Bless the beasts and the children

The images of children who were victims of the Zamboanga siege, the earthquake in Bohol and Yolanda’s wrath sends chills down my spine.  I cannot help but think of them all the time especially in this Yuletide season.

I saw a photo of a 6-year old boy carrying a 2-year old toddler on his back.  They were not related.  They were helping each other as they looked for their parents in the rubbles of Leyte.  It was clear that they hadn’t had any food to eat nor a place to stay.  They were determined to find their parents.  Hoping that in time, they will be reunited. 

My heart weeps for these little innocent children.  I hope they find their parents.  I hope good people see them and rescue them.  They need food, clothing, shelter and love.  How I wish the DSWD had a stronger nurturing and nourishing program for children and senior citizens.  How I wish these children will fall in the hands of good and educated people who will know how to address their needs. 

I know that life can sometimes be harsh and unfair but that is why governments are formed.  The role of government is to give services to its citizens, to a community, to cities and to the nation.  The services should elevate the lives of the people with the assurance that we will be safe, protected and taken cared of.  I still think of those two kids and millions of them out there without a roof on their heads, no food to eat and no clothes to wear. What is sad, is the thought that they may not even have parents anymore.   It’s Christmas and these little children deserve warmth, protection and love. 

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Children around the world suffer from deprivation, exploitation and neglect. Abused children, victims of armed conflict, child labor, victims of natural disasters are among the many categories of children in difficult circumstances.

As typhoon Yolanda’s death toll continues to increase, a growing concern in the affected areas are the children who have survived the ‘storm’. 

According to UNICEF’s Representative in the Philippines, Tomoo Hozumi, “Survival means not only that we address children’s health, education and psychological well-being, but that we make sure their safety is given top priority.”

UNICEF in collaboration with Save the Children and DSWD in Tacloban have opened child-friendly spaces for children (and have provided recreation kits with specialized supplies for early childhood development) to begin the process of recovering from the loss of their loved ones and to help them reduce the risks of trafficking, exploitation and other harm.

Children are encouraged to participate in activities that include play, sports, informal learning and discussion group promote their recovery. It is heartwarming to note how parents and community members have volunteered.   Text messages from UNICEF have also guided parents to keep their children safe in the current situation, prevent their accidental separation and assist the children in their psychological recovery.

In addition, UNICEF has established “baby tents” for pregnant women and nursing mothers. 

The US-based Save the Children estimated 5.4 million children have been affected by Typhoon Yolanda. Millions of children were displaced and do not have access to adequate shelter or appropriate medicines and health care.

Ned Olney, Operations Team Leader and Save the Children Philippines’ Deputy Director said that the crisis the Philippines is facing right now is the worst humanitarian crisis he has ever seen. The number of homes destroyed by Yolanda, are six times higher than those destroyed when super storm Sandy struck Haiti and the 2006 earthquake in Iran.

Save the Children is one of the organizations that first responded to the families who survived the typhoon. Jesse Jartness, SCF’s Advisor for Nutrition in Emergencies visited Iloilo and Roxas to conduct an assessment of the children’s health. He also mentioned the importance of livelihood programs for the parents to be able to feed the children in the long term.

Aside from hunger, children are also suffering from trauma. If children do not receive appropriate psychosocial support, and get back into a routine in school, their recovery is likely to be delayed. Incidentally 4,500 classrooms were destroyed and 886,256 students in regions IV-B, VI, VII, and VIII are affected by Yolanda.  Government should consider building the classrooms (and hospitals not to mention public markets) as their topmost priority instead of giving our tax money (AKA as ‘pork barrel’) to the Congressmen and Senators.

Luisa Carvalho, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Philippines has expressed concern over labor and sexual abuses taking place in typhoon-devastated areas in the Visayas. She said that her experiences in the past had showed that calamities always leave children susceptible to exploitation because some of them have been orphaned and with no relatives to look after their welfare. She added that child traffickers take advantage of the situation and persuade these children to engage in sexual slavery and labor bondage.

A recent news report said that Washington considers the Philippines as not in full compliance with minimum standards for eliminating trafficking. The State Department’s 2013 trafficking report describes it as a source country for sex-trafficking and forced labor, and that “child sex tourism remained a serious problem”.

Nancy Lindborg, the USAID’s assistant administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance said that, “To protect the children of the central Philippines during this time of heightened vulnerability, the government of the Philippines and the international community will need to make every effort to ensure and strengthen local and national protective services.” This includes creation of safe spaces for women and children, and programs that help identify, trace and reunify unaccompanied children.”

Yolanda may have succeeded in wiping out the coastal areas of informal settlers, but in its aftermath, it has left a long train of debris and orphaned children with no families left and whose lives now depend on the government’s ability and capacity to rise above this tragedy.

Bless the beasts and the children, for in this world they have no voice. They have no choice. Bless the beasts and the children, for the world can never be the world they see. Light their way when the darkness surrounds them and give them love. Let it shine all around them.  Give them shelter from the storm.  Keep them safe and keep them warm. – The Carpenters, 1971