Abuse of Children is Abuse of Adults

I wrote a International Peace Award to highlight the difficulties that children face in the world, as adults live in confusion and are not prepared on how to parent children in balanced and healthy ways that promote peace. The poem below is about the abuse of children. The abuse of children is the abuse of adults, we need to look at ourselves, to find the love within and heal ourselves. This will heal the world.

BACKGROUND BRIEFING (International Children’s Peace Award)

On January 12, 2001, 100 of the World’s Nobel Peace Laureates published a ‘Dire Warning For Planet Earth’, reinforcing the idea that it is time to change the way we think:

“The most profound danger to world peace in the coming years will stem not from the irrational acts of states or individuals but from the legitimate demands of the world’s dispossessed… It is time to turn our backs on the unilateral search for security, in which we seek to shelter behind walls. Instead, we must persist in the quest for united action to counter both global warming and a weaponised world. To survive in the world we have transformed, we must learn to think in a new way. As never before, the future of each depends on the good of all.”

Mahatma Gandhi considered himself a practical idealist. As leader and founder of the nonviolence movement in India, his work stands as a testimony for alternatives to violence and war. The success and popularity of his approach was evident by the global response to his actions of leading his people in a nonviolent struggle for their independence. Gandhi believed the future is in the hands of children:

“If we are to reach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we have to begin with the children.”

As an intergenerational concept, sustainable development requires present generations to nurture the world’s social, economic and environmental well-being, and to enable next generations to do the same. The transfer of critical knowledge to today’s young people is vital, yet its realization is threatened by crises in resource-stressed regions and by diseases threatening to obliterate whole generations. At present, youth under the age of 25 comprise over 50 per cent of the world’s population. This scenario calls for significantly more attention to be paid to preparing youth for the challenges ahead. Many solutions have been proposed to bring young people to the forefront of sustainable development practices and policies, but without sufficient response from national-level policy-makers, young people can become marginalized in the political sphere, left with the impression that their input is not valued.

The UN General Assembly’s Special Session on Children in May 2002 attracted 69 Summit level participants and 190 high level national delegates . The session included political leaders, UN agencies, religions, business, arts, academia and civil society. Five Nobel Peace Prize Laureates attended and 1,700 delegates representing NGO’s from 117 countries. For the first time in the history of the UN meetings, more than 400 children were there as delegates and active participants.

The UN Secretary General told delegates that “the children in this room are witnesses to our words”. The children were more than that as they challenged the adults, informed them and provided stories of their lives. The children inspired all present with their belief in collective change and their hope.

The children addressed the Assembly on 8 May 2002. Two delegates representing the Children’s forum stated the following:

“We are the world’s children.
We are the victims of exploitation and abuse.
We are street children.
We are the children of war.
We are the victims and orphans of HIV/AIDS.
We are denied good-quality education and health care.
We are victims of political, economic, cultural, religious and environmental discrimination.
We are children whose voices are not being heard: it is time we are taken into account.
We want a world fit for children, because a world fit for us is a world fit for everyone.”

delegates: Ms Gabriela Azurduy Arrieta (Bolivia) and Ms Audrey Chenynut (Monaco)

Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF stated “what must now follow their words are their actions (Assembly) for the future of humanity depends on them.”

The current situation for children around the world is a reflection of the violence of adults and it is passed down one to the other, the cycle of violence must be stopped and society no longer considers violence as acceptable or indeed, normal.

UNICEF highlights alarming statistics of violence, as follows:

• 53,000 children died worldwide as a result of homicide;
• 80-98% of children suffer physical punishment at home;
• Between 20 and 65 percent of school-aged children in developing countries reported having been verbally or physically bullied in the previous 30 days;
• 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 experienced forced sexual intercourse;
• 1.8 million were exploited in prostitution and pornography, and 1.2 million were victims of trafficking;
• 5.7 million children participated in forced or bonded labour;
• Persistent social and legal acceptance of some forms of violence against children that too often leaves such violence unnoticed and unreported;
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires States to protect children from all forms of violence, to prevent and respond to violence, and to provide support to children who are victims of violence (Article 19);
• Society’s acceptance of everyday violence against children is a major factor in the persistence of that violence. Positive, non-violent environments should be created for and with children, in their homes, schools, other institutions and communities, accompanied by public education and advocacy campaigns and the training of teachers and other public servants;
• Governments at various levels should promote and support programmes and campaigns to educate the public and parents on child rights generally and in particular on maintaining positive, non-violent relationships with children in families. Here, the media can also play a key role.

The 1959 Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets a universal standard on the rights of children. The declaration highlights the need for children to develop individual abilities and learn to be useful members of society, protected from harm and exploitation. Moreover, the responsibility of parents and others is to provide conditions that will foster the development of children, enhance confidence and self esteem enabling them to develop to maximum potential.

The UN Decade (2001-2010) for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World was established to promote a Culture of Peace for children. UNESCO was nominated as the lead agency for the decade. An International Coalition working group was established to promote, coordinate, represent member countries and coordinate international campaigns. As part of their vision statement they indicated that education was a main element to strengthen a culture of peace and non-violence.

ABUSE

I speak to the children with my eyes,
I see the clear water through their eyes,
So light and playful,
Unencumbered by worries,
As life unfolds new promises.

My heart reaches to their smiling faces,
The arms of kindness wrap love and concern
around their slight frames,
keeping them warm,
keeping them whole,
It is such a shame,
That confusion swirls in clouds of illusion,
Around their tiny faces,
As they look up and wonder,
What is this turmoil?
Is this normal?
Thinking about the words that adults say,
The contradictions they must accept,
This is our way.

Busy lives,
Minds occupied,
They are vacant,
For they know not what they do,
I hear acceptance and rejection in sentence construction,
I feel arrows of pain in the souls destruction,
Frustration and overwhelming feelings,
Restrictions and low ceilings,
Preventing a vision which is the grandest version,
Of who they want to be.

Their eyes are lowered it is darkness they see,
Life burns the innocence from their eyes,
Language is the cloak,
It is a disguise,
For the hopelessness,
The demands,
That tie us to responsibility,
We are not free to enjoy humility,
To hold hands and walk in the sun,
To teach wisdom,
And have some fun.

The children are dragged along in a mold,
That bodes not well for the future,
Parents do their best,
But abuse is not a sutre,
It won’t cover the wounds,
They are gaping and septic,
Words can be poisonous and deceptive,
Strangling the potential,
The brightness of a vulnerable soul,
Molded into a preconceived idea,
Of what is their role.

They have their own journey,
And yes you can say it is perfect
in the scheme of things,
Given universal energy response,
But the mosaic can be changed,
In a moment,
In a decision,
With a positive impulse,
When we take responsibility,
For the shape of the glass,
For the molding of the ceramic,
Otherwise it can become brittle,
And fall to pieces when knocked down,
For humpty dumpty couldn’t be put back
together again.

Thus in the unconscious moment of panic,
When fear galvanizes our lives,
And transfers to your child,
Barbed and deflected,
Bruised and rejected,
By a culture that is crying,
That is trying,
But cannot lift one’s head above water,
You will go under if you don’t see,
That there is a crisis…
Within society.