War: Displacement, suffering and misery

Displaced Syrian children stand outside in the cold mud outside their tent (Launchgood).

By Dr. Hassan Humeida  

Kiel, Germany: There is no good news here on Earth right now. Every day there is only frustrating and sad news instead. These are as a result of the raging war with all its atrocities: fear, anxiety, flight, misery, death and destruction.

The supply for the affected people with food and medicine is becoming scarce at the local level and there is a risk of hunger. Internationally, the war is having a negative impact on many countries.

For some countries it is about the supply of energy; for others, it is about the economy. War means poverty and hunger for the majority of countries on Earth.

Poor countries, which are automatically sucked into the unknown by the war, are hardest hit. The war is a brake on the fight against global poverty and hunger and thus a real obstacle to human development worldwide.

People around the world are amazed at what is happening right now during the war. All are still in the midst of a merciless pandemic that is not yet finally defeated and then, the situation is compounded by a war.

We are yet to combine war with a pandemic virus variant such as the deadly “delta variant” of COVID-19.

What is left of life then? – Probably not much. Not a day goes by without women and children being driven from their homes and fleeing. This happens under the most extreme conditions; some arrive and others stop desperately in the middle of the road.

Fathers of families who are isolated and separated from their children and who can only communicate remotely, if at all. What do the wise people including world politicians and leaders want to tell these children later – that it was a successful war, despite displacement, suffering and misery?

The day will come when these children will meet their fathers again. However, this is not the case for all children. If they are lucky enough to meet again, a lot will be told in child-friendly language and lovingly. Insurrection, heroism, bravery up to the fight and victory of the enemy.

But the question remains in the children’s minds: why the fight, what victory and who is the enemy? Some children are hit hard where they meet their fathers who are not like the fathers they knew before.

The father could have lost an arm, a leg in heavy military bomb attacks. How can they play with their own children? how are they supposed to explain this to the children? And do the children understand that their fathers were called to fight as non-soldiers? The fate hits other children even harder because they will lever see their fathers again.

It is not too late to pull the handbrake on wars worldwide, to stop the rolling wheels of the destructive tanks, to stop the flying military jets sharp rockets and put out the fire burning forever everywhere. All this should be done as positive statements for young and future generations. Then the memory of history, even if it forgives brutal offenses, never forgets them forever.

An excerpt from my children’s book entitled “The Home of Noon” – published in 2016 – The escape from the War (1):

My name is Noon and I am ten years old. My sister, whom I love very much, is two years younger than me. Like many children, we have a loving mother and father. They love us very much, care about our well-being and give us a lot of their sincere warmth and tenderness.

Please, my dear friends, do not ask where I am from. Maybe I came from an inferno, from the home of Noon, and please, dear ones, by all means don’t ask what I mean by that. Maybe I mean an unknown world that just calls itself the home of the Noon.

Dr. Hassan Humeida

email: hassan_humeida@yahoo.de