Many wounds to heal
The most vulnerable casualties of war are children. Today we met some of those casualties at an orphanage for boys in Baghdad. These kids have lost everything, parents, siblings, home life, and innocence. This is the collateral damage you don’t usually hear about when war wreaks havoc in far away places.
Our hosts introduced us to a spirited group of boys ages six to fourteen. Most of them as gregarious and energetic as you’d expect boys that age to be. But beneath the smiles and silly faces there was a restless uneasiness, many of these young lads had experienced death, violence, and abandonment first hand.
There was Ali, a 12 year old year old first grade student. When he was 10 years old he endured the shock of a massive explosion in front of his house, after which he went out and found his father dead in the front yard. Through a series of unfortunate twists and turns he ended up at the orphanage where his favorite activity is school.
When asked about all of the explosions he hears daily he describes them as "acts committed by terrorists" and adds that he is "always afraid that more explosions will happen."
It’s this perpetual fear that his caregivers are the most concerned about. Post traumatic stress is assured for this survivor, but the long term effects of living in the shadow of constant violence and death are less certain.
Ali gave us a glimpse into the resilience of youth when he told us that he likes school because "it will teach me to become a doctor."
When asked why he wanted to be a doctor he replied "so I can heal people."
When it was time to leave, the boys and I exchanged hugs. Some of them didn’t want to let go.
It was then that I realized that there’ll never be enough hugs to heal the scars these young boys carry, but among them there’s a future doctor who hopes to heal himself, and someday, perhaps, heal others.
'Hello, can you hear me?'
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