Stop the Nightmares:

Give Syrian Children Protection from Trump’s New War

Rasa - The suffering of children in war-torn Syria has hit rock bottom with the highest number of grave violations against them since the US-led campaign to topple the government began in 2011.

News ID: 428164

Date: 15 March 2017 - 00:14

RNA - According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), at least 652 children were killed last year - 255 among them were killed in or near a school. Maiming and recruitment of children also rose sharply as the US-backed war, violence and terrorism saw a drastic escalation across the country. As the war reaches six years and the Trump White House plans a drastic escalation of the conflict, UNICEF says instances of killing, maiming and recruitment of children has also increased sharply.

Putting it differently, at a time when UNICEF warns that the depth of suffering is unprecedented, millions of children come under attack on a daily basis, their lives have turned upside down, 2016 became the worst year for children, and each and every child has been scarred for life with horrific consequences on their health, well-being and future, the Trump White House has no right whatsoever to escalate the conflict. This will only worsen children’s suffering and delay the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance in places where access to medical care, lifesaving supplies and other basic services remains difficult.

True, the report adds that children in areas under control of the government are less likely to be experiencing traumatic events. It still doesn’t change these grim realities:

1- The most vulnerable among children are the 2.8 million in hard-to-reach areas, including 280,000 living under siege, almost completely cut off from humanitarian aid.

2- Beyond the bombs, bullets and explosions, children are dying in silence from diseases that can otherwise be easily prevented.

3- Coping mechanisms are eroding both within Syria and across its borders - desperate families and refugees in other countries, including Jodran, are taking extreme measures just to survive, often pushing children into early marriage and child labor.

4- Children are spending all their time on the streets "because there is nothing to keep them occupied", including schools.

5- Children as old as nine “don’t even know how to add one plus one”.

6- Two-thirds of children have either lost a loved one, had their house shelled, or been injured.

7- Many have lost their ability to speak or begun to suffer from speech impediments.

8- They "regularly or always have feelings of grief or extreme sadness in rebel-held areas”.

9-Nearly six million children now depend on humanitarian assistance and millions have been displaced.

10-And over 2.3 million children are now living as refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.

Given the difficult nature of the situation, war capital Washington - with less-than-stellar record - has no right whatsoever to bomb the people of Syria forever. On balance, President Donald Trump has made it clear that they have no strategy to demobilize ISIL and Al-Qaeda, let alone win a major war. That he still insists troop surge and “targeted” airstrikes will continue apace in places where ISIL forces pose a threat to American interests and Al-Qaeda-linked “moderates” only adds to the suspicions that they seek permanent war and occupation.

As one would expect, trying to level the playing field unilaterally with the cult of air power and special forces will only make the grim situation worse for children. It will instigate the war, drive further wedge between neighbors, destroy the remaining mutually beneficial set of regional relations, and sow chaos among nations. Despite what you might have heard or read over the last few days, the goings on have virtually nothing to do with humanitarianism or War on Terror, and everything to do with the Trump White House need and desire to eke out a few more years of world hegemony.

For the past six years, however, Syria’s children have been bombed, shot at and starved to death. They have seen loved ones killed or injured, right before their eyes. Their homes and schools reduced to rubble, and their families torn apart. These traumatized kids are showing signs of severe psychological distress, with lifelong effects. Some are withdrawn, others act out. Some have lost the ability to speak. Many experience violent nightmares or can’t sleep at all, fearing they will never wake up again when the next American bomb is dropped.

By way of explanation, the people of Syria are at a tipping point, after which the impact on children's formative years and childhood development may be so great that the damage could be permanent and irreversible. The risk of a broken generation, lost to trauma and extreme stress, has never been greater. The world must act now and stop this madness before the Trumpspters ensure that a generation of Syria’s children suffer emotional wounds that may never heal.

Despite UNICEF’s pessimistic findings, the evidence suggests that it is not too late to save the country and its children. The allied forces of Syria, Iran, Russia and Hezbollah are doing just that. The world must support their campaign to defeat terror. It’s the only way to stop the nightmares, the toxic stress among Children.

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