Farqanda Fazal
THIS IS NOT A STORY OF WAR-IT’S A STORY OF CHILDREN ROBBED OF PEACE, HOPE AND SAFETY.
Childhood is a time of profound discovery, a period where foundational skills are learned and joyful memories are made. It unfolds in the warmth of a mother’s love, in the protective presence of a father, creating a safe and comforting space for growth. It’s a time when dreams take flight and courage is built. A time when friendships and hope thrive.
Childhood is when elders guide and siblings play, in a home filled with love, where family is nearby and emotional safety reigns.
But children in Palestine, who should be experiencing the same carefree joy have had these basic rights stripped away without hesitation. For them childhood begins amid ruins.
Innocence shattered, freedom is lost and their hearts heavy with sorrow……
In Palestine, children are born in a world of rubble and fear, their lives marred by violence.
Parents dream of cradling their children but pain rips their dreams apart. Amid the ruins, these children are forged in an environment of struggle and darkness.
To be a child in Palestine is to watch your home collapse, to watch loved ones die, and to search through the rubble for food or for the people you once knew.
At an age when children elsewhere play, Palestinian children are deeply affected by the horrors they witness while enduring unimaginable violence. Robbed of the most basic needs, they are left with emotional wounds that are difficult to heal.
Who will break to them that their world is not the safe haven they once believed it to be?
Who will prepare them for the harsh realities of life, as they grapple with the burden of living in a place where childhood is but a distant memory.
They deserve access to medicinal aid, to education, to nourishment, to be free from harm and emotional trauma, to feel safe, full and whole, just like every other child who goes to bed without fear.
Despite facing unimaginable hardships and injustices, the children of Palestine exhibit strength beyond their years.
Being a child in Palestine is to stand alone against the world with unbreakable faith, resilience, boundless empathy and wisdom that the world ought to learn from.
Their lives are precious and we must protect them, we must fight for every child, for their innocence and their right to simply exist without fear. No child deserves to be punished for the place they were born.
No child should pay for their childhood as a price.
