UNICEF helps children displaced by fighting in Pakistan's Swat Valley

Jalala Camp, Pakistan, May 2009
Antonia Paradela, UNICEF International

Kiyanet, a ten-year-old girl, walks among groups of men waiting for distributions of food, water and living materials. In one area, newly arrived families, sweaty and covered in dust, try to register in the Jalala camp. They have just come from the neighbouring district of Swat where an army offensive against militants provoked the evacuation of thousands of people. Kiyanet is here looking for floor mats. Her family has received a tent but they are still sitting on dirt.

Kiyanet's family arrived at Jalala camp the previous afternoon. Mascun Akhtar, her mother, fled with her six children after their house was damaged during the fighting.

"I was so scared of the bombing that I used to hide in the toilet," remembers Kiyanet. "I thought I would die." When the house was hit by mortar shells, Kiyanet left her hiding place, fell on the floor and injured the right side of her face. Everyone left the village with Kiyanet's family. Hundreds of families continue to arrive to camps like Jalala every day. More than half of those displaced are children and need urgent help.

In situations such as that in the Swat valley, UNICEF and its partners work as part of a coordinated UN response to ensure the displaced children have access to water and sanitation, vaccination and protection from abuse or exploitation. This includes providing water tanks and building latrines, monitoring unaccompanied and orphaned children and households headed by women, such as Kiyanet's.

Arriving at the camp, Kiyanet has no idea how long she will have to stay. Living in a tent and using the make-shift facilities is very different to the life she is used to at home. To make life a little bit more normal for children in the camps UNICEF helped to open three primary schools and provide school supplies. Kiyanet used to attend Grade 4 in the local primary school but she could not continue her education as troops occupied the school building.

"I am happy here in the camp," she says, recalling the trauma of the past days. Kiyanet misses home but knows that, for now, this is the place for her to be.

Syria: Finding Child Friendly Space 

Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic, July 2009
Ingrida Kerusauskaite, UNICEF International

There are as many as 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in Syria who struggle to find basic necessities having left everything behind in their war-torn country. Five child friendly spaces were opened to fill the needs of some of the Iraqi refugee children. Games organised at the centres allow the children to express their thoughts and process difficult memories, as well as just to enjoy themselves amongst peers. Iraqi families in Syria often live in crowded conditions where children have little room to play and are frequently left to watch tv all day, if they have one. The children become restless and find it difficult to adjust to their new lives. Playing at the centres means that the children can begin to adjust and feel a sense of normalcy in their new lives.

At one of the centres six-year-old Tareq clings to his mother's clothing and waits anxiously for his weekly psychotherapy session. The social worker, the psychologist and Tareq's mother all encourage the little boy to lift his head up and say hello, but he won't leave his mother's lap.
"Iraqi refugees have been through so much," the social worker explains. "Some of the horrible things they have experienced are unimaginable for those who have not seen war. It is unacceptable that six year olds have to live with such memories."

Ali is another six-year-old visiting the child friendly space. Ali's family fled the horrors of war in Iraq three years ago. The war left psychological scars with Ali - he developed very strong fears of the dark, of the sound of shooting, of sleeping alone and even of going to the bathroom.

Six months after arriving at the child friendly space, Ali has grown to enjoy his counselling sessions with the psychologist. Ali's mother believes he has made progress. "Although his fears are still very much present, he can now control his voice and does not scream for no reason."

Ali says he has begun to look forward to the upcoming school year explaining;
"Last year they said I was too young. They said that in September I could go. I can't wait until September comes. I hope to make friends at school."