Since the earthquake, like many people, I have been glued to watching any media outlets yearning to learn more about the situation of the children in Haiti. You cannot forget the images of the child in General Hospital that was screaming and wailing as the news anchor held her hand.
Children become…they are used in the media’s
representation of disasters, where children, and the single child become “icons” of
suffering and disaster – passive “victims” who need rescuing by outsiders. Then they are helped with some basic necessities and then... then what?
Linking the World ideology follows the guidelines of The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), established in 1990, and ratified by
all but two countries, guarantees children inalienable rights in all circumstances. These
rights are very wide ranging and the ones of particular relevance to children affected by
disasters or armed conflict include:
" Survival rights: Children have a right to life, to survival and to attainable standards of
health and living3.
" Protection rights: Children have a right to a name and nationality from birth, to an
identity, and to not being separated from their families. They also have a right to be
protected from abuse, from abduction and trafficking, from torture and unlawful
imprisonment, from armed conflict and conscription, from sexual exploitation, from
economic exploitation, from narcotics, and to be given special consideration when in
conflict with the law. The Convention also makes special mention of the right to
recovery and reintegration of children affected by armed conflict, and the rights to
protect unaccompanied children, refugee children and the right of children with
disabilities to special care4.
" Development rights: Children have a right to develop and to get an education
directed towards the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and
physical abilities to their fullest potential and for a respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. The Convention also emphasises the right of children to enjoy
their own culture, religion and language. Children also have a right to rest, leisure and
privacy5.
" Participation rights: Children have a right to participate in and express their views
freely in all matters affecting them, in the media of their own choice, in accordance
with their age and maturity.
The Convention also assures them of the right of freedom of thought, conscience,
association, peaceful assembly and access to suitable mass media6.
The CRC obliges States Parties to undertake all appropriate measures to implement the
rights recognised in the Convention in a non-discriminatory way with the best interests of
the child as a primary consideration.
Right now, children are at their most vulnerable and
therefore it is when not only their right to survival, but all their rights, and especially
those listed above most need to be enforced by the country and any other aid workers dealing with children on Haiti.
Part of the day, I spent with the medical team. Same one that has been vaccinating and supplying medical aid. They have started the process of PTSD recognition and rehabilitation. I used play therapy with one of the groups of children today and took notes on each child's behavior and reaction. Another group of children had one on one sessions with our psycologists. They use the EMDR methodology to help children cope with PTSD. It was amazing to see the children change dramatically over the course of 5 hours of therapy!
On another note, I was injured today. Part of the foundation that the medical tents were on gave through and I happen to be standing near the edge. I fell and hurt my left leg, cutting and bruising it. Thankfully I was with doctors, but this was NOT an ideal situation. I was so mad with myself for an hour for letting myself get hurt. One of the most annoying things is when aid workers get ill from doing something stupid like drinking the water or not getting the correct inoculations and become liabilities and/or more work for the other aid workers. But I kept going after the incident. Just have to realize that when you are in a disaster zone, you're vulnerable. And you're no good if you're not 100%.
So basically, an amazing day getting to spend time with some of the children we've identified in the past few days. We played. Talked about the earthquake, which was the goal of the play therapy. Some children were afraid to even use the word earthquake. They call it various names other than by name. I believe it is another way of avoiding dealing with pain. When they opened up and starting telling their stories, it was heart breaking. I wont even go into some of their stories on this post.
We encouraged them to say words like 'earthquake' and 'falling houses. To say that people were killed. This is a part of the methodology of EDMR. Most importantly:
We want to help these children see themselves as survivors instead of victims.
They have a much brighter future ahead if they are armed with coping tools now.
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