A lost childhood in Sudan

A happy child am I.
I laugh and play the whole day long,
I hardly ever cry (anon)

Today, the 20th November, is World Children’s Day.

The idea of playing, laughing and being happy might be expected for all children. Indeed, the whole notion of a child’s welfare taking priority above all may be assumed. This idyllic world of childhood is perhaps a myth for many.

In the fairy tale, Cinderella’s cruel stepmother exemplifies this, but Cinderella’s life could have been much harder.

The UK’s NSPCC estimates that around 500,000 children are abused a year in the UK. In addition to neglect, abuse can be physical, emotional and sexual.

However, how does this compare with the industrial Victorian era? In 1833, the Factory Act was passed which prevented children under 9 from working in factories, though children between 9 and 13 could work up to 48 hours a week, with 8 hours being the maximum in any one day. The 1842 Mines Act prevented children under 10 from working in coal mines.

However, child exploitation in the workplace masks other forms of child abuse in the UK which appears to have been potentially unrestricted. Whilst the situation has improved in the UK over the last hundred or so years, the NSPCC statistics reveal that there are still problems.

Nevertheless, there has been widespread recognition of the need to value children, this manifesting in a variety of initiatives. In 1924, the League of Nations adopted the ‘Declaration of the Rights of the Child’ (The Geneva Convention). It stated “mankind owes to the Child the best that it has to give, declare and accept it as their duty that, beyond and above all considerations of race, nationality or creed.”

The voice of the child

More recently, with the formation of the United Nations (UN), a UN resolution was passed in 1954 that established World Children’s Day which is celebrated on the 20th November each year.

This day gives particular prominence to the voice of the child. It is also about celebrating the rights of children, documented in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted on the 20th November, 1959 by the UN General Assembly.

It includes the right of special protection “to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity.” It includes the right to nutrition, health care, housing, education and recreation.

The UN General Assembly resolution recognised the need to tackle the specific challenges faced by girls in achieving their human rights

This was followed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child , which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on the 20th November, 1989. This recognised that for children in many parts of the world, their situation was still critical, with armed conflict, exploitation, hunger, illiteracy and disability being among the issuers raised.

In 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the 11th October as the International Day of the Girl. This recognised the need to tackle the specific challenges faced by girls in achieving their human rights which includes the need for their empowerment.

Children are still suffering

However, despite this, children are still suffering, particularly in conflict areas. ACLED reports that 50 countries in the world rate as having ‘extreme’, ‘high’ or ‘turbulent’ levels of conflict, with Palestine being the most dangerous place in the world.

Oxfam reports that over 11,000 children have been killed by Israeli military in Gaza since October 2023. This is aside from those children maimed and orphaned as well as the trauma experienced by all.

To add are the mothers who try to protect their unborn or new born, enduring the most horrific of conditions. However, despite the clear evidence of Israel’s serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and crimes against humanity, countries such as the US and UK still supply Israel with the technology that kills these children, being complicit in what is increasingly recognised as genocide.

Whilst attention focuses upon Gaza and the terrible plight of the Palestinians, let us not forget elsewhere

Whilst attention focuses upon Gaza and the terrible plight of the Palestinians, let us not forget elsewhere.

About a month ago, I was privileged to listen to Dr. Zaza Johnson Elsheikh, President of the Sudanese Legal Network an initiative that provides essential aid to Sudanese refugees.

The significance of this was the attention Zaza eloquently gave to the plight of the children of Sudan as a result of the current conflict.

The horrors in Sudan

Sudan, having gained independence in 1957, then suffered a thirty year military dictatorship between 1989 and 2019, headed by Omar Al Bashir, who in 1993 became President. During this time civilians were subject to crimes against humanity, which included extermination, torture, and rape.

The International Criminal Court issued two warrant for arrest for Omar Al Bashir, first in 2009, the second in 2010. Since 2019, whilst there have been attempts to establish civilian rule, a power struggle erupted on the 15th April 2023 into outright conflict between the Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s de facto leader and head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Hemedti, head of the heavily armed paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The impact upon the civilian population has been devastating, this including ethnic killing and sexual violence. It is estimated that 24,000 civilians have been killed.

UNICEF reported a year ago that 19 million children were unable to attend school

The impact upon education has been significant, with UNICEF reported a year ago that 19 million children were unable to attend school. One of the greatest impacts is upon access to food with major impediments to delivery of humanitarian aid.

The UN Human Rights Office reports that around 25 million civilians are facing starvation, globally ‘making this one of the worst famines in decades’. Whilst Sudan has a population of around 50 million, around 40% of the population are children under the age of 15.

Of these, UNICEF reports that 64% of children under the age of 14 have experienced some form of violence. Because of the conflict, many children are separated from their families, surviving, perhaps living in the streets or engaged in child labour.

The voice of these child survivors has been captured in their drawings, brought together in a book The Children’s Drawings. The images speak loudly about the horrors.

The world is still a dangerous place for children

Dr. Johnson Elsheikh shared with me the experience of Wafi, who is a 10 year old autistic boy whose 16 year old brother was taken by RSF. His father had developed Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Wafi was recently reunited with his family in Cairo. He is not alone in escaping Sudan. The UNHCR reports that over 3 million people, mainly women and children have fled Sudan since the beginning of this crisis.

The Sudanese Legal Network’s partner, Tafawol Special Educational Needs Centre, provides a support hub in Cairo for the survivors of conflict related sexual violence. There survivors can receive one-to-one psychological support as well as engage on income generating arts and crafts to help rebuild their dignity, whilst living with an unplanned pregnancy as a result of rape.

It is clear that the world is still a dangerous place for children. Indeed, the current situation is summed up in the message for World Children’s Day, 2024 by UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
“It is a stain on humanity’s conscience when children’s lives are caught in the grinding wheels of poverty, or upended by disasters or violent conflicts that are killing and maiming children”

Where are the global leaders and what are they doing? A leader is a person who creates the conditions for all to benefit. A leader is someone who protects the vulnerable, especially children, from harm. Where are the global leaders?

Perhaps it is down to you and me and what we collectively can do. We can give the child a voice AND listen. They are our future as we get old, but more important they are the future and deserve a better world.

We were all children once. Perhaps we should remember that. Next time you look into someone’s eyes, see the child the person once was.