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I HAVE SEEN SO MUCH SUFFERING THAT I CAN’T EVEN REMEMBER HOW IT USED TO BE. This reality

of ours should only be a figment of the imagination, and yet it is very much in existence. I would love a reality that required no relief

organisations, no peace activists and no United Nations. Imagine a world

where the words ‘refugees’, ‘camps’,

‘starvation’ and ‘homeless children’ would make no sense. All of this has led me to the path I am on today. The help that needs to be provided is infinite and although nobody can ever do enough, I am trying to do my best in making a difference, however small that is.

Even though tragedy has become familiar to me, I am always taken aback by what I encounter. There are countless reasons that drive me toward helping and working for the betterment of our world. But it is the children I see every time I visit the camps that are my motivation to wake up each morning and lend a helping hand. I’ve seen all kinds of faces painted on these kids, but I am yet to see a truly happy-faced child. They are like little adults who carry the burden of the universe on their small shoulders. Life has been so unkind to them that they expect nothing else, and they are always surprised when someone gives to them.

From the moment the ISIS crisis began, I knew that it would dramatically change things. However, I didn’t know how much of a change it was going to be until I confronted it on the faces of the displaced people and their families.

Seeing children’s facesDr. Sarah Ahmed introduces us to the children

she meets through her relief work with internally displaced persons in Iraq

talk

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I am yet to see a truly happy-faced child

ALL

IMA

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: FRR

ME

In the beginning, children were so surprised when I talked kindly to them and gave them relief packages that contained various items. Every time they would see me, they ran and smiled at me knowing there would be gifts and the possibility of toys.

Gradually, I noticed that their behavior started to change. They would be aggressive in taking whatever was offered and then pocketed me to see if there was anything to take. After my initial shock, I learnt to deal with it, and I understood what was happening.

You see, these kids know of no other way to survive. They only know that it is normal to live in constant fear of displacement and paranoia. Everything has been taken away from them, whether it was their homes or people whom they loved. They do not know what childhood is, and as a consequence they simply do not know how to be children anymore. A while back, I went to a camp taking vital relief supplies with me. I am used to asking the children in

the camps if they need anything. It is usually the simplest things one can think of: the children would ask for dolls, cars and footballs. One day, a little boy came up to me and said, “I want a gun”. It definitely unsettled me, and I asked him why he wanted it and what he would do with the gun when he had it. He wore a big smile and said he wanted to play ISIS. Bit by bit, the other children started chanting together, “Let’s play ISIS!”, as if it was the most normal thing to do as part of their play.

I believe that this is their coping strategy. It is fascinating how these children choose to deal with the changing violence of the world around them. Perhaps, by the children making a game of it, ISIS loses some of its grasp on the innocence of their daily life. The problem is that these kids are losing every last ounce of childish innocence far too soon. They have rapidly grown from playing soccer together after school, to scavenging for morsels of food, to wanting to ‘play ISIS’. That is not the progression which they ought to be going through.

It both saddens and scares me when I witness it because I am helpless. Even with everything that I try to do, there are some things that I just cannot undo. ISIS is not a bedtime monster. To these kids, it is a very much a real entity that haunts every corner of their minds.

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Dr Sarah Ahmed is FRRME and FRRME America Projects Director in Iraq. She is also a peacemaker, a human rights worker and women rights activist. Dr Sarah joined the FRRME team in early 2014, and was initially employed by Canon Andrew White to work as a Dentist in the St George’s Medical Clinic, based at the Church in Baghdad. However, her strong peace-making skills soon became a major part of her work for FRRME. Her heart has always been inclined towards peace-making, helping the poor, and people affected by the war. Her skills have been particularly pertinent given the recent IS incursions in Iraq, leading to the displacement of four million Iraqis. Dr Sarah is a Muslim and her heart is primarily for the people of Iraq and for those who make peace, regardless of religion. You can follow her on Facebook at fb: www.facebook.com/Becauseilovepeace and on Twitter at tw: @SarahAKAhmed

“Let’s play ISIS!”

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A couple of days ago, I was visiting with Edress, an internally displaced person whose story has deeply touched me. Edress’s life came to a standstill when ISIS attacked his village, killing over fifty people in two minutes. This was repeated every day until no men were left alive. Edress was hit by three ISIS bullets, and he still carries one of these within his leg; an unwelcome souvenir. He had many children

and ISIS took them all. As he shared the story of their

rescue from ISIS, Edress could not

stop weeping. Two of his youngest boys have still not recovered from the psychological effects of their kidnap, even after being rescued. They adopted ISIS’s mentality and remained adamant about their new beliefs. They way ISIS brainwashes generations of children (and successfully, I must add) is terribly scary. I have come across so many little boys that refuse to leave ISIS as a result of their strategic loyalty training. Edress’s sons were just four and five years old.

Sometimes the scale tips to a tragic point when a kid decides that he just can’t handle any of it anymore. Then, he executes his own death by tying the noose with his small hands. One such child, who was traumatised by the constant struggles in an IDP camp, decided one day that death might be better. News agencies ran the story, and that’s all it was – a story. It is deemed ‘a consequence of war’. This situation never ceases to confuse me, and I am always consulting psychologists as to how I can truly help people the best way that I can. It is a strenuous path, but small steps go a long way. I have no idea how we reached this point. I don’t know which point it was that a child’s death became a daily occurrence for these unfortunate people. I just know that we will never be at the point of no return.

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Dr Sarah with displaced Iraqi children in Kurdistan

they simply do not know how to be children anymore

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The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME) has been working on reconciliation and lasting peace in the Middle East since 1998. FRRME engages religious leaders in dialogue, facilitating the important work of Canon Andrew White. As the current crises in Iraq continue, with four million internally displaced persons (IDPs), the majority of whom are Christian, FRRME provides food and medical relief. FRRME works closely with the NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI), which includes the Assyrian Church of the East, Coptic and Chaldean churches. FRRME also now provides food, accommodation and medical relief to Iraqi refugees who have fled to Jordan.

For more information on FRRME please visit w: www.frrme.org or contact the organisation at e: office@frrme.org t: 01730 267673

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