The military gains in the long battle against ISIL in Mosul may be masking a troubling and potentially tragic story. As The Nationalreported, Iraqi troops are close to fully liberating the city. But it is the long-term health and well-being of those affected by conflict, not just in Iraq, but in Yemen, Syria and Gaza, which is of increasing concern.
An Unbearable Reality: the impact of war and displacement on children’s mental health in Iraq, a new report published by Save the Children, sheds light on the experiences of children in conflict. It makes for heart-breaking reading. The report unravels the unspeakable horrors of living in Mosul under the rule of ISIL and talks of the “toxic stress” that is caused by persistent exposure to violence and threat. Around 90 per cent of those children the charity spoke to expressed concern at losing a love one. Around half described in graphic details the violence their parents had had to endure. One ten-year-old said: “There was shelling all the time and ISIL was going around the city killing men and leaving them hanging from poles in the street.” Another 12-year-old talked of “dead bodies … and people crying and bleeding.”
[For more of this story go to https://www.thenational.ae/opi...nflict-zone-1.251652]
Comments (0)