Deep Psychological Scars in Children of Ukraine: Two Years Into Russia’s War

Berlin, Cologne. “Everything changed so quickly.” This is what 16-year-old Mariia from Ukraine tells reporters. She means February 24th exactly two years ago. That’s when Russia’s war against their homeland began.

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Since then, the everyday lives of millions of children and young people have no longer been normal, but have been determined by war. Mariia said on Friday in Berlin, for example, that although school lessons take place, they are usually online instead of in the classroom. It is also frequently interrupted: there are air alarms two to ten times a day, says Mariia.

This means: Sirens are wailing and you have to quickly go to a shelter. The young person also reported that schools were trying to make the shelters cool and fun. Because sometimes the children have to spend a lot of time there.

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The children’s aid organization Unicef ​​invited Mariia to Berlin to report on the second anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine. As a Unicef ​​analysis shows, children in the Ukrainian frontline areas have spent an average of four to seven months in shelters over the past two years. At the same time, digital school lessons are repeatedly interrupted by power outages. According to Unicef, more than 3,800 educational institutions have already been damaged or destroyed.

A teacher holds a lesson in an underground kindergarten in a subway station.

Source: Andrii Marienko/AP/dpa

Spending up to 200 days like this within two years is difficult to imagine and endangers mental health, said Unicef ​​spokesman James Elder on Friday in Geneva. Half of 13 to 15 year olds have sleep problems. One in five minors have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to Unicef, around 1,800 children have been killed or injured since February 24, 2022. The actual number is probably much higher, they said. More than 3.3 million children needed humanitarian assistance. The war also led to severe disruptions in learning. According to Unicef ​​calculations, half of all children in Ukraine cannot continuously attend face-to-face classes.

Deep psychological scars

“Seeking safety from missiles and drones comes at a high price for these children,” he said. “The psychological scars on the children are deep. And they are getting worse day by day.” One in five people is repeatedly tormented by memories of bad events. Parents reported that children and adolescents experienced more anxiety and sadness and lost interest in previous activities. Even though they needed a lot of emotional support time for their children, they struggled to support their families.

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According to Unicef, only two out of 700 schools in the Kharkiv region still offer in-person classes. All parents were concerned about their children’s social development, Elder said. Unicef ​​is active in the areas to support families, including with psychological help.

“In Kharkiv and Kherson, in Zaporizhzhia and Kramatorsk – no matter where we are deployed, the plight of children is felt everywhere,” said Mustapha Ben Messaoud, head of emergency programs in Ukraine. “At the same time, they show enormous resilience, even in the most difficult situations. They are trying with all their might to hold on to their plans and dreams for the future.”

16-year-old Mariia from Kryvyi Rih in the hard-hit Dnipro region is committed to helping her peers in her community. She says: “Many young people in our war-torn country need mental support and encouragement.”

Rebuild schools and kindergartens

Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) and Unicef ​​Germany have promised further support for children in the invaded country. “It is now a matter of stabilizing and expanding the offerings for children across Ukraine so that they can get through this difficult time,” said Unicef ​​Managing Director Christian Schneider on Friday in Berlin.

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The UN Children’s Fund wants to support 3.3 million children and 1.8 million young people in Ukraine by 2026. The cooperation with the Ministry of Development is intended to promote the reconstruction of schools and kindergartens and contribute to securing water and sanitation supplies.

Development Minister Schulze explained that today’s children and young people are the generation who will rebuild Ukraine after school and training. At the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference, which Germany is organizing together with Ukraine in Berlin in June, the focus should be on the needs of young people and families.

Save the Children: Long-term projects not consistently funded

It’s about schools, educational opportunities, skilled worker training and science. “One aspect will be how Ukrainian training systems can produce skilled workers needed for reconstruction,” the minister said. So far, the Development Ministry has provided around 1.3 billion euros for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the aid organization Save the Children complained about difficulties in financing long-term projects for children in the country. But they need to be helped in the long term, said managing director Florian Westphal on Friday on the information radio of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). Directly at the front it is often about “acute humanitarian emergency aid”. Nationwide, however, education is the top priority for the aid organization.

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RND/epd/dpa

2024-02-23 20:39:08
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