Mursal Qaisari
Wars always bring pain and sorrow, but nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing innocent children trapped in the middle of battles. These are the children whose voices are not heard by the world. Like those struggling in Gaza. Being a child does not mean playing, laughing or studying in Gaza anymore but it means living in the middle of miseries, bombs, and the fear of death. Instead of being future makers; children are the victims of world’s politics now. Thousands of children die in the ongoing wars in Gaza, and the world is just silent spectator with closed eyes and numb conscience. I have witnessed war in my own country Afghanistan so I deeply can feel this pain. I know how war can disrupt lives, and how it feels when you are always scared of losing your loved ones. I do not just see Gaza from a distance but I truly can feel what is going on with its people. Even if the war ends; those children who had been through it will never become normal again. The impact of wars always stay, and the dark memories will last forever. I myself went through it in my country. However, now I am safe and out of that situation but the pain is still with me. The war in Gaza is not just between two groups, it is a sign of worldwide injustice. We see photos and videos of people in Gaza everyday through social media. We all see that how people in Gaza are suffering in war, but the world is still silent. Children in Gaza do not have a normal childhood. They struggle to survive rather than playing and enjoying from their childhood. Every bomb and every explosion destroy many innocent lives. These children are not just the victims of wars going on in Gaza, but they are the victims of world’s politics. Powerful countries always act in their own interests and just do what benefits them the most. They do not care about the innocent people. When wars happen, powerful countries only talk and give fake promises but in fact they do not apply them in action.
The world is not paying attention that humanity is being killed in Gaza. The hospitals and schools have changed to battle grounds, and children struggle to find food instead of taking education. Children in Gaza live in a very bad situation, there are no healthcare services, no education, no food, and no security. There is no normal life for the people in Gaza. While rest of the world is struggling for making better future; people in Gaza just struggle to survive.
Many international meetings are being held to find solutions to the war in Gaza. But does it really changed or will it change anything?  War is still in progress and many people, including innocent children, are losing their lives at each moment. I have seen in my own country that powerful countries do not care about anything else except their own benefits. Afghanistan experienced the same situation, and when it was in the middle of wars; every country just tried to use it in their benefit rather than helping its people.  Case is the same with Gaza. When the world powers talk about Gaza, the focus is on political and economic objectives. When meetings are held, no one really cares or talks about the children dying every day in war. I have experienced war in Afghanistan; I have felt the fear of losing my loved ones.
I know how wars can hurt children. It feels so hard when you cannot live as a normal child. I experienced in my homeland that wars can take the happiness of families away. Those living in war sometimes even forget how it feels to be happy. My country also experienced the same pain. I have seen how mothers lost their beloved children in wars. Now it is happening in Gaza.There is no difference between these wars.The recent reports from UNICEF show that thousands of children have been killed or injured in the war of Gaza. In the recent months, many children have died not only because of bombs or explosions but because of hunger and not having healthcare services. War is destroying the lives of children, yet the world is still silent. The biggest problem in Gaza is that the world is not reacting to its wars as it does for other countries. If wars happen in powerful countries, everyone reacts immediately, but there is less attention in Gaza.
This injustice causes children’s rights to be ignored. For example, if this war had been happening in Europe or America, all the countries and media would react immediately. The world would also try to stop the war as soon as possible, but the case is not the same with Gaza. Hundreds of children are dying each day but who really cares?? Does it really matter to the world?? Who really talks about the nine children of Doctor Alaa-al-Najjar, who had been killed in their own home by an airstrike? Their mother was curing other children in hospital while she faced with death bodies of her nine children. Who asks about Jinnah Muhammad, a 12 years old girl who carries water to her family every day to save their lives? She is a little child who deserves to experience a normal childhood, who deserves to go to school not to struggle just for being alive. There are thousands of such stories which are deeply heartbreaking but the war is still going on and people are dying.
The world is not taking it as seriously as actually it is. The lives of people especially the children, should not be taken this unworthy. They are humans, they are future holders, and they have the right to live peacefully like the rest of the world. I think the war in Gaza is not just a regional or local problem. It is the problem of the whole world. The children’s situation in Gaza shows that the world community is not successful in assuring the rights of children. It is a sign of failure.
As a person who herself experienced and lived through war, I think the only way for saving children from war is to end the political injustice of the world. We must listen to the voice of innocent children. It is the responsibility of the global community to hear them. Children should not be the victims of wars. All the children in any corner of this world have the right to live in peace, experience a normal childhood, and go to school. So, this right should be given to them. Children are the hope of the future. They should grow in peace not with the voice of bombs or with the fear of death. Children should be safe and secure in any corner of the world. It is the time that the world must hear them. It is time to act. Children deserve to live peacefully.Â
Author is human rights activist and based in Afghanistan and can be reached at mursalqaisari11@gmail.com
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