Globally, more than 190 million children are in need of emergency assistance. They have never been so numerous, according to Unicef, a United Nations agency, created in 1946, who seeks to help them. They form a suffering people, scattered in so many countries. This people is forgotten while human madness continues its devastation. Who listens to his voice in the midst of the din of wars? Hunger is growing among these abandoned people. It threatens the lives of countless children in Yemen, in Syria, in Africa … The barrier of the progress made in recent decades in the fight against malnutrition is pulverized: in XXIe century, children die of hunger when it would be possible to save them. Humanitarian aid, vital for them, is even often blocked because of odious political calculations, also because of the pandemic.
Affected by exodus and conflicts
The exodus hits them severely. Conflicts, climate change and economic instability “Are forcing an unprecedented number of children from their homes,” deplores Unicef: in the Sahel, more than a million children have had to flee armed conflicts and insecurity.
Countless children are left uneducated with the only horizon to survive and try to escape the violence they endure. The pandemic, which disrupted the education of 9 out of 10 children, according to Unicef, blocked the little education so many displaced children were receiving in camps and elsewhere. It’s a drama and a ticking time bomb. We must react with determination and effectiveness to educate them and, in so doing, protect them.
Violence of all kinds
Because they cannot defend themselves and are the first victims of violence: “Children living in conflict zones around the world continue to suffer attacks on a terrifying scale,” alert the international organization. Massacres, mutilations, kidnappings, slavery, sexual violence, child soldiers… The law of war and the international conventions which oblige them to be protected are not respected. Schools have been bombed. The lives and suffering of children are used in retaliation against civilians.
To save these children, Unicef is making this appeal: “Stop targeting children… Stop keeping children suspected of having been associated with armed forces or groups in detention. “ It calls on the United Nations Security Council to “To redouble our efforts to put an end to the armed conflicts of our time […], to prioritize safety […] children trapped in armed conflict […] Children need peace to thrive. “
Let’s mobilize
At the dawn of this new year, may men and women of good will mobilize to protect the children of the world. They are neither things nor products to be used or made but human beings entrusted to us: our neighbors, for whom we are responsible and for whom we must take care. This duty of humanity cannot wait any longer! Achieving it should be the priority of peoples, governments and international bodies.
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