Harsh reality of Iraqi orphans !!!!!!!!!!!

[Daanyeer]

Source: uruknet
December 14, 2007 Author: unknown


Baghdad, Dec 13, 2007 (VOI) - Unlike orphans in many countries in the world, most Iraqi orphans lost their parents around the same time and under horrible circumstances. In addition to their desire for compassion and care, those children need to overcome their sad memories and make a new beginning in life. Recounting her traumatic memories, Halima, a nine-year-old girl who is living in a public orphanage, said that she lost her parents in a blast that ripped through a local market in a Baghdad neighborhood.

"We were shopping in a popular market in Baghdad al-Jadida neighborhood when a car bomb detonated. I still recall how bodies turned into charcoal," Halima told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

"I was taken to the hospital for treatment and was told that my parents were killed. My younger brother survived and was adopted by a loving family. It was my relatives who brought me to this orphanage," the girl added. "Our problem here is that we do not receive academic education. If only the government could build special schools for us to guarantee our future," she said.

Social conventions have prompted Iraqis to take care of orphans.

Abu Ahmed, a resident of a Baghdad neighborhood, told VOI that he sponsors five of his brother’s children. His brother was kidnapped in 2004, and his whereabouts remain unknown. "I can never abandon them no matter what difficult circumstances I experience," Abu Ahmed said.

"I had no option but to bring them to live with my family and children and I am currently providing for two families. I could not stand the idea that they might be led astray," Abu Ahmed added.

The constant violence in the country has urged many social scientists to consider long-term solutions for the problem.

Nadira Habib, a member of the Committee on Family and Childhood Affairs in the Iraqi parliament, indicated that the situation requires wise handling. "Iraqi orphans are increasing everyday because of the constant wars that the country has been going through," Habib explained, citing an estimated three to four million Iraqi orphans according to figures released by the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation.

Highlighting the importance of small loans to poor people, particularly those who lost their breadwinners, Habib said that only 469 orphans are currently sponsored by the government.

Meanwhile, Abir al-Jabli, a head of department in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, said that sponsoring orphans should not only be the concern of the government. According to al-Jabli, those children would be better taken care of by their relatives.

Maysoun al-Damlouji, a member of the parliament's Civil Society Organizations Committee, slammed a recent government decision that closed down all private orphanages. "Instead of helping private institutions improve their performance and remove all obstacles hindering their work, the Iraqi government decided to close them down, adding to the complexity of the situation in the state-run institutions.

The diminishing number of orphanages in the country is only one aspect of the problem. According to al-Damlouji, negligence and carelessness are inherent in these institutions.

Two children recently died of cholera in al-Hanan Orphanage and investigations attributed the deaths to the use of contaminated water in the institution, al-Damlouji said.

A recent report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) blamed contaminated water sources for the incidence of cholera, a waterborne disease that starts with acute diarrhea and can lead to death in just a few hours from severe dehydration and kidney failure. It is estimated that nearly 70% of Iraqis do not have access to clean water.

In June 2007, a U.S. force raided an orphanage in al-Utaifiyah neighborhood, sparking angry protests over photos displayed by TV channels showing 24 malnourished boys who were allegedly found naked on concrete floors, lying in their own waste.

The social affairs ministry said that the publication of the photos mainly aimed to distort its image and was far from being motivated by humanitarian considerations.

"The government promised to carry out prompt investigation and punish those responsible, but we have not seen any results thus far," al-Damlouji noted.