Shells, Landmines, Shrapnel, for nearly eight years, children in eastern Ukraine have lived in fear. With the conflict escalating, children are more terrified than ever.
Growing up there means they have risked their future because it leaves a physiological impact on their minds. They’ve had other things on their minds with their families, like where they might have to vacate to.
According to the one girl of Ukraine, ‘Daryna’ who is just nine years old, I had to take what I needed- my teddy bear, food, and family. I won’t go anywhere without my family.
This fear of Daryana is justified, and it began after a local school was attacked earlier this month.
About the attack, Daryana stated that “when they fired, our curtains began to flap, my fried Katiya was scared. Then we found out on the internet that one person was injured and that the school was hit.”
Many other hundreds of thousands of children like Dayana live in fear and deal with the stress and uncertainty of needing to e ready to flee with their families at a moment’s notice.
As per other residents of Ukraine, Nastia, who is just 16, says she has recently discussed with the family what they will do if there is an attack.
“Near our house, we have a basement where we can hide if they shoot, but I don’t really want the shelling to happen again because it is horrifying. You don’t know where the shell will fall, where to hide.”
Nastia says she has been feeling increasingly worried for about a month now and has been trying to deal with it by reading, drawing and talking to her sister.
According to the United Nations Research, on a daily basis, more than half of million children live, study, and play in one of the most mine-contaminated areas in the world. Homes, schools, hospitals and necessary water and sanitation facilities have regularly been attacked.
This ongoing crisis of Ukraine has already had a devastating effect on the well being of children. Now, unless they stop the fight, many families will be displaced, and thousands more children will be forced to make decisions that no child should have to make.
