Tagged: Children and Armed Conflict

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

By ,

Story also available in: العربية
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 camp life

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 →←
A young blid girl in a yellow dress, singing.

The white rose of Syria

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: العربية Français
“I will return to my home, love will return,” Ansam’s melodic voice reverberates around a packed Damascus opera house. The audience is transfixed by the 10-year-old’s singing and the harmony of the forty-strong children’s choir who accompany her. Born blind, Ansam lives in Syria’s capital after being displaced by fighting… Read more →←
A pair of hands, fingertips together, against a background of blue and white clothing

I have witnessed terrible things

Children in emergencies

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The following is an interview with 17 year old ‘Aminata’ (not her real name). She was taken by Boko Haram against her will two years ago and forced to marry an insurgent. Aminata had no choice but to live with the insurgents for two years, until she finally managed to escape. Aminata is now an internally displaced person (IDP) living… Read more →←
Little girl walks in front of rows of children sitting at desks

Sheltering amid destruction in Haji Ali

Children in emergencies

By ,

Story also available in: العربية
Since May 2016, more than 100,000 Iraqis have been displaced in the Mosul corridor as military operations continue to prepare for the liberation of Mosul. The United Nations estimates that up to 1.5 million people could be affected. The recently displaced need life-saving emergency assistance, including fresh water, medicine, shelter and… Read more →←
A group of girls singing.

Helping Yemen’s children deal with trauma

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: 中文
As the students quietly file in for morning assembly at Al-Fadheelah School in Sana’a, Yemen, there is no indication of the trauma many of them have experienced, or of the innovative way that the school is helping the children deal with it. As the students settle, five young female students step forward. “Boom… Boom…” one… Read more →←

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