End the conflict that makes migrant and refugee flee their homes, a child is a child!
‘’ the focal point of my energies is to build consensus across African societies, Nigeria, Plateau State; that peace building will be promoted, good governance will be a standard to be demanded for, and to create an awareness of our psychosocial state as a people’’ Evans Binan Dami
In our world today, we are often puzzled and muzzled by the challenges of daily living and our lives have being in great disarray out of our actions and inactions.
We have created scenes of events to negotiate how we can be involved in our actions and actions of others just as a way to improving our sense of belonging.
When we speak of a child, we are likely to speak of a mini adult who needs our help to function socially, psychologically, educationally, occupationally, and even developmentally; therefore the child is in the hands of men for his well-being.
What happens in our society is basically an orchestration of men out of the desperation for power and conquest. Despite the world speaking of global peace, child protection, speaking for the vulnerable women and children, we still design our societies not to be in favour of the child and our women and in some instance our men.
Permit me to digress a little; I will have to give credit to the United Nations, the UNICEF as an arm of the UN, ICRC, MSF,IRC, and many more high powered organizations for speaking and taking action for the child. Individuals like Kofi Annan, Ban Ki Moon, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela (of blessed memory) and wife Graca Michel (with her works tittled – the impact of armed conflict on children, a 10 year strategic study on how war and armed conflict has destroyed our societies and our children), Wessels, and many others. Indigenously, I would like to give credit to the works of Plateau Peace Bureau for working to avert war on the Plateau, while I enjoin them to still do more; the DAPAR AID, Simji-Girl Child Empowerment initiative, Akwuchi Humanitarian Campaign, Displaced Women and Children Foundation, De Stephanos, CLAPAI and many more are worthy to receive my accolades. It is no news now but a reality that the attention of humanitarianism has moved over to the child, no doubt concerned individuals often celebrate their birthdays in IDP homes, orphanage homes, etc.
The painting of Erasmus Quellins of some decades ago of a boy and a dog depicts a child as a miniature adult, hence, the need for the child to be captured in decision making process. How we have caused so many pains on the child is still a question I keep asking myself till date.
What is typical of Syria (Aleppo) as I used to describe as ‘the ruins of Syria’, typical of Mosul, typical of South Sudan where children are used as child soldiers to perpetrate terror, DR Congo, previous Burundi, the genocide in Rwanda with men, women and children all affected; the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda with children at the fore, the war in Sierra Leone with the Revolutionary United Front using children, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia by Charles Taylor using children, the tectonic warfare in the North Eastern part of Nigeria and other regions speak volume of how the child has been turned into shrugs. Furthermore we may speak of war and armed conflict in Mali, Cote’ d’ ivoire, Congo, and the Arab spring taking a hold of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, etc; Africa has been manned by war stemming from the actions and inactions of our political class and so other reasons; at the end of it, the child becomes the victim. These fore bearing issues call for a great rethink if not in policy and will power, at least in a quest for global peace. The owners of the table (the leaders) should be able to re-design their programs to favour the child and not to push him to the streets.
Children have been used to front and spark up violence, children have been used for suicide bombing missions, and children have been taken out of school due to violence as we have seen in the Chibok case; children have been introduced to drugs, and in some homes, these children have become parents because they have lost their parents to war and armed conflicts; and all these are outcomes of some political agreement/disagreement.
In a real outlook we may say that the concept of humanity is yet to be defined in our society and if defined, there is a need for it new definition to capture fairness, justice, reward, good sense for the needy, and taking care of the vulnerable especially our women and children (Binan, 2017; Leading Reporters).
How we have failed to negotiate with the child on his well-being has become a great puzzle to us. We have failed to speak for the child, to the child and of the child; we have failed to love the child, we have seen the child as a blank slate (John Locke) and this has resulted in many pains we have caused the child.
During war times, there seem to be conflict entrepreneurs who out of political or economic reasons benefit from the proceeds of war, and personal well-being of the child are inversely correlated with their intentions.
The battle line has been drawn yet the child is seen as the PAWN! The child loses his/her life and it concerns no one, the child is engrossed with physical disabilities leading to depression, stigma, trauma and PTSD, low self-esteem, but no one cares; and I am tempted to say that we have shelved humanity with inhumanity, replaced civilization with barbarism, substituted modernity with archaic ideas all with the child at the edge of vulnerability. More so, cases of rape against children in our societies is becoming so increasing even as many of the children still live in silence of reporting their abusers. Furthermore, the level of increased child unwanted pregnancies is another monster we are faced with.
We have thrown our children to the streets and today we have children who are OF the streets (they live away from the family but on the streets), those ON the streets (they go out to seek for a source of living and return back home at night), and those IN the streets (as they live in the streets with their families). Street children and these are created out of the works of men, and mostly for political and economic reasons.
If the child is valuable to us, why should we design his sufferings? If the child is a miniature adult, why don’t we involve him/her in discussing his/her troubles? We have made the child to be more of a slave while we live in high degree of irresponsiveness.
War and armed conflict is a monster, let us stop war to be able to breed a healthy society; the child needs to be directed for self growth and development. Children who are seen to have been supported, loved and cherished by parents and well-wishers are likely to be well shaped in life, to have high self-esteem (Rogers, 1951). It is good to speak and work for the child by ending conflicts in our societies! The child is not a political pawn!

Evans Binan Dami
Clinical Psychologist/Writer/researcher/ social activist
07035578447
[email protected]
blog: evansbinan.blogspot.com

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I’m A Child Not A Political Pawn – Evans Binan Dami