The long running violence in Iraq has affected the civilian population most with children and women bearing the brunt of the cycle of sectarian rife. What is most concerning is the fact that innocent Iraqi children who are considered as the future generations of the Middle Eastern country live unbearable lives unimaginable in the so called ‘civilized world’. According to a grim United Nations report, millions of Iraqi children face the threats of suicide bombings, sectarian attacks, diseases, malnutrition, poor sanitation, etc. Iraq’s grim economic state does not allow an immediate relief to the poor souls.
According to health officials inside the country, the daily hardships are taking an increasing toll on the mental and physical developments of the children. Although violence has somewhat subsided over the past few months, the overall economic and security situation in the country remains in a vulnerable state. While hundreds and thousands of children do not attend school due to fear of sectarian and extremist attacks, others have been forced to live in temporary camps and shelters with inadequate basic needs and many have fled the country to neighbouring states.
Its nearly five years since the invasion of Iraq began, yet the international community and the Shia-led Iraqi government have failed to protect the most vulnerable of the society. Children as young as five have seen members of families being killed by both terrorists and US forces in front of their innocent and helpless eyes causing severe post-traumatic disorders. According to a report last year from the humanitarian organization Save the Children, an estimated 818,000 children in the age group 6 to 11 were not in school. The situation has further deteriorated with the leaving of international organizations from the country due to attacks on western interests leading to an acute shortage of professional help to deal with the crisis. Iraq’s Health Ministry is struggling to cope with the pressure and without immediate foreign help the country would lose many young lives.
One positive thing at the moment is the surge in US troops which has helped in reducing the violence to a great extent. This is the right time for international aid agencies to return to Iraq and start the necessary work to provide relief to the helpless children and with it bring back the hope of a bright future.
Image Credit: Leftist
Source: CBC
