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IT'S EASY TO THINK THAT
THINGS GET BETTER AS SOON AS WARS END AND PEACE-KEEPERS GO HOME. But the
reality of children's lives tells us otherwise. When conflicts cease, families
are often left to pick up the pieces of lives damaged and disrupted by
violence, homelessness, lack of food, lack of educational opportunities and
jobs. Srifa is a sleepy village in southern Lebanon, close to the Israeli border. It lies within the buffer zone between the 10 per cent of Lebanon occupied by Israel and the rest of the country. Officially, there's no war, but UN observers monitor guerilla attacks, Israeli airforce bombardments and civilian casualties. But they have no powers to intervene. Today the only sound is the voices of children laughing and playing at an after-school club supported by Save the Children. But days haven't always been this quiet: two years ago a hundred villagers - including seven children who attended similar Save the Children clubs - were killed by a direct Israeli hit as they sheltered in a nearby UN base." I have bad dreams about what I would do now, how I would feel! If my brothers and sisters were killed like the other children," says 12-year-old Samir. Like 150 other children at the club, Samir plays games and sports, paints, sings and has somewhere quiet to do his homework. A special training programme run by local Save the Children staff ensures that children like Samir are helped to come to terms with the violence they have experienced. "Lots of children suffer from anxiety and nightmares,"says 18-year-old Zeina, the club's local volunteer co-ordinator. "Many have family members who have died in the conflict or been imprisoned. Before they came here, the only games they knew were how to play war games." The club has also helped bring peace and reconciliation to two communities that fought each other during the long Lebanese civil war. First, parents from Srifa and a nearby Palestinian refugee camp exchanged visits, then children like Samir. Save the Children helped them build a bridge of confidence. A recent football competition was the first time children from the two communities had come together since the civil war. "They were good players,"said Samir "We sang together - I found out that they were really just like us." " There used to be no place in the village where children could come together to play and learn to express themselves,"said Zeina. "This club lets them channel their energies into something positive and creative. We've learnt step by step how to deal with children and their different needs." |
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