Tropical storms, rising sea levels and droughts: more and more people in Southeast Asia are leaving their homes due to the effects of climate change. Their children are suffering the most, according to a report by the aid organization World Vision in cooperation with the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI). The negative consequences are particularly dramatic in the area of education.
According to the report, children who followed their families to other regions or countries as well as those who stayed behind with relatives often drop out of school out of necessity. At the same time, their general development and health often suffer. The emotional impact of separation from parents is serious, it said.
The analysis entitled “Climate change, vulnerability and migration: impacts on children and young people in Southeast Asia” is based on 92 personal stories from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Poor families in particular are increasingly losing their livelihoods due to the consequences of climate change.
Thailand and Malaysia are target countries
“We are looking through the eyes of those affected at a blind spot in climate and migration policy: the intersection of poverty, climate damage, migration and injustice and their impact on the younger generation,” said Marwin Meier, political advisor at World Vision Germany.
According to UN statistics from 2020, Thailand and Malaysia are among the most important destinations for millions of migrant workers in the region. But desperate people are also looking for better earning opportunities within their home countries. In Vietnam, for example, there has long been a migration movement from north to south, where the economy is more dynamic.
Many children remain without parents for years
Children who are taken along by their parents often work on plantations or construction sites. Although the pay is generally poor, they usually miss out on schooling.
Other parents left their children with relatives for months or even years because of too many uncertainties. “The children and young people often feel obliged to support the grandparents or aunts who look after them financially because their parents are unable to transfer as much money as expected,” stressed World Vision.
“Children and young people are inheriting a world of injustice and unnecessary suffering that is likely to become even more inhospitable as climate change worsens,” the report says. Urgent steps must be taken to address the challenges of climate-related migration and secure the future of young people.
