Today, I stumbled across a
piece of article and thought of articulating my views on the deplorable plight
of the children in Kashmir, India. But before that I’d like to pose a question,
can you think of ‘life’ amidst constant fear of death, socio- economic
deprivation and a prolonged fear of competition in life?
I know it’s difficult or next to impossible to breathe in such kind of
atmosphere but children in Kashmir are actually being subjected to THIS kind of
life. Kashmir massacre The reality behind the recent fake encounters was not
news for Kashmir. It’s been happening since 1989. The wounds of the Gaw Kadal
massacre, the Sopore massacre and the Paribas Killings are still fresh in the
minds of Kashmiris. The Kashmir conflict, which killed more than 35,000 people
since 1989, has sired a generation of children lost to hate and fear. They grow
up in the no man’s land… between politics and war. Unfortunately, India remained
so busy crushing militancy that the children were almost forgotten. What do you
do about your tomorrow when you are not sure of your today? The Valley, which
was once an epitome of ‘paradise on earth’, now has nothing to offer these
children except violence, hatred and death. Present generation Children in
Kashmir also show a high level of mental trauma because of the war that they
come to interact with since their childhood. Many – probably a majority – of the
children in Kashmir (not the 10,000-odd orphans of militancy, but the average,
school going, normal kids) have deep, permanent bruises of the mind. Bruises
that have far-reaching consequences, that are now finding reflection in psychic
disorders, drug abuse and personality changes.
The present generation has seen Kashmir only as a war zone. Children all over
the world who are living through conflicts — in Sierra Leone, Sarajevo, Bosnia
and Iraq or earlier in Vietnam — are growing up confused. But unlike those
battlegrounds, where agencies like UNICEF and who are able to assess the damage
and provide relief to the children, in Kashmir there are hardly any NGOs in this
field. Although, the Government boosts of providing a relief committee to the
affected areas but hardly anything has ever been gained by the victimized
families. But worst of all is the fear they see in their parents’ eyes, the
tension they absorb from their elders.
The uncertainty that’s mirrored alike in the eyes of the lawman and the rebel.
Even now, children somewhere in Kashmir are fighting for survival. Is there a
way out to help these strife-torn children? Special scholarships could be
provided for these children, who are affected by the armed conflict. For
admissions to institutions of technical and higher education, other State
governments may be approached to reserve quotas for such children. To prevent
growing alienation from and ignorance about their cultural heritage among
children, suitable courses could be added in the school curriculum. Jobs must be
provided to a member of each family that suffered a death in a militancy-related
incident. There is no substitute for the emotional and other forms of support
that the community at large can provide to children affected by the armed
conflict.
The children of diverse communities, instead of developing hatred, could be
brought together as co-sufferers, so that they develop empathy for each other
and act as ambassadors of mutual goodwill and communal harmony.