Child Victims of War - new charity sets up
Joanne Baker | 20.07.2003 17:42 | Anti-militarism
Child Victims of War, is a new charity being set up to deal with the aftermath of the recent gulf war (as well as the effects of the previous 12 years), with a number of grass-roots projects initiated to reach the victims directly.
Child Victims of War
Children have always been the greatest victims of war.
They may suffer trauma, injury or death; be orphaned
or separated from their families, or forced to witness
the most horrific events imaginable. Recent wars waged
by the US/UK and their NATO allies have been
particularly traumatic due to the latest technological
forms of warfare. These new wars also leave an
environmental legacy which is both radiological and
toxicological. Children born many years after the war
may still be affected by rare genetic defects,
cancers, and leukaemias.
‘Child Victims of War’ is a charity which has been
created as a response to these new military
developments. We believe that in the 21st century it
is no longer ethically viable for the international
community to resort to the use of force in this way.
The charity is unique in that it not only proposes to
fund projects to alleviate the suffering of children
in war zones, but also to seek compensation for child
victims through the European Court of Human Rights.
The charity will be opening its first office in
Baghdad, as a response to the effects of thirteen
years of war and sanctions on the children of Iraq.
Four initial projects have been identified.
· The support of children suffering from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of war.
· The support of children suffering from the
radiological and toxicological fallout of war.
· The support of children suffering from amputation,
burns or spinal injury due to cluster bombs and other
munitions.
· Legal support for children wishing to claim
compensation through the European Court of Human
rights.
The charity wishes not only to raise money to fund
these projects but to raise awareness of the issues.
Our website will be dual lingual (English/Arabic) and
will give full feedback and information to our donors,
so those supporting us can become as actively engaged
in the projects as they wish.
We operate as a co operative and will run the projects
through a strong team of people in the target country.
For example, the Baghdad office will be staffed solely
by Iraqis.
We hope eventually to extend our work to Afghanistan,
Palestine and the Balkans.
The press launch will be on the 6th August, so for those who are interested in publicising the project, then contact:
childvictimsofwar@yahoo.co.uk
Joanne Baker Abdul Haq Al-Ani
Co ordinator Legal Adviser
Children have always been the greatest victims of war.
They may suffer trauma, injury or death; be orphaned
or separated from their families, or forced to witness
the most horrific events imaginable. Recent wars waged
by the US/UK and their NATO allies have been
particularly traumatic due to the latest technological
forms of warfare. These new wars also leave an
environmental legacy which is both radiological and
toxicological. Children born many years after the war
may still be affected by rare genetic defects,
cancers, and leukaemias.
‘Child Victims of War’ is a charity which has been
created as a response to these new military
developments. We believe that in the 21st century it
is no longer ethically viable for the international
community to resort to the use of force in this way.
The charity is unique in that it not only proposes to
fund projects to alleviate the suffering of children
in war zones, but also to seek compensation for child
victims through the European Court of Human Rights.
The charity will be opening its first office in
Baghdad, as a response to the effects of thirteen
years of war and sanctions on the children of Iraq.
Four initial projects have been identified.
· The support of children suffering from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of war.
· The support of children suffering from the
radiological and toxicological fallout of war.
· The support of children suffering from amputation,
burns or spinal injury due to cluster bombs and other
munitions.
· Legal support for children wishing to claim
compensation through the European Court of Human
rights.
The charity wishes not only to raise money to fund
these projects but to raise awareness of the issues.
Our website will be dual lingual (English/Arabic) and
will give full feedback and information to our donors,
so those supporting us can become as actively engaged
in the projects as they wish.
We operate as a co operative and will run the projects
through a strong team of people in the target country.
For example, the Baghdad office will be staffed solely
by Iraqis.
We hope eventually to extend our work to Afghanistan,
Palestine and the Balkans.
The press launch will be on the 6th August, so for those who are interested in publicising the project, then contact:
childvictimsofwar@yahoo.co.uk Joanne Baker Abdul Haq Al-Ani
Co ordinator Legal Adviser
Joanne Baker
e-mail:
childvictimsofwar@yahoo.co.uk