IRAQ-LATIN AMERICA: Children React to a Distant War

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, Apr 11 2003 (IPS) - Children in Argentina, Chile and Mexico are a long way from the conflict in Iraq, but that does not mean they are unaware of what has happened there.

Many are deeply affected by the events reported from the Persian Gulf region, and some suggest that Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush should have settled their differences in person, perhaps in a sword fight, and left the rest of the world in peace.

In the three Latin American countries, under the initiative of education authorities and with support from non-governmental organisations, children have been encouraged to express their feelings about the war in classroom discussions, through letters, drawings, theatre and even parliamentary make-believe.

”In this school we say ‘no’ to the war,” reads a colourful banner over a school entrance in the Mexican capital.

Throughout the city, the public schools engage in a minute of silence every morning in honour of the people who have died in Iraq. The students keep in mind that children like themselves were among victims.

In Chile, 99.5 percent of the respondents – aged six to 17 – to a survey conducted by the Future Foundation and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said they were aware of the war in Iraq. Most said that the most threatened by the conflict were the children, and a third believed that the war could reach their country.

The poll found a very wide range of definitions of war, though all had negative connotations. It was also found that 90 percent of the respondents had learned about the conflict by watching television, and that most associated the war not only with disputes between countries, but also between individuals and even between presidents.

Juan, a nine-year-old Argentine boy, said that the best option would have been for U.S. president Bush and his Iraqi counterpart Saddam to settle their differences ”in a sword fight.”

”Even though children are not very clear about what war is, they feel affected by it. They personalise what they hear about it, they perceive the tension of the adults around them and they are exposed to the news,” explains Mexican child psychologist Loretta Massimi.

Sara, a Mexican girl, age four, asked her teacher, ”Who are the good ones and who are the bad ones?” and ”Is the war coming to Mexico?”

”It’s great that they ask questions and are encouraged to reflect,” paediatrician Daniel Cymet told IPS. ”That is the best thing to prevent psychological problems in children.”

The question ”Is war good for people?” was put to 1,000 girls and boys at 10 schools in Mexico City as part of a survey designed and carried out by a group of lawmakers. The results were: 893 said ”no”, 100 said they didn’t know, and seven said ”yes”.

Psychologists are recommending that schoolteachers and parents talk with children about the war, but that they take into account each child’s level of understanding and development. Through age five, children often do not distinguish well between fantasy and reality, so simple explanations are suggested.

But from ages six to 11, a child’s ability to reason is more mature and therefore explanations connected to the reality in which he or she lives are best, say experts.

For those over 12, who are able to understand abstract concepts, speaking openly about war and allowing each child to form an opinion is recommended.

UNICEF and the Chilean government organised an assembly in Santiago earlier this month to give children a chance to express themselves about war.

Some of the questions that arose were about how much money the children of Iraq would need, why children had to die in the conflict, why the United States wants everything for itself, and why the war could not be settled through a game of chess.

In Argentina, several schools asked parents to send with their children pictures and written material about the war to foment classroom discussion. The idea, education officials said, was to use the war issue to promote the value of peace.

Mexico’s education ministry distributed a series of posters to all schools when the war in Iraq began on Mar. 20. The material was intended to aid teachers in reinforcing the ideas of plurality, peace and tolerance among the students.

The Argentine newspaper Página/12 this week published a book, ”1,001 Iraqi Nights: The War Explained,” with illustrations and language geared towards children.

”Many children feel stress and anxiety about the war, and we need to help them deal with it because they are the ones who will lead the country and the world in the future. It will be best that they do so with peace, tolerance and respect,” said a representative from the Parents Association of Mexico.

One approach to channelling feelings in order to alleviate stress was for children to write letters to Bush. Several schools in Mexico City took part, and the letters were delivered to the U.S. embassy there.

Since late March, UNICEF has been engaged in a global campaign to collect funds for humanitarian aid in Iraq, an effort involving several initiatives in Latin America.

The U.N. agency is encouraging children’s discussion in Chile and in Mexico, where on Apr. 4 it organised a meeting of 300 children in the national Congress, where they acted as lawmakers for a day.

”The war of the United States against Iraq worries us, because all the children of Mexico want peace and we don’t want people to fight for useless reasons,” said Jazmín Luna during the session in Congress.

In Mexico there have also been works of theatre aimed at stimulating children to reflect on the conflict, such as ”The Girls of the War”, by Berta Hiriart. The weekend showings in the capital have drawn large audiences. ”We must talk to children about the war, even if they don’t ask about it. We shouldn’t underestimate their ability to understand. It is better to be open about the issue and to foster in them the idea that all war is terrible,” said paediatrician Cymet.