Hollywood Actor, Orlando Bloom, has given a deep revelation of the
sufferings and plights suffered by children affected by Boko Haram
activities in West African countries.
Bloom, who was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in October 2009
recently travelled to West African countries - Chad and Niger and
revealed in an article published on CNN.com how he had come face to face
with the ravaged children and that their stories will forever haunt
him.
Read the full article after the cut..
In early February, I traveled to Diffa in southeastern Niger to better
understand the impact of Boko Haram on the people living there. The
Diffa region alone currently hosts over 240,000 internally displaced
persons, refugees and returnees, including 160,000 children.
I've been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for almost 10 years, and this
isn't the first time I have seen and heard about terrible suffering, but
the devastating stories I heard from children in Niger will haunt me
for a long time to come.
Boko Haram violence has affected millions of children and families
across West Africa's Lake Chad Basin -- Niger, Nigeria, Chad and
Cameroon. Children as young as 12 have been abducted and killed; many
have been forced from their homes and schools, and left without food or
clean water. This bloody conflict has resulted in one of the most severe
humanitarian disasters and displacement crises in Africa.
Every child I met had been impacted in some way by the conflict and
violence shattering this region for more than two years. What these
children need most is an end to the violence but until that happens,
they need all the support they can get from organizations like UNICEF,
schools and support centers, to help rebuild their lives.
At just 12 years old, Eta had witnessed atrocities that no child, or anyone for that matter, should ever have to bear.
I met Eta at her family home in Bosso, Niger, on the border with
Nigeria; a bright and gentle girl with all the hopes and dreams of any
12-year-old, but deeply affected by trauma and fear. Eta told me how she
was awakened one morning, two years ago, by the sound of gunshots and
threats as Boko Haram arrived in her village. Shaking as she spoke, she
told me that she really thought she was going to die.
When the fighters finally left, Eta fled on foot with her family,
leaving their home and belongings and not knowing if they would ever
return. The family took refuge in a temporary camp in Diffa, but Eta
wasn't able to sleep properly for months because of nightmares where she
would see Boko Haram coming after her. Having recently returned to her
home village with her father and siblings, Eta is now back at school in
7th grade and dreams of becoming a doctor when she grows up.
Eta is one of thousands of children whose education has been stalled
because of the ongoing instability in the region. When I visited schools
during my trip, I could see they were extremely overcrowded and
struggling to cope with the huge number of displaced children. In one
temporary learning space I visited at the N'gagam site for displaced
families in Diffa, there were 500 students and only 12 classrooms and 12
teachers.
Though overcrowded, temporary schools like these, many set up by UNICEF
and its partners, offer more than just an education for children whose
lives have been devastated by this fighting.
Classrooms are where children have the chance to feel safe and
protected, and make new friends with other children who have been
through similar experiences. The teachers truly impressed me; they are
trained to identify children with trauma and refer them to psychosocial
support centers where they can access help to deal with the horrors they
have faced.
I met 14-year-old Amada at one such center, in the Garin Wazam site for
displaced families. Like many children, he fled to Niger from
neighboring Nigeria, and has experienced violence and witnessed killing
and maiming of friends or family members.
Amada told me he doesn't sleep at night. I could tell that it was
difficult for him to relive those traumatic experiences. However, since
taking part in the activities at the support center, Amada is better
able to express his feelings and talk about his fears.
He's made new friends, and I had the opportunity to join them in a game
of basketball. It brought me so much joy to see Amada with a smile on
his face and just being a young teen. Giving these children back a sense
of normality is crucial not only for their own future, but the future
of their communities and their countries.
As long as violence continues to plague the Lake Chad Basin, the future
of its children will continue to hang in the balance. But if I have
learned anything from the stories of Eta, Amada and thousands of
children like them, it's that children are incredibly resilient. Their
ability, when given a chance, to realize their dreams fills me with
hope.
