It is common for adult to see children as living a stress free life because they are always happy and care free, after all children do not have bills to pay, they do not have jobs to keep, and they do not face challenges that make for stress in adults. Nothing could be further from the truth. If stress is a result what happened around us or situation we go through, then there are situations, circumstances that do make children to be stressful. While stress is the feeling we have when we are under pressure, stressors are the things around us that we are responding or reacting to, in other words stressors are events or situations that cause stress. War is one major stressor that children all over the world may experience.
Children from countries that have recently been is war are prone to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD), a life incapacitating mental health disorder. In a research headed by Dr. Claudia Catani of the University Of Bielefeld, the researchers discovered that at least half of the children who experienced the Afghanistan war were diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Images of war as seen on the television can be disturbing and worrisome to children, who are even living in places where there is no on-going war, they may be concerned about their own safety and security of loved ones.
I did not experience war when growing up as a child, (even as an adult), neither do I have any one close to me who experienced war as a child but I have read stories about what some children went through in some countries as a result of war- stories that has made me cried. One country that has been in war for many years now is Sudan, many stories abound of what children are going through in that country and how the war has affected the development of many children negatively. One of such stories (Courtesy of UNICEF) is produced below.
RECOVERING FROM THE TRAUMA
Like many others in the region, Peter lost his childhood to war. Kidnapped at the age of 10 by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) – a Ugandan militia whose ranks include numerous abducted children – Peter was forced to march from his native Uganda into Sudan, where the LRA is also active.
But a gunshot wound to the leg became a ticket to freedom for Peter, who had endured 40 months of forced servitude in the brutal militia, roaming between northern Uganda and Southern Sudan. After Peter suffered the serious injury and his unit began a retreat from hostile forces, his commander took the boy’s gun and abandoned him so he would not slow down the group.
The injury probably saved Peter’s life. Rescued by military officers on patrol nearby, he was taken for medical treatment and then to a UNICEF-supported safe house for psycho-social care.
“You can only guess what he feels,” said Mr. Koss after meeting Peter. “It is a horrendous trauma.”
Social indicators still lag
Peter’s experience is part of a larger pattern of instability throughout the region. A peace agreement, signed in January 2005, ended the civil war in Southern Sudan and opened up enormous potential for progress. Yet outbreaks of armed conflict involving secondary or foreign groups like the LRA continue to plague the area, making it difficult for children to return to school and regain a measure of normalcy.
Meanwhile, social indicators here remain among the lowest in the world. Only about one in five children is enrolled in primary school, while three-quarters of the estimated 9 million people in Southern Sudan cannot read or write. Safe drinking water is scarce and electricity is almost non-existent.
Peace is gradually returning to Southern Sudan, a referendum took place from January 9 to 15 this year on whether the region should be independent or not, with over 90% votes in support, July 9 2011 has been fixed for independent of the region. It is hoped that with this development the plight of children in that region would be minimized.
Source: Rachel Berk. (2006). Goodwill Ambassador Johann Koss Sees Effects of War in Southern Sudan. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sudan_33801.html
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