More than fifty-seven percent of Palestinians live in poverty, this is greater than the half. Children are left with traumatic memories of the violence that they have witnessed in their short lives. Education is crippling and there’s no food. [01]

According to Islamic Relief Canada, Palestine is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the eight-day war of 2012.

• One hundred and sixty people have been killed,
• thirty six of which are children.
• Five hundred and seventy in pain and injured.
• Above 25,000 kids have been left damaged, either from injury, the loss of their home or family member.
• Nine hundred and fifty homes, have been destroyed, broken.
• This left 5,600 Palestinians homeless.
• Hospitals and clinics have been hit by air strikes and are struggling, struggling for resources, medical equipment and nutrients. [02]

Many children have been left orphaned because of war.

A non-governmental organization with no connection to Palestine authority or Hamas, have made a campaign and program to aid the orphaned kids in Gaza, after an invasion in 2014 of (the) Israel Defense Force:

“In Gaza, orphans have lost parents in violent ways—bombs, missiles, building collapses—and seen the dead or dying bodies of members of their families or of their neighbors in the streets.

No less than for combatants, the children who survive are often “shell-shocked,” the old term now supplanted by “post-traumatic stress disorder” (PTSD).

“The UNICEF field office in Gaza estimates that 373,000 children in Gaza need some sort of psychosocial [sic] support, over one-third of all children in the area. A good number aren’t getting any of that help.” [03]

“A report published on Monday (July 6, 2015) by Save the Children, entitled A Living Nightmare: Gaza One Year On, says 551 children were killed and 3,436 were injured, of whom 10% suffered permanent disability. 

“Save the Children estimates 1,500 became orphans in the most recent war, other sources putting the number much higher.

“Eighty-nine percent of parents report that their children suffer constant feelings of fear, and more than 70 percent of children say they are worried about another war. Seven out of 10 children interviewed now suffer regular nightmares.

“Of the more than 3,400 kids who were injured in the warfare, several reports indicate that around 1,000 have been left with permanent physical disabilities,” writes Peter Beaumont in The Guardian. [04]

Save the Children has estimated:

• 1,500 children have been left as orphans in the most recent war.
• 3,400 children have been injured in warfare,
• 1,000 have been left with permanent physical disabilities.

In an interview back in August 2014 between Amy Goodman and guest Pernille Ironside, chief of UNICEF’s Gaza field office it was noted that, “The United Nations estimates at least 373,000 children require direct and specialized psychosocial support.

“And based on the total number of adults killed, there may be up to 1,500 children orphaned.” [05]

“An estimate of 2,000,000 children in Afghanistan are left as orphans.

“Orphans have a high vulnerability to sexual abuse, forced prostitution and financial exploitation due to not having the basic means of survival. Children in Afghanistan suffer from chronic malnutrition and widespread occurrence of micro-nutrient deficiency.

“In fact 1 in 10 children die before reaching the age of 5 years,” according to Afghan Orphans. [06]

“In Iraq alone 4,500,000 children have lost one or both of their guardians – 600,000 live on the streets.

“Decades of war in Iraq has made it one of the worst countries for children to live in,” reports Child Victims of War. [07]

“Millions of children in Syria are affected by war, many have been displaced, lost contact with their relatives while traveling to other countries.

“Sometimes it’s hard to know if a child is an orphan or not, whether they have extended relatives or not,” reports New Star Kafala, the first Muslim adoption agency in the United States. [08]

Greater than 75,000,000 children in Syria are in need, according to recent reports from Save The Children. [09]

A report in NPR Parallels said, “Many children have lost their fathers due to violent attacks, (numbered at around) 250,000.

“In Reyhanli, town in Turkey, there is eight orphanages, but eight is not nearly enough to take care of children refugees, who’ve lost their parents or their mothers, who are not able to take of their child, due to poverty and are looking for jobs.

““There are so many children that need our help. But we can’t take anymore,” (said) Abdi, who herself was a Syrian refugee.” [10]

Children of war have experienced too much trauma in their short lives.

Childhood is a time to feel safe and secure, not spent in fear and self-preservation.

Orphaned children in war-torn countries have lost their childhood, sisterhood and brotherhood. They are often abandoned and forgotten, left to scatter and fend for themselves; and without adult supervision they often become emotionally unstable, leaving a child even more vulnerable to exploitation.

In conclusion, there is no justification for millions of orphaned children abandoned to fend for themselves. Children trapped in, or fleeing from war need adult supervision, protection and love more than any time in history. It is crucial for the United Nations’ world leaders to step-up, pay more attention and take responsibility for the child orphans in the Middle East – time is running out for the innocent and most vulnerable casualties of war – the babies, the toddlers, the little girls and boys – covered in dust, sleeping on the cold street, hungry and traumatized.

This inhumane treatment of children, and crimes against humanity would never be tolerated in Western society.

Wars are man-made – mankind must take responsibility for the orphans his wars leave behind – while there is still time to save the small children suffering and alone – because in times of war it takes more than a village to raise a child – it takes united nations. 

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Keemia is a fourteen-year-old student, and she has recently started her internship with the Alistair Reign News Blog. Keemia is an inspiring young lady, she enjoys debating, music and reading; she is multilingual in English, French and Farsi. Keemia’s aspirations include, “vocalizing the problems Muslims face day to day, and talk about the racism in this world. My legacy will be to be a platform for young women whether they be Iranian, Muslim or Middle Eastern girls and I dream to help them rise above obstacles in this world. I want to use my writing to inspire, to motivate and to educate through my writing.” As a youth reporter she will be covering humanitarian news, events and other topics surrounding child rights and youth empowerment.