a better day for me

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: العربية Français
I will always remember that night in December 2013. My family had had dinner and spent some time discussing the events of the day before heading to bed. About 30 minutes later, I heard gunshots. I thought they were the usual gunshots that I often heard in Juba but these continued throughout the night. At some point, my father gathered us… Read more →←
A man unloads UNICEF-branded box out of a covered truck.

Syrian families struggle to survive in besieged east Ghouta

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: العربية
The scale of destruction and depth of suffering is mind-blowing. It is hard to imagine life in these conditions. These are the thoughts that hit me as we arrived in the so-called ‘buffer zone’ just outside of besieged Al-Nashabiyeh in east Ghouta, rural Damascus. Burnt trees, rubble, and damaged buildings lined the streets as we… Read more →←
A shaft of light reflects an empty classroom with an empty chalkboard.

A small spark ignites a wave of conflict in DR Congo

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: Français
There is life before the crisis, and life since the crisis. A small spark ignited a wave of conflict. The Kasaï region has become a synonym for unbelievable atrocities and immeasurable violence. Most people have probably never heard of the Kasai and would probably struggle to locate it a map. But now militias, mystical attacks,… Read more →←
A young man in a purple tee shirt stands as he pumps water

Safe water transforms a community in unexpected ways

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: Français
The conflict in the Central African Republic follows a line that is the boundary between the savannah and the tropical interior of Central Africa. On that line is Bossangoa, a city at the centre of a range of conflicts that gripped the country in 2013 and 2014. Residents fled to displacements camps and across the border to Cameroon and… Read more →←
A girl smiles for the camera as her friend looks on

The quest for safety: Displaced Syrian children in camps

Children in emergencies

By Anonymous

Children pay the highest price for war. They suffer from the fear of death and injury. Those who survive are grieving for lost loved ones, leaving them with lifelong psychological scars. Working as a health and nutrition facilitator with UNICEF in north-eastern Syria for the past three years, I have seen many families uprooted from their… Read more →←

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