Children of War
article by Louise Kleinbergs
Working with children whose lives have been devastated by war today provides some clues about how we can prepare to help people heal when peace finally does come.
War Creates Refugees” was the theme for Refugee Week in the United Kingdom in June 2004. It was a week aimed at celebrating the enormous contribution of refugees to the United Kingdom and promoting understanding for the reasons people seek sanctuary.
The Bible is packed with accounts of wars between nations. In Matthew 24 Christ talks about war being one of the signs of the end of the age. Across the world today there are over 20 wars being fought, yet most of us could only name a few. The consequences of war on the world at large, and individuals in particular, are enormous.
In my job as an EAL (English as an Additional Language) teacher, I am involved with many students who are refugees. These students have been forced to leave their homes and countries because of circumstances beyond their control. In many cases they became refugees because of war.
These children, some as young as 5, know no other life. They do what they can to survive.
Some of the students I teach arrive in the classroom needing more than instruction in English. Some have no concept of the truth and fail to see that lying is a problem. Others know of no other way to solve problems than by fighting, and there are those who will steal whatever they want without a conscience pang.
There is also, at times, a lack of respect for others, particularly those in authority. This is reflected in their interaction with each other and authority figures. In short, the basic principles of right and wrong need to be taught. But how?
The horrors of war
I spoke with Norman Sheehan, CEO of War Child, a network of independent organizations helping children affected by war by developing programs to reintegrate them into society.
Some of the children they deal with were abducted, drugged and forced to kill in order not to be killed themselves. These children, some as young as 5, know no other life. They do what they can to survive.
A newspaper article by Tim Judah in The Independent, dated Oct. 23, 2004, talked of child soldiers, sex slaves and cannibalism in Uganda. Children were forced at gunpoint by the rebels to abduct and murder other children and to drink their blood.
Tim Judah goes on to describe the murder of a 14-year-old girl who had been killed by other child captives. One of the girl captives was asked why she had participated. She responded, “I was frightened, but we were told that if we did not kill, they would kill us. So you had to pretend to be brave.”
As part of his job, Norman Sheehan spent a year in Sierra Leone working with children of war. I asked him how these young people could be educated. He gave me four basic principles that prompted me to think about what I do in my role as a teacher today, and what we will all do as teachers in the world to come after Jesus Christ returns to save this world from itself. I like to think of this as the S·T·E·P program.
Safety
After the basic needs of children are met, which are food, clothing and shelter, the most important thing is to make them feel safe. They need to feel they can walk around without fear of being shot, abducted or abused. Without this feeling of safety, fear develops, and then the behavior resulting from fear occurs.
The same article by Tim Judah explained how in Gulu, Kitgum (Uganda), a local hospital gives shelter at night to “some of the 45,000 children who, because of their fear of abduction, stream into Gulu, Kitgum, and other towns every evening to sleep in the safety of the hospitals.”
When there is no more war, there will be no more children of war!
In the Kingdom of God we will need to create an environment of safety and reassure people they are safe. Have we considered the trauma that people will have experienced? Those who come up in the second resurrection after the Millennium will also need reassurance. It will be vital that we establish a place of safety for them.
Trust
Secondly, a relationship of trust needs to be established. Norman Sheehan maintains that this is very important if a teacher is to make any progress. Trust is not something that can be bought, and is not something that comes overnight. It is developed by finding opportunities to share your time with the children.
As future teachers, we will need to establish a relationship of trust with the people with whom we will be working. We have had the advantage of learning God’s way and practicing it in this life. Before we can teach our future students, we will first have to gain their trust.
Example
Norman Sheehan also mentioned how vital the teacher’s example is. The children he worked with did not know the right way to do even basic things such as wash their hands before eating—let alone how to conduct their lives in an orderly and peaceful way. His example was important for them to learn from.
Our example in the Kingdom of God will be equally significant. We will be a light to the world. Indeed we are told in Matthew 5:16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
See All..., “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
People will be watching us! They will want to know what to do, how to have a happy and peaceful life and how to have a relationship with God and with one another.
Isaiah 30:21And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
See All... tells us, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”
How wonderful it will be to be this guide, this light!
Patience
As a teacher, patience is crucial—without it you will fail. The civilized behavior patterns of these children in Sierra Leone have been destroyed. They need to be rebuilt, and it is a very long road to changing their behavior.
I once heard a behavior support teacher say that changing bad behavior is like breaking a bad habit. It takes time and patience for a new pattern of behavior to be learned.
One of the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
See All... is patience. In our role as teachers in the Kingdom of God, we will certainly need patience. People will not change overnight—or even in a week!
A time to practice
We need to develop the fruit of patience now. These four basic principles of the S·T·E·P program can be developed and practiced today when dealing with people in our workplace and within our families.
We need to practice establishing a feeling of safety and a relationship of trust, as well as setting an example that can be followed. And finally we need to learn to exercise patience on a daily basis.
Our future is pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles, a time of wonderful peace, joy and harmony, when people will learn to live God’s way of life—a time when Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit, and shut up so “that he should deceive the nations no more” (Revelation 20:3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
See All...).
This is a time when God’s Spirit will truly be among His people. This time of the Millennium is mentioned in Isaiah 2:4And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
See All... when they “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; [when] nation shall not lift up sword against nation, [and] neither shall they learn war anymore.”
And when there is no more war, there will be no more children of war! May God hasten that day when suffering will cease!
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