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What children prioritize: safety, protection and education
(See also SAFETY, SECURITY, PROTECTION AND PLAY under research question one: How
can engaging children improve humanitarian effectiveness?)
Children expressed fear and preoccupation with issues of safety, security and protection
in South Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In South Sudan, “What
children told us: they live in fear. They believe that the armed conflict may again be
directed at them and their families. Many remember when armed men forced them to
leave their homes, and most experience fear and distress without the comfort or familiarity
of home.” 234 In Syria, children say the feelings of fear and hopelessness are causing physical
health problems. 235 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo “More than one-third [of
children] told us they are afraid all of the time or every day.” 236
As well as the evident anxiety of displacement and the fact of living in proximity to
violence, children expressed fear of the effect of conflict on the behaviour of parents,
neighbours, other adults such as teachers, peers and siblings.
“We saw lots of children who had been killed at checkpoints. They all had their fingers cut off”
13-year-old girl; 237 “they beat my father in front of me” seven-year-old boy who had been
detained; 238 “I was playing with friends and a plane dropped a bomb, so everyone in the
village told us to run away (...) we ran to our house and they bombed it. I fell unconscious (…)
there were seven children and one old lady killed inside the house” 13-year-old boy. 239 In the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the report of children feeling afraid went on to note
the numbers separated from family/adult support and who have witnessed or experienced
violence, at times extreme.
Education is seen by children as an essential need in any humanitarian response
throughout emergencies, including conflict. In times of conflict, girls and boys prioritized
safety over education, although in post-conflict settings these priorities are reversed (as in
Sierra Leone, see below). In consultations with children in 2013 in Syria, “Children reported
education as the second highest priority issue. Despite the importance of education
reflected by all children, it was only identified as the first priority by 12% of children;” 240
protection was given as the first priority, with 81% of children. 241 This concept of protection
was “articulate[d] by children through the word safety,” 242 and the research suggested that
“Children’s safety and security is interpreted as a necessary precondition, and therefore
closely linked, with their access to education. 243 ” In consultations in Syria, some children
argued that the “right to develop and exist is more important than education, because
without it, we can’t learn anything. How can I focus on something and learn if I can’t be
guaranteed that I am safe at all?” 244